Black Friday once again brings chaos

[joseephuss]

The only thing that would have made Black Friday riots worse is if Ndamukong Suh was shopping in the stores.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...sprays-crowd/2011/11/25/gIQAIdQNwN_video.html

Shooting, pepper-spraying among violence that marred Black Friday shopping events in Calif

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, November 25, 3:46 PM

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — A robber shot a Black Friday shopper who refused to give up his purchases outside a Walmart store, leaving the victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition after one of several violent incidents in California that marred the annual bargain-hunting ritual, authorities said.

Police in San Leandro, about 15 miles east of San Francisco, said the victim and his family were walking to their car around 1:45 a.m. when they were confronted by a group of men who demanded their shopping items. When the family refused, a fight broke out, and one of the robbers pulled a gun and shot the man, said Sgt. Mike Sobek.

Retailers expect more people to shop between Thanksgiving and Sunday, but retail chains such as Toys R Us and Gap are opening earlier and offering more markdowns, which could mean lower profits for most retailers.

“The suspects saw these guys, got out of their car and tried to rob them but were unsuccessful,” Sobek said.

At another Walmart in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, a woman trying to get the upper hand to buy cheap electronics unleashed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers, causing minor injuries to 20 people, police said.

http://gawker.com/5862628/watch-the-great-black-friday-two+dollar-waffle-iron-riot

Watch the Great Black Friday Two-Dollar Waffle Iron Riot

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

The only thing that would have made Black Friday riots worse is if Ndamukong Suh was shopping in the stores.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...sprays-crowd/2011/11/25/gIQAIdQNwN_video.html

Shooting, pepper-spraying among violence that marred Black Friday shopping events in Calif

By Associated Press, Updated: Friday, November 25, 3:46 PM

SAN LEANDRO, Calif. — A robber shot a Black Friday shopper who refused to give up his purchases outside a Walmart store, leaving the victim hospitalized in critical but stable condition after one of several violent incidents in California that marred the annual bargain-hunting ritual, authorities said.

Police in San Leandro, about 15 miles east of San Francisco, said the victim and his family were walking to their car around 1:45 a.m. when they were confronted by a group of men who demanded their shopping items. When the family refused, a fight broke out, and one of the robbers pulled a gun and shot the man, said Sgt. Mike Sobek.

Retailers expect more people to shop between Thanksgiving and Sunday, but retail chains such as Toys R Us and Gap are opening earlier and offering more markdowns, which could mean lower profits for most retailers.

“The suspects saw these guys, got out of their car and tried to rob them but were unsuccessful,” Sobek said.

At another Walmart in a wealthy suburb of Los Angeles, a woman trying to get the upper hand to buy cheap electronics unleashed pepper spray on a crowd of shoppers, causing minor injuries to 20 people, police said.

http://gawker.com/5862628/watch-the-great-black-friday-two+dollar-waffle-iron-riot

Watch the Great Black Friday Two-Dollar Waffle Iron Riot

In history books this will go down as the great $2 waffle iron riot of 2011.
Just sickening....
And sad.

 

[kmp77]

In history books this will go down as the great $2 waffle iron riot of 2011.
Just sickening....
And sad.

We got to walmart and those dang waffle irons were like gold. Some lady filled up a whole cart of $2 waffle irons!!!!! I guess she's got one over on everyone...gonna flip those on ebay for $0.50 profit each. It was pretty crazy....never do that again.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

We got to walmart and those dang waffle irons were like gold. Some lady filled up a whole cart of $2 waffle irons!!!!! I guess she's got one over on everyone...gonna flip those on ebay for $0.50 profit each. It was pretty crazy....never do that again.

The whole scene and video was similar to when a pallet of basic foodstuffs gets airdropped into a second or third tier country.
Gives a whole new meaning to the term civilization.

 

[ZeroClub]

In my experience, few good things happen in WalMart.

 

[vta]

The whole scene and video was similar to when a pallet of basic foodstuffs gets airdropped into a second or third tier country.

Gives a whole new meaning to the term civilization.

Actually gives the lie to the notion of civilization. Imagine how bad it'd be if there were a true famine in any part of our 'civilized' nation. Make it had to come by and you'll be hiding your kids in the basement. People are only as good as their commodity accessibility.

