Why is MLK day optional? Is it a national holiday or not?

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I seem to remember some outrage about MLK day when I was younger, but it's just accepted now that companies can make people work if they want to. What the fuck?

― hirsute sprite (cblouse), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:04 (twenty years ago)

I live off of MLK Way and I am taking MLK day off.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:05 (twenty years ago)

MLK day gets me off and i love it

― don't start a RYE-OTT! (plsmith), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:06 (twenty years ago)

I'm off, too, but none of my friends are. What excuse do small business owners have for disregarding this day? Racist bastards.

― hirsute sprite (cblouse), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:08 (twenty years ago)

You're confusing fascism with racism.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:09 (twenty years ago)

If they were fascist, wouldn't they make everyone work on President's day, too?

― hirsute sprite (cblouse), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:10 (twenty years ago)

The woman I worked for when I lived in America didn't give us Martin Luther King Day, President's Day, or Labour Day off. They are in a different class of holiday from The Big Three, apparently.
Some people are plain mean.

― accentmonkey (accentmonkey), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:13 (twenty years ago)

Did you live in Pasadena? Did you like it?

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:14 (twenty years ago)

I don't get any of those bank holidays off. MLK, Prezzes, Columbo, none of that.

My next paid day off won't come until Memorial Day.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:14 (twenty years ago)

We don't get MLK or Prez day off.

― Jordan (Jordan), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:28 (twenty years ago)

Technically I don't think any holidays are mandatory days off, by law. Most employers aren't douchebags about this though. MLK is sometimes not let off by employers who are like, "Well you get President's Day off" (and vice versa) because for some reason they are viewed as interchangeable.

― Allyzay must fight Zolton herself. (allyzay), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:31 (twenty years ago)

Also, right or wrong, there are states that do not observe MLK Day (I think? Or did the hold outs change?).

― Allyzay must fight Zolton herself. (allyzay), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:32 (twenty years ago)

the last holdout was az, to my knowledge, circa that one governor guy. hence the public enemy song about him.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:47 (twenty years ago)

Every state celebrates MLK in one form or another. I'm sad to say that I think my homestate actually has some sort of Martin Luther King, Jr/Robert E. Lee Day, since they had birthdays in the same week.

Not every state does Columbus Day. South Dakota celebrates Native American Day in October.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 12 January 2006 22:53 (twenty years ago)

(It was Arizona and New Hampshire I think.. Arizona was the last though)

fwiw, I'm not getting the day off paid either. It looks like I won't be working during Prez days anyway, so oh well.

― Dom iNut (donut), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:14 (twenty years ago)

Hey adam - in Berkeley don't they call Columbus Day "Indigenous People's Day?" You guys crazy. If that city council put 1/10 as much concern into Berkeley as they do into ousting Myanmar's junta, it might be a nice place to live. Paul Harvey is always going on about the Berkeley city council.

― andy --, Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:15 (twenty years ago)

berkeley seems like a nice place to live, already.

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:15 (twenty years ago)

Am I the only one who gets both off?

Berkeley IS a nice place to live! One of the nicest places in the world! If Berkeley calls it that, why do I not live off of "Indigenous People's Way"?

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:16 (twenty years ago)

I'd just like to reiterate that Berkeley really is a super-nice place to live. I'm very into it at the moment. Sometimes I step outside and I can't believe my luck!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:17 (twenty years ago)

That Paul Harvey... sure should stick with the true life O. Henry stories.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:18 (twenty years ago)

No, I like Berkeley fine, though it's dearth of drinking establishments is troubling. I'd like to get a job at the Golden Bear, though, pouring suds for those thirsty field hockey gals.

― andy ---, Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:21 (twenty years ago)

San Pablo has drinking establishments.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:22 (twenty years ago)

Solano has drinking establishments (half of which is in Berkeley, don't forget)

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:23 (twenty years ago)

San Pablo needs drinking establishments.

You mean the town or the street?

― andy ---, Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:23 (twenty years ago)

the street!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:30 (twenty years ago)

I used to work for a black-owned company that made us work on MLK day.

― senseiDancer (sexyDancer), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:31 (twenty years ago)

Donald Trump isn't black.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:32 (twenty years ago)

My company's in league with Pleasant Plains' - just got a look at the corporate calendar and no days off until May 29 :(

My work schedule is such that I get every other Friday off though - all those 3 day weekends make up for it.

