Tents? Pepper Spray? On Black Friday? Where’s the Public Outrage?

Ken Sanders Photo

Photo h/t Queer Thoughts

Well, well, well! What do we have here? Occupy Best Buy? In a manner of speaking. All those campers are not there to for Occupy movement values though. No, they’re not protesting whatever poor business practices the big box store may practice. No, they’re not there to support the employees who will more than likely need hazard pay. No, after that Thanksgiving turkey with all the trimmings, they all went decided they would rough it, pitch tents outside of  Best Buy and sleep it off outside on the sidewalk until the big box store opened bright and early this morning.

Now, seeing tents and lawn chairs outside of shopping malls and big box stores across Amerika the night before Black Friday is a yearly happening.  Yet, no one seems to complain, bitch and whine about it. At least, not with the same magnitude they did over Occupy encampments, which happened in public parks.  Wow! I mean, those eager shoppers are blocking sidewalks! How come no fire inspectors go by to make sure they’re not creating a fire hazard?   Blocking a sidewalk is more bothersome than camping in a public park where traffic is not blocked. Yet, folks were clamouring and whining for their beloved parks back, but no one is complaining about having to take detours on their way to work or wherever on Friday morning, due to blocked sidewalks?

And don’t forget the pepper spray! Yes, another yearly happening at the big box stores is that shoppers who are rushing other shoppers in the malls and big box stores, often end up violent. We hear of people getting hurt, trampled on.  Wasn’t there a year a Walmart employee was badly injured? Bet no one cared about that worker. Anyway, this year, a woman in Los-Angeles,  arrived armed and dangerous to her neighbourhood Walmart this year. She carried pepper spray and wasn’t shy about using it against her fellow shoppers!

More here.

The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store.

Police said the suspect resorted to the pepper spray when the coverings over the items she wanted were removed.

“Somehow she was trying to use it to gain an upper hand,” Parga told the Associated Press.

She was apparently after some electronics and used the pepper spray to keep other shoppers at bay, he said.

Officials said 20 people suffered minor injuries. Fire department spokesman Shawn Lenske said the injuries to at least 10 of them were due to “rapid crowd movement.”

“I heard screaming and I heard yelling,” said shopper Matthew Lopez, 18. “Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up.”

Funny how folks, are all willing to risk life and limb for a few bargains, but not enough to speak out against government corruption, the bad economy, casino-capitalism,  the growing inequality between the rich and the poor, bank and financial industry screw ups and games of unabashed greed and taking government bail outs with no strings attached-an endorsement to basically keep up with their games, while everybody else; the middle and working class get punished for their deeds with austerity budgets.  Another example of much of the 99% who still couldn’t grasp the concept of Occupy movements, but rather, are still still subservient to the 1%.  Hence, no real bitching. Yes, violence and camping on sidewalks to rush for those bloody bargains in big box stores like Walmart (I believe is the biggest culprit), selling stuff made in Bangladesh by children and other poor countries with no labour standards for kids.  Lovely. And it’s considered to be perfectly ok–less offensive than the Occupy movements to many, that’s for sure!

Hey, here’s an idea, stop shopping at big box stores and start shopping at good ol’ fashioned Mom and pop operations.  Better still, Occupy Christmas!