Crazy Pepper-Spraying Black Friday Shopper

The frenzied annual search for the perfect Black Friday bargain turned ugly, as retail's midnight madness descended into madness of another sort. Outside a Walmart in San Leandro, one shopper who tried fighting off would-be robbers in the store's parking lot ended up fighting for his life in an East Bay hospital after being shot during the struggle.
At a Walmart in Southern California, a woman -- who according to witnesses had brought along two children -- used pepper spray on at least 10 shoppers to make sure she got the new Xbox 360 she was after. And at yet another of the retail giant's stores near its headquarters in Arkansas, a "waffle riot" broke out when waffle irons went on sale for $2, causing one woman to nearly lose her pants during the melee.
It was the first truly Pitch Black Friday since 2008, when a Walmart employee on New York's Long Island was trampled to death by predawn shoppers. And while most bargain hunters concluded their day without violence -- except possibly to their credit card statements -- the mayhem in California raised fears anew that holiday shopping is becoming a blood sport.
"It's almost like caveman hunting," said Kit Yarrow, a consumer research psychologist who teaches at Golden Gate University. "If you look at the prehistoric parts of our brain, we're prewired to believe in the wisdom of the crowd. When we see everybody else wanting something, we want it even more. That knowledge that only the stronges.


are going to be able to get the bargain is what causes that desperation people feel. That makes people muscle up a little bit, unfortunately."
In San Leandro, the muscle came out of the dark at 1:50 a.m., when a group of shoppers walking to their car were confronted by at least four people who tried to rob them, said San Leandro police Sgt. Mike Sobek. The victims fought with the assailants to protect their purchases, and during the struggle one of the robbers pulled out a gun and shot the victim -- a man in his 20s, according to police.


An XBox 360. Which means in all likelihood, this woman is a mother with kids. What an excellent example to set for them! The woman was waiting in line at Walmart in Los Angeles, and when the doors opened at 10, she burst into the store and made a bee line for electronics. As soon as a clerk removed the plastic to the XBoxes, which were half price, she let loose her pepper spray, injuring a crowd of about 20 other shoppers, including children! What has our world come to if we would risk blinding children for the sake of a video game. We are a seriously messed up people, my fellow Earthlings.


And the worst of it is ... she's still OUT there. Stalking, shopping, and ready to fire at you if you reach for that thing SHE had her eye on first. The pepper spraying incident caused such commotion that the woman was able to grab her video game, make it to the cash register, and leave the store with her prize in hand. Police think they got a good look at her on surveillance cameras so it's only a matter of time before they nab the insane shopper and charge her with assault. Merry Christmas to her!


All for a half-price sale that saves her about $100? Maybe $200? Stories like this make me feel so much better about my choice to just stay home gorging myself on leftover pumpkin pie, waiting to order online a week before Christmas, and paying full price and exhorbitant shipping.