To Rusty Bundick, it's an assault on an American institution. For D'Vonda Taylor, it's a way to gather with her sisters and find discounted Christmas deals after the Thanksgiving meal.

Both are from Elk Grove, but they reflect opposite ends of the spectrum on a nationwide debate over commercialism on Thanksgiving Day.

More stores this year are getting a jump on the Black Friday retail blitz by opening Thursday night, leaving shoppers to weigh whether it's a sign of corporate greed destroying family values or a chance to have some fun and build a new family holiday tradition.

Store employees are caught in the middle, balancing the desire to spend holiday time with family and the need to hang on to jobs in a tough market.

While shopping at Target last week, Taylor was enthusiastic about the Thanksgiving night sales.

"I'm going to hit all of them," she said. "First, I'll go to Walmart, then Target and Kohl's. Then I might go to the early morning sales. … I have to find some great deals for Christmas."

But Bundick screwed up his face at the thought of leaving home on Thanksgiving night to line up for in-store deals.

"I don't particularly like it," he said as he was shopping at the Best Buy store in Elk Grove last week. "I think Thanksgiving is a holiday, and people should respect that."

Black Friday has been gradually encroaching on Thanksgiving for years, beyond the typical 4 or 5 a.m. store openings, and a few retailers opened at midnight or earlier last year. This year a wave of major retailers will open at midnight or earlier.

From a strictly business perspective there's not much to debate. Enough shoppers showed up at the early openings last year to provide a needed boost during the economic downturn.

The number of people who shopped on Thanksgiving – both online and in stores – rose to 22.3 million in 2010, about double the amount five years earlier, according to the National Retail Federation.

Retailers are smart to open early, said Olivier Rubel, a professor at UC Davis Graduate School of Management and a retail business analyst. He said most Thanksgiving celebrations are finished by late evening, and shopping can extend the family experience, giving consumer spending a socializing aspect.

"People like to shop," Rubel said. "When stores are open longer, more people can come to find deals or discounts. Stores are just lengthening the time of a promotion, which will increase the volume of sales."

Sacramento-area residents who find themselves restless for discounts after they finish Thanksgiving dinner will have plenty of opportunities.

Target, Kohl's, Best Buy and Macy's are opening at midnight. Gap Inc. will open its Banana Republic, Old Navy and namesake stores at midnight.

Westfield Galleria at Roseville plans a midnight opening for more than 100 of its stores, while Sacramento's Arden Fair and the Folsom Premium Outlets are featuring "midnight madness" sales.

Wal-Mart Inc. one-upped the midnight openings by announcing a 10 p.m. Thursday start, while Toys R Us will lead the way with a 9 p.m. opening.

Bucking the trend, Sears Holding Corp., which opened its Sears stores on Thanksgiving for the first time last year, is going back to 4 a.m. Friday this year. Its Kmart stores, however, will be open on Thanksgiving Day as they have been since 1991.

JCPenney stores will stick with their regular 4 a.m. opening on Black Friday.

Some employees are upset that they will have to report to work early, disturbing their holiday time. One Target employee in Omaha, Neb., started a petition to stop the retailer from opening early, saying it robs workers of time off with families. The petition had more than 150,000 signatures as of late last week.

"Encouraging people to shop in the middle of the night is bizarre," wrote one petition signer, Scotty Brooks. "And forcing employees to be there to help them, when they could be home with their families, is insensitive and cruel."

Target officials said the employee who started the petition is not, and never has been, scheduled to work on Thanksgiving or on Black Friday.

The trend toward Black Friday Eve has some consumers planning campouts and turkey burger barbecues in store parking lots on Thanksgiving, while anti-consumerism activists are using social media to promote a boycott during "Buy Nothing Day."

Some upscale retailers are using that anti-commercialism backlash to tout their commitment to employee rights and respect for holidays. Seattle-based Nordstrom is continuing its pledge not to engage in Christmas displays or marketing until the day after Thanksgiving. Since 2005, the store has garnered praise for its decision to celebrate one holiday at a time.

The frenzy has taken on Occupy Wall Street tinges, with some wondering if the Thanksgiving-night sales openings spell corporate control and are just another way to squeeze money from shoppers.

"We're the 99 percent and they," said Bundick, whipping a thumb toward the Best Buy sign, "are the 1 percent."

"Black Friday has increasingly become an event, a ritual for so many," Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn said in a statement. "And this year, Black Friday doesn't start the day after Thanksgiving, it starts the minute after Thanksgiving."

Dunn also added a thanks to Best Buy employees, "who sacrifice to be there for our customers."

Earlier this month, Dunn said he felt terrible asking his employees to cut short their Thanksgiving to work. Last year, Best Buy waited until 5 a.m. on Black Friday to open.

Retailers say they need the boost in sales to make up for sluggish activity the past four years.

The National Retail Federation predicted that holiday sales in 2011 will rise 2.8 percent over last year to $465.6 billion, about half of last year's 5.2 percent increase in sales.

In addition, the increased sales arguably drive job creation, as retailers will hire an estimated half-million seasonal workers during the holidays.

Many argue that if shoppers don't want to shop on Thanksgiving, no one is forcing them.

Gary and Linda O'Hara of Elk Grove were already Christmas shopping at Kohl's last week, saying they used to line up for Black Friday deals, but now they use online and in-store coupons to get good deals.

"I've been at Kohl's the day after Thanksgiving at 4 a.m., and spent an hour in line," Linda O'Hara said. "I don't want to do that anymore. But I think it might be kind of fun for younger people, like a party. There's nothing wrong with it."

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