Black friday ---uvulas--- - totally local

[ChadTower]

I live about 1.2 miles from here.  It is now 11:24pm Thanksgiving night.  I took these pics about 5 minutes ago... people were beeping at me while I took them and I could hear women bitching out the people in their cars through open windows.  I had a beer in my hand and I laughed at them.

EDIT:  ah crap digital camera not working... have video, will  get up when I can...

[BobbyG66]

That midnight sale shut down traffic for four hours in both directions on the highway.

I was asleep in my toasty bed...

[XyloSesame]

I really don't get all this whining and finger pointing about Black Friday... I'm seeing it on every message board or whatever I visit.

Hasn't it occurred to some people that there are some folks out there that enjoy shopping?  More so than regular people.  Perhaps it's even a HOBBY for them? 

My wife, myself, and quite a few of our friends observe Buy Nothing Day in an attempt to set an example / raise awareness of the United States' extreme consumerism. Without getting into PnR territory, I think the quote below, from this years' campaign, sums it up pretty well:

Driving hybrid cars and limiting industrial emissions is great‚ but they are band–aid solutions if we don’t address the core problem: we have to consume less. This is the message of Buy Nothing Day.

A classic Buy Nothing Day video:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uK0_jwyh_0[/youtube]

Now I shut up.

[saint]

My buddy and I got up at 11:15 PM Thursday night, drove to Best Buy and got in line at 12:15. We were about 150th or 200th or so in line. Froze our butts off. Met several nice folks in line, I growled at and made a line cutter get in the back of the line, we started a shopping frenzy at 5 AM, hit 4 stores before we went to the mall. Merged with the masses and shopped the entire mall, then met my wife and mother-in-law at Ruby Tuesday's in the mall for cocktails and lunch. Got home about 2:30 PM Friday.

Had a fricking blast of a time. Gonna do it again next year.

 

[RTSDaddy2]

Then there are those of us who just like to be in the crowd.  Though unsuccessful, went to Best Buy at 2:30 AM (way too late).  Froze my behind off waiting for computer offer - was going to get one of the $199 deals for my Mom whose still using a dinosaur to do her office work at home.  Met some really cool (no pun intended) people; have been doing the black Friday thing since my early teens, so for 20 plus years and will continue doing so.

[ChadTower]

The paper today has a couple stories of the crowds at the Wrentham Outlets when they opened... apparently, there was a small riot at the Coach store.  Only one cop, when the doors opened women rushed the line to skip, women started shoving and kicking, the cop had to get physical to get the doors locked again and call for backup.  When two more cops came, they tried to open the doors to let in groups of 50, and twice more physicality broke out among the women, even with three large male cops standing at the door.

All this for 10% off the regular outlet prices on handbags.

 

[WaRpEd]

Try getting up and working at the big box store.
Lotsa fun dealing with 10 to 20 questions at once when sleep deprived.

[ChadTower]

They're willing to get arrested to save $30?  Somehow I'm not surprised.

Keep in mind this is at a massive mall with dozens of other similar stores, yet for some reason, nearly all of the problems were at Coach.

[FrizzleFried]

They're willing to get arrested to save $30?  Somehow I'm not surprised.

Keep in mind this is at a massive mall with dozens of other similar stores, yet for some reason, nearly all of the problems were at Coach.

Women are savages.   I remember going to Toys R Us with my mom back in about 1985 to get my sister a Cabbage Patch Kid.  There were like 20 at the store and over 50 women in line when the store opened.  My mom tells me as soon as I get in the store to run over and grab a doll.  I do...I get like the 2nd or 3rd to last one...I run back to mom who is just coming down the aisle.  I hand her the doll and as I am handing her the doll some woman SNATCHES IT from my hand!

My mom went FREAKING NUTS!  I'd never seen her go so nuts before and I've never seen it again.  IT WAS BRAWL TIME with my mom and this other fat MOM looking thing kicking, biting, screaming, and fists flying!!! The whole time I am standing there STUNNED.

When all was said and done my father picked me and mom up from the police department... yup,  she was arrested (as was the other mom)...and I got to take my first ride in a black & white...but I got to be up front! 

Funny thing was that neither mom got the doll...it ended up going to some OTHER mom who grabbed it during the fight.

Mom had promised a doll to my sister for Christmas.  She got one alright...$400 is what she paid for it.

$400!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jesus.

[meismr]

As for the consumeritis comment; If you're not increasing your consumption of goods but getting better deals on the goods you'd buy anyway, wouldn't it be more economical (which even a minimalist would buy in too (pun intended ) to buy the goods on black Friday?  I consider myself a pseudo-minimalist and I shopped on black Friday.  There were great deals on components that I use during the year.  So to sum up... Just because people shop on black Friday doesn't mean that they're rabid consumers.  It just means they like good deals

[XyloSesame]

As for the consumeritis comment; If you're not increasing your consumption of goods but getting better deals on the goods you'd buy anyway, wouldn't it be more economical (which even a minimalist would buy in too (pun intended ) to buy the goods on black Friday?  I consider myself a pseudo-minimalist and I shopped on black Friday.  There were great deals on components that I use during the year.  So to sum up... Just because people shop on black Friday doesn't mean that they're rabid consumers.  It just means they like good deals

I agree completely with this sentiment, which causes me to be shunned by both the Buy Nothing Nazis and the Box Store Bozos. Nobody likes me...

As a matter of fact, if there are goods I need (need over want), I will shop on Black Friday (or any other day, for that matter), and get the goods at a reasonable cost.

Moderation is the key.

[WunderCade]

Correct me if I'm wrong....but all these "good deals" return in January as regular prices for the items don't they?

[AtomSmasher]

Correct me if I'm wrong....but all these "good deals" return in January as regular prices for the items don't they?

Maybe for some items, but not for most.  I've seen some deals on black Friday (not this past black Friday which wasn't all that great IMO) that I've never seen the items go for that cheap even during sales at other times of the year.

*edit* for instance, last year I picked up a 200 gig harddrive for $20 at Staples.  A year later and that same drive still sells for over $50 at newegg and $89 the rest of the year at staples.

[meismr]

I disagree as well.  Ace (a hardware store) had a couple really good deals (a bike, a telescope, and a drill press).  A bike is good for having fun with, a telescope because she really likes looking at the night sky, and a drill press because she likes daddy to be able to make a control panel
And staples had dvd+r's for 5 bucks for 50, well bellow the 20 bucks for 100 I see at newegg.  The 500 gig external drive for 80 bucks was also a very good deal which I'm not sure we'll see in January. 
I think the link between consumption of goods and conformity is tenuous.  Over-consumption is a different animal.  Though what is considered consumption and over-consumption differs from person to person.