Black (and blue) Friday for Walmart shoppers
Brian Mann blogged earlier about all the attention Saranac Lake’s community store is getting…now here’s another, altogether weirder, retail story:
Today’s Black Friday, the day when businesses across the country look to break even—get “into the black”. Some 152 million people are expected to holiday shop today, tomorrow and Sunday. And they’re expected to spend nearly $500 billion during the holiday shopping season, or about 3 percent more than they did last year.
Over the last few years the competitive shopping has become more and more extreme…And things seem to have gotten particularly weird at the giant discount retailer Walmart.
Already today a woman at a Southern California Walmart pepper sprayed other shoppers in her effort to get a good deal on electronics; and a man was found shot overnight after an attempted robbery in the parking lot of a Bay-area walmart. And the AP reports a fifty-four year old man was bloodied by police at an Arizona walmart—they say he was trying to shoplift a video game while shopping with his grandson.
But it’s not just the Walmarts of the Southwest that are the site of black Friday violence…
Police say two women have been injured and a man has been charged after a fight broke out at an Onieda County Walmart store that had just let Black Friday shoppers into its electronics department.
The County Sheriff’s Office tells the Post-Standard of Syracuse that several fights erupted shortly after 12:01 a.m. today near a cell phone display at the Wal-Mart in Rome, 35 miles east of Syracuse.
Officials tell the newspaper that some shoppers were pushed to
the floor and several fights broke out. Deputies say two women from Rome suffered back injuries in the melee.
Police say a Rome man has been charged with disorderly conduct.
Deputies say charges are pending against other people.
Now, I’m not trying to pick specifically on Walmart here…and I drove past the one in Ogdensburg earlier and nothing seemed to be going down. But, attention shoppers, what on earth is going on?
Now–please enjoy the holiday season, and watch yourselves out there!
I don’t want to hear another word about left-wing violence.
This whole shopping frenzy to find the “Perfect Gifts” to make this the “Best Christmas ever” makes me want to puke and lobby to get rid of the most “Wonderful Holiday” of the year.
It makes Americans look like a bunch of idiots. Plus, I don’t buy into the idea that retailers would go broke and need to go out of business if people don’t shop ’til they drop and if true, they should go out of business.
fricken Amen Mr. Klein.
If what it takes, for America to get out from under crushing debt, is to bleed every cent it can from it’s citizens, disguised as a civic duty if not as one holiday tradition or another, and we as those citizens buy into this scam-pun intended- we deserve to be the brainwashed lemmings we appear to be to some others.
It is no wonder to me that those who have advantages in this world, money, education, carreers, political power, farm those who, from their perspective,
are no smarter than turnips.
Go home, settle back down on that couch surrounded by all that stuff, and the next time they want to hear from you is when it’s time to pay your taxes.
Many people like to shop and they like to get bargains. For some it is a blood sport.
“Some 152 million people are expected to holiday shop today, tomorrow and Sunday. And they’re expected to spend nearly $500 billion during the holiday shopping season, or about 3 percent more than they did last year.”
Does that seem correct to anyone? That would mean that each person is spending an average of about $3,300. Someone else is going to have to pick up my share if that is true.
So millions of people are literally fighting to spend money to line the pockets of the Walton family — certainly among the top .01%.
Why do people behave in this way? We are addicted. We are addicts. Because we are genetically programmed for gluttony and the marketing machines we bring into our lives — TV, newspapers, magazines and the internet — are like pushers warping our minds with greed for ever more stuff. We are so hooked that many of us will literally trample others, fight, pepper spray lie, cheat and steal to get more crap. And then those same people will ridicule OWS protesters who are trying to change things and make them better for everyone. How many of those greed afflicted will pass an Occupy protest this weekend and shout “get a job”?
This is a good reminder to those who complain about the bad economy in the Adirondacks that we all would do better if we bought gifts from our neighbors, hand knit mittens, maple syrup, garnet jewelry, a rustic rocking chair, locally grown or made foods. Or give an afternoon of help to work around the house. There are lots of opportunities.
Amen Knuck… why do we need all this stuff? If we put people before material things we’d all be better off. And yes, let’s buy local when we must buy. Better yet, as Knuck says make something or offer your time as a gift.
Last year what I bought was local, as hard as it was, no internet! Trying to do the same this year.
You gotta have stuff.
500 billion – thats half the cost of the Iraq war. Its almost the cost of the “stimulus” and almost the cost of the Bush medicare drug plan.
PNElba reminds me of George Carlin.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac
So if somebody is willing to pepper spray people to save $50.00 on an x-box, what would they be willing to do to people if you paid them $500???
KHL writes “Why do people behave in this way?”
I have come to believe that what drives most spending in this country is insecurity. People are afraid that if they drive a small car and live in a small house and don’t have all the latest stuff then people will think they are a failure. And given that we measure “success” in this country in dollars, they may well, be right.
Anyone with a modicum of self respect ought to be able to rise above this sort of fear, though admittedly, our media are super-saturated with programming and advertizing brilliantly designed to create insecurity. It’s a whole lot easier to break free if you just stop watching television and stop reading most magazines. You won’t miss much!
Yes I agree. Insecurity and I think unhappiness. If you can be kept continually unsatisfied you will try to fill that hole with things, bigger and bigger homes, more cars more “stuff” etc. All to know avail as the seeds of unhappiness are actually part of grasping at those things.
People spending money that they don’t have on things that they don’t need.
Merry Christmas to one and all.
Are these 152 million shoppers the same middle class people who are getting screwed by the 1% rich folk?
How many of these same shoppers are “Occupy Wall Street” protesters?
What’s your point, Rob?
I myself was knocked down and trampled a few years back at the old walmart store in massena, my back has not been right since, the manager and a few other employees just stood there by the doors with their arms crossed and watched, if not for my son and another pregnant lady with home I had spent a cold night in line at the door had not stood over me and started screaming who knows what would of happened, I had night mares, you don’t know what it is like to be on the floor, hurt and see nothing but a sea of hundreds of feet coming full speed toward you, we stopped doing the black friday thing, we go now a few hours after they have started the sale and I still get everything I was going for…..People are like sheep, someone says hey, go freeze your butt off to save a few bucks on some overpriced junk you don’t really need and it becomes an american tradition, pitiful……….