w_alchemist_jen | Black Friday Madness

What the hell is wrong with people?! Wal-Mart employee trampled to death in New York...two men shoot each other at a Toys R Us in California. Granted, the shooting at Toys R Us wasn't related to Black Friday, but who the hell brings loaded guns to Toys R Us?!

As for the people who stampeded through the doors of that Wal-Mart, I hope they felt the deals they got(according to what I read, they got angry when told the store was closing because of the death, and carried on shopping, anyway)were worth that man's life. Every single one of them should be charged with, if not murder, then manslaughter, as well as "failure to stop and render aid". Even other employees who were trying to get to the man were trampled.

Exactly what is it about Black Friday that turns ordinary people into raving lunatics? Nearly every year, you hear about someone who got in a fight over some item and was either beaten up or maimed or something. I can understand feeling frustrated over reaching for "the last one" of the item you're looking for and someone else looking for the exact same thing grabs it seconds before you do, but that's no reason to go apeshit and beat the snot out of the other person. You have until December 24 to get the item. Getting it the day after Thanksgiving isn't a matter of life or death, and, if you can't get it, the worst that'll happen is your kid will be disappointed that you couldn't get that one thing out of everything else on his list. You won't die, the Apocalypse won't happen, and the world won't end. You might even have to *gasp* pay a bit more for it, but, at leastl when you get it, no one got killed because of it.

The insanity is a big part of why the only shopping we do the day after Thanksgiving is grocery shopping. While most everyone else is at the mall or other retailers, we're at a fairly empty supermarket.