Are you willing to kill for that Xbox?

America is known for many of their wacky traits. Uncle Sam, fireworks on the Fourth of July, allowing actors to come in and start running the country. As odd as they all are, they’re all harmless right? Well, they are, apart from one tradition. You know the one I’m talking about. Black Friday.



Black Friday, for those who are unfamiliar with the concept, is the day after Thanksgiving in the USA, and the first ‘official’ day of Christmas shopping. Retailers take advantage of this by slashing prices on all their goods and encouraging customers to show up at ungodly hours to obtain the best deals. To those of us in the UK, it sounds a bit like those 5am sales Next have every now and then (and I’ve heard some horror stories for a soon to be ex employee, let me tell you). However, Next has NOTHING on Black Friday.

Have a look on the internet any day in the week of Thanksgiving, and you’ll see the horror stories. People getting trampled to death in the quest for deals. Knife fights breaking out in parking lots. Toys being yanked out of small children’s hands. You’ve got to wonder what the hell is going through these people’s heads.

Last Friday was no exception. There were two big stories this year; the woman who attacked the crowd with pepper spray to gain advantage on getting an Xbox 360 (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/25/black-friday-2011_n_1113108.html?1322248701), and the grandfather who had his face smashed against a concrete floor for attempting to steal a video game (http://www.ksdk.com/news/article/287691/28/Grandfather-bloodied-by-police-in-Arizona-Walmart).



I’m sure it’s not a coincidence that these people were both attempting to get video game related items. Quite frankly, I’m amazed I haven’t seen a report yet linking these incidents to game induced violence (Daily Mail, you’re losing your touch). Still though, you have to wonder why people are so desperate to get their hands on a console or game that they’ll risk their own safety, and the safety of others, to get them.

Let’s take the story of the pepper spray woman first. In the first report, it says up to twenty people were injured in the incident, and all so this woman could get access to a crate of Xboxes that were being unpacked on the shop floor. However, a later report shows that the woman turned herself in to the authorities, saying she only used the spray in self defence after being crushed by the crowd (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/114421-Wal-Mart-Pepper-Sprayer-May-Not-Be-Charged).



First off, why were the consoles being unpacked on the shop floor? What’s wrong with the storeroom out back? Was the store purposefully trying to incite panic? And secondly, why on earth did this woman go there in the first place? She obviously knew it was going to get ugly, because she had pepper spray on her person. How much do you REALLY need that Xbox?

In the other story, there are two different tales being trotted out. One, that the grandfather wasn’t shoplifting, that he had put the game in the waistband of his trousers so he could save his young grandson from being crushed. The other is that he was shoplifting and needed to be apprehended.



This is frightening for all sorts of reasons. How badly did this guy need a game, really? Couldn’t he have just put the game down in order to help the child? And also, WHY DID HE BRING A CHILD TO THE STORE?! We know what happens, he must have known he’d be in danger!

You also have to ask whether it was really necessary to injure the guy when they arrested him. After all, he was allegedly shoplifting, not attacking anyone or causing a scene. Maybe the police are on heightened alert because of the risk of fights breaking out, but even so. I can’t see a need for it. However, it seems like we are not being told all the details, so I’ll be interested to see how this one plays out.



You really have to wonder about humanity, when it seems that we think it’s ok to beat and hurt others in order to get our hands on a really cheap flatscreen TV. You have to also wonder at the superstore bigwigs, who think it’s ok to whip customers up into a frenzy and then place their underpaid and undervalued staff directly in the firing line, at a time when they should be with their families.

I don’t think I need to say anything else, other than, America, have you seen the internet recently? Stuff’s always cheap on there, and you don’t have to go and break some bones in order to get it. Just saying.