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(For those who don't know, Black Friday refers to the last Friday in
November in the US, and it is the single busiest shopping day of the
year. Traditionally, most retailers either make very poor profits, or
actually lose money, all year until that day. That is, all year long
they're "in the red," until they begin turning a profit on this day,
when they're "in the black").
Yesterday's appellation of "Black Friday" was appropriate in more ways
than one, as several deaths occurred as a result of the holiday shopping
madness in the US.
The first was a worker at a Wal-Mart in New York. As he opened the
doors at 5am, a crowd of 2,000 people stampeded into the store -
breaking down the doors and killing him in the process. And he was a
temp worker, so he didn't even have any benefits!
In the same incident, several other people were taken to the hospital,
including a pregnant woman who (it has now been confirmed) suffered a
miscarriage as a result of the trauma.
Later in the day, two people shot each other outside of a Toys R Us in
California. While management claims the dispute was unrelated to the
store, sales, or shopping in general, witnesses reported the two people
arguing inside the store earlier.
With all of this, it's no wonder the US gets a bum rap as a bunch of
nihilistic pricks. Honestly, being in such a rush that you have to
literally step on someone else just to save $30 on a toaster? Of course
the corporations do everything possible to feed the frenzy, running all
the advertising they are capable of, and getting people excited over
this particular weekend (and Friday in particular).
For myself, I've never actually gone shopping on Black Friday. Most
years I had to work (imagine that), but the one year I did have it off I
went out at 10:30am and found most stores' shelves depleted.
One of my brothers was talking about going out to buy a TV - maybe I
should call and make sure he didn't get hurt in the process.
...Ben Chambers
www.pacificwebguy.com
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