 

[Alumni2k11]

I never did understand the Black Friday hype. I spent the day doing more important things. Like sleeping in and playing Skyrim.

 

[vta]

Link

(Reuters) - Black Friday turned into a black mark against American shoppers as riotous crowds brawled over video games, waffle irons and towels, drawing international condemnation and even raising questions about the state of humanity.

One of the most outrageous incidents of the day was in the Los Angeles area, where up to 20 people were injured after a woman at a Walmart used pepper spray to get an edge on other shoppers in a rush for Xbox game consoles.

COMMENTARY ON HUMANITY?

Videos of shopping pandemonium crowded YouTube by late Friday. One clip showed a crowd crushing and tearing apart boxes in a free-for-all for inexpensive cell phones. Another showed people flooding into a store as the gates were raised.

"This is what the human race has come to huh??" asked one person who commented online. Another said it "looked like a piranha feeding frenzy."

The instant classic of the day was a video of an Arkansas melee over a $2 waffle iron. The shaky, 48-second clip shows a mass of squealing and shouting men, women and children climbing over each other, grabbing and tossing boxes, with one woman seemingly unaware that her pants were sliding down her backside.

"Oh my God!" a woman screamed in the only sentence discernible among the high-pitched shrieks. One person commenting on the video wrote: "The pinnacle of Western Civilization has arrived."

 

[tupperware]

lol freaking insulting. As if Walmart wasn't bad enough.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Stupid is as stupid does

 

[Temo]

I don't know what's worse: the rampant consumerism, or the people who think they're above it and/or are surprised by it.

 

[Boom]

In history books this will go down as the great $2 waffle iron riot of 2011.
Just sickening....
And sad.

One lady certainly got there at the crack of dawn

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

One lady certainly got there at the crack of dawn

Bada Boom Bada Bing
+1

 

[silverbear]

Stupid is as stupid does

I DO NOT!!!

Oh, wait, you weren't talking about me this time, were you??

Never mind...

I seriously hope they find the pepper spray lady, and put her on trial... spraying people over a freakin' XBox??

 

[SaltwaterServr]

Actually gives the lie to the notion of civilization. Imagine how bad it'd be if there were a true famine in any part of our 'civilized' nation. Make it had to come by and you'll be hiding your kids in the basement. People are only as good as their commodity accessibility.

True, for a saddening majority.

Those who can't think react with violent abandon to hoard what they can.

 

[TheDallasDon]

Wow really..........I went in Walmart maybe 30min after the sell started(was not bad btw) got some games and blu-rays and was home in 15min. I never understood all the craziness, so what if the run out of what u wanted could it really be that important???

I like sales 2 but gezz people act like human beings

 

[burmafrd]

they are acting like human beings. That is human; just like the good stuff is. Those over seas criticizing us need to remember their soccer riots; or soccer hooligans.

People are usually only as good as they are forced to be; let the leash off and they will be as bad as they are allowed to be.

That is what makes me laugh about those talking about the natural good in people. There is just as much if not more natural bad.

 

[tupperware]

they are acting like human beings. That is human; just like the good stuff is. Those over seas criticizing us need to remember their soccer riots; or soccer hooligans.

People are usually only as good as they are forced to be; let the leash off and they will be as bad as they are allowed to be.

That is what makes me laugh about those talking about the natural good in people. There is just as much if not more natural bad.

Good point.

 

[TheDallasDon]

they are acting like human beings. That is human; just like the good stuff is. Those over seas criticizing us need to remember their soccer riots; or soccer hooligans.

People are usually only as good as they are forced to be; let the leash off and they will be as bad as they are allowed to be.

That is what makes me laugh about those talking about the natural good in people. There is just as much if not more natural bad.

While I don't fall in this list...........trust me when I say there are people who are truly good. Yes there are bad or evil alike, but that what humanity has always been.....it just seems 2 get worse as time goes by

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

While I don't fall in this list...........trust me when I say there are people who are truly good. Yes there are bad or evil alike, but that what humanity has always been.....it just seems 2 get worse as time goes by

I'm not sure it's getting worse. I just think we hear more about it now than we ever did before because of how fast information travels.