Black Friday Frenzy

Well, another Black Friday shopping frenzy is in the books. I'm always amazed at the lengths in which some folks will go in order to land that great deal on a China-made electronics gadget. By noon, some people were already camped out in front the local Best Buy, Target, Walmart, etc. By the time the front doors were opened, they were like a group of hungry lions about to be released into a field of unsuspecting wildebeests. Of course, in this case, the role of the wildebeest would be played by a $99 flat screen TV.


There were plenty of adrenaline-laced incidents yesterday. Some of the more eventful episodes:

• Monroeville, PA - Mothers and daughters get into a fistfight over a hot deal on yoga pants at the Victoria's Secret. I though yoga was supposed to relax you and help you find that inner peace?
• Myrtle Beach, SC - A 55 year-old woman is shot in an attempted robbery. A nice way to end the shopping day, huh?
• Rome, NY - Several fights break out in the electronics section at the local Wal-Mart. May be this will inspire a new video game: Wally World Beatdown
• Los Angeles, CA - A woman hits the Wal-Mart crowd with a dose of pepper spray in order to secure an X-Box. Her kids will be so proud.
• Fayetteville, NC - Gun fire erupts in the food court at the Cross Creek Mall. Nothing wakes up an early morning shopper like caps busting at 2 am.
• New York, NY - A mob of anxious shoppers literally broke down the door at a Hollister store. Then they proceeded to loot the place. Now, that's the Christmas spirit!
• Phoenix, AZ - A grandfather is knocked unconscious and bloodied up at the Wal-Mart by the local cops after being suspected of shoplifting.
• Leandro, CA - A woman is shot after being robbed of your purchases outside of the Wal-MArt.
• Kinstown, NC - Security guards pepper sprayed aggressive shopping as they tried to grab items before they were unloaded from pallets. 

And I'm not sure where the particular Wal-Mart was in this case, but I saw a feeding frenzy over a stack of $2 toasters. One woman emerged from the pile with about five or six of them. She shoots, she scores! By the way, who in the hell wants to get a toaster for Christmas??

I find it amazing that people are transformed into savages simply by the lure of a low price. As the years go by, it seems that we get more and  more obsessed with material things. It's really sad. 

kw