― Jaq (Jaq), Thursday, 12 January 2006 23:34 (twenty years ago)

am i the only one kind of annoyed by the whole concept of presidents' day? why should we have to celebrate harding, coolidge and nixon along with lincoln and washington?

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 13 January 2006 04:27 (twenty years ago)

Someone listen to this basketball game promotion and tell me whether or not I'm the only one who thinks that it sounds a bit ... "odd".

I mean, I'm sure Americans from the year 1904 would think it weird that Abraham Lincoln was being used to sell waterbeds, but... I don't know.

I'm not really offended or anything. I'm just really curious to see what this "historic recreation" is going to look like at halfcourt.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:13 (twenty years ago)

haha, PP that WHOLE thing is odd.

But I love hearing your radio bits

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:23 (twenty years ago)

it's...the next best thing to actually being in arkansas

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:23 (twenty years ago)

That's not me in that spot, by the way.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:29 (twenty years ago)

ADAM: http://www.red-coral.net/Pow.html

― andy ---, Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:30 (twenty years ago)

"After meeting for a number of months, the Resistance 500 Task Force proposed replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

"To make the case for changing Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day, the Task Force had to convince the community not only that Native people should be honored with a day, but that Columbus should no longer be honored. The Task Force presented their research which showed overwhelming evidence that Columbus himself took personal leadership in acts that would today be called genocide..."

How Berkeley can you be?

― andy ---, Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:32 (twenty years ago)

to answer the thread title: there is no such thing as a "mandatory" day off in the private sector, businesses can do whatever they want. state and federal workplaces abide by those holidays. most businesses do. but do you see stores closed on MLK day? No. My own place of work (which isn't a small business) is opened for some reason, although our boston HQ isn't. I'm not sure why. We get 7 holidays a year. they are cheap asses.

Berkeley is a perfectly nice place to live. It has a lot of bars: some scary shit on university ave; the albatross; jupiter; spats (which admittedly sux); blakes (double sux); henry's pub (is this still here? sucked but there were hostages!); that thing down on San Pablo by Lanesplitters that I haven't been to but is run by some fox whose friendster profile I saw once; uh, some other stuff. I don't drink anymore so I dont need that kind of temptation around me.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:39 (twenty years ago)

and also, yeah, it's kind of stupid to make a big fuss about indiginous people's day, but since I'm american indian and columbus sucked a cock, what do I care.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:40 (twenty years ago)

i wish you were, you know, MORE american indian

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:42 (twenty years ago)

anyway, I have three day weekend now. yay!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:43 (twenty years ago)

you can meet my extended family and then decide if you really want that.

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:43 (twenty years ago)

your tribe? yes please!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:45 (twenty years ago)

it's like how I always told gygax I wished he was "more southern" and he said I sounded like his mother.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:46 (twenty years ago)

oglala sioux

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:47 (twenty years ago)

cooooool!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:47 (twenty years ago)

I'm from Lithuania

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:48 (twenty years ago)

Remember that thread about how everybody (not you kyle) claims to be the descendent of a cherokee princess? That was a good one.

― andy --, Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:48 (twenty years ago)

yeah, I thought about kyle when you started that.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:48 (twenty years ago)

Cherokees were lousy basketball players, though.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:50 (twenty years ago)

but you started that one about how europeans look different, just to level the playing field.

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:50 (twenty years ago)

hahaha cherokee princess descendants are the best! those are my favorite kinds of blondie white people!

― kyle (akmonday), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:50 (twenty years ago)

actually my father in law is part american indian!

― adamrl (nordicskilla), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:51 (twenty years ago)

http://www.cherokeenationmexico.com/images/zar24.gif

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:52 (twenty years ago)

The Brave Chief and his Sausalito Maidens.

― andy ---, Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:54 (twenty years ago)

I'm fucking working monday, like Judge Bork.

― andy ---, Saturday, 14 January 2006 00:56 (twenty years ago)

Cherokees were lousy basketball players, though.

Maybe, but Jim Thorpe'd rain Sac and Fox jumpers on your ass all day.

ihttp://www.nativevillage.org/images/JimThorpe07photo.jpg

― Stephen X (Stephen X), Saturday, 14 January 2006 04:52 (twenty years ago)

Jim Thorpe
Gene Autry
Albert Lea

Who else has towns named after them, first and last?

(San Francisco, etc. do not count.)

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Saturday, 14 January 2006 05:16 (twenty years ago)

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