Blog: 'Twas the Best of Fridays, 'Twas the Worst of Fridays

Turkey, family, and food coma. These are the inevitable truths of Thanksgiving.

However, one cannot forget Black Friday, perhaps the craziest shopping day of the year – and for good reason. The deals you can score on Black Friday are incredible, such as Best Buy’s $200 42-inch LCD 1080p HDTV.

Black Friday is a perfect time for people on a budget (almost all students) to pick up the goodies they need, such as laptops, flash drives, and clothing.

Since Black Friday has already come and gone, I’m here to talk about the mayhem that it generated this year, and to give my fellow students a heads up of what to expect from future Black Friday shopping escapades. Hopefully none of you will have to experience anything like these first-hand…

Episode 1: Pepper Spray Xbox Lady

Let’s set the scene: Los Angeles, Walmart, Thursday, 10 p.m.

At this time, Xboxes became available to shoppers. You see, the thing about Walmart is, since it is open 24/7, the store didn’t have a line of people waiting outside to enter. Instead, they people were already inside waiting for the unleashing of products set to become available at 10 p.m.

It appears as if the $200 Xbox 360 4GB Console with Kinect & $50 Gift Card was too much for one woman. A few employees were opening a crate to begin handing out the game console when this lady turned around and pepper sprayed everyone around her in order to get a (strategic) shopping advantage.

20 people had to be treated by firefighters for their wounds. And get this, she was not caught, and it is not known if the women ended up with one of the Xboxes. Talk about gaining an edge over the competition, huh?

Editor's Note: Perhaps she was inspired by . 

Episode 2: The Grandpa with a Video Game Down His Pants

Arizona, Walmart (again?), Thursday, Sometime p.m.

Now this one is a little controversial. It is either about a man heroically defending his grandson, or an old man trying to shoplift – poorly.

Witnesses say that a young boy was being trampled in a rush from shoppers at this Arizona Walmart when his grandfather, in order to free up his hands to help the boy, stuffed a video game down his pants. He was then confronted by police and knocked unconscious on the floor for… shoplifting? Let’s not forget to mention that the grandfather had a cart with him containing over $600 in other merchandise.

The police have a different side to the story. They claim the old man was trying to steal the game, and when they approached him to question the concealed product, all the old man did was flail his arms about himself wildly. The police then took the man down with a “leg sweep."

The old man hit his head on the ground and bled profusely. He was later taken to the hospital to be treated. He’s currently being charged with shoplifting and resisting arrest.

Episode 3: Waffle Maker Riot

Arkansas, Walmart (I know right?), Thursday, 10 p.m.

OK, this deal is pretty crazy, and I’m sure you’ll agree. How does a $2 waffle maker sound? You and every person who showed up at an Arkansas Walmart at 10 p.m. thought so too. With a limited quality and a price that could find its way into anyone’s budget, one can only expect some sort of hectic dash for this commodity.

You can see it for yourself here.

Episode 4: Parking Lot Shooting

South Carolina, Walmart (kind of expected at this point), Friday, 1 a.m.

A lady and her friends exited the store and were returning to their car (parked just across the street) with their purchases around 1 in the morning on Friday. As they opened their trunk, a man approached them with a gun and demanded her purse.

Needless to say, she screamed. Thankfully one of her friends pulled out a revolver that was stashed in the console of the vehicle and pointed it at the robber, who ran off with his tail between his legs. He managed to shoot the lady in the foot before he hit the road, though.

The friend who pulled the revolver fired a couple warning shots into the air, and the lady with the hole in her foot was hospitalized. Her condition is still unknown.

And if you’d like to see just a general stampede for Black Friday goodness, check this vid out. 

As you can see, Black Friday can be pretty crazy – both in terms of the deals available and in people’s reactions to them. I know for myself, I pick up the majority of my wardrobe on Black Friday and have had amazing stories to tell when I return in the wee hours of the morning.

Events like these can be perfect opportunities to gather school essentials; just be sure to stay away from crazy people. 

Or perhaps just stay away from Walmart.