November 15, 2011, 2:23 PM — Black Friday is a great opportunity for saving money and buying great products at cheap prices. But there's a dark, violent underbelly to Black Friday sometimes.
Wikipedia notes a number of violent incidents over the years:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Friday_(shopping)#Violence "Whereas the 1996 film Jingle All the Way depicted a comedic dramatization of somewhat chaotic antics that people may go through in order to achieve their holiday shopping goals, recent years have seen a marked increase in extreme chaos resulting from people's desires to take advantage of Black Friday sales. In 2006, a man in Roanoke, Virginia shopping at Best Buy was recorded on video assaulting another shopper.[16] Unruly Wal-Mart shoppers at a store outside Columbus, Ohio, quickly flooded in the doors at opening, pinning several employees against stacks of merchandise.[17] Nine shoppers in a California mall were injured, including an elderly woman who had to be taken to the hospital, when the crowd rushed to grab gift certificates that had been released from the ceiling.[18] In 2008 a crowd of approximately 2,000 shoppers in Valley Stream, New York, waited outside for the 5:00 a.m. opening of the local Wal-Mart. As opening time approached the crowd grew anxious and when the doors were opened the crowd pushed forward, breaking the door down, and trampling a 34 year old employee to death. The shoppers did not appear concerned with the victim's fate, expressing refusal to halt their stampede when other employees attempted to intervene and help the injured employee, complaining that they had been waiting in the cold and were not willing to wait any longer. Shoppers had begun assembling as early as 9:00 the evening before. Even when police arrived and attempted to render aid to the injured man, shoppers continued to pour in, shoving and pushing the officers as they made their way into the store. Several other people incurred minor injuries, including a pregnant woman who had to be taken to the hospital.[19][20][21] The incident may be the first case of a death occurring during Black Friday sales; according to the National Retail Federation, "We are not aware of any other circumstances where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving."[19] During Black Friday 2010, a Madison, Wisconsin woman was arrested outside of a Toys 'R' Us store after cutting in line, and threatening to shoot other shoppers who tried to object.[22] A Toys for Tots volunteer in Georgia was stabbed by a shoplifter.[23] An Indianapolis woman was arrested after causing a disturbance by arguing with other Wal-Mart shoppers. She had been asked to leave the store, but refused.[24] A man was arrested at a Florida Wal-Mart when other shoppers waiting in line for the store to open noticed that he was carrying a handgun and reported the matter to police. He was discovered to also be carrying two knives and a pepper spray grenade.[25] A man in Buffalo, New York, was trampled when doors opened at a Target store and unruly shoppers rushed in, in an episode reminiscent of the deadly 2008 Wal-Mart stampede.[26]"
Here's how to avoid the dark, violent side of Black Friday shopping:
1. Have situational awareness of the people around you if you are waiting outside of a store to get a deal on something. Maintain your situational awareness once you enter the store as well. You never know when bad stuff could begin to happen.
2. If you see any sort of mob behavior beginning to occur, withdraw and leave the area. It's not worth getting trampled, hurt or even killed just to get a deal on something.
3. Make sure you have a cell phone with you in case you need to call the cops in the event of a Black Friday emergency situation.
4. If you're shopping with friends or family, stick close together and be ready to defend each other or make a break for it if something bad starts happening during your Black Friday shopping spree.
5. Once you have your merchandise, be careful that you aren't being followed back to your car by thieves. Maintain situation awareness until you arrive back at home.
6. Do as much of your Black Friday shopping as possible online. Your chances of getting hurt or killed in a Black Friday stampede are virtually nil if you are shopping at home from the comfort of your computer.
