I've said it before on this blog. I'm about to say it again. I don't understand Black Friday and the insanity that goes with it. Ok, there are deals to be made on this day. I get that. In some cases there are 50-70% off on electronics, furniture, etc. People stand outside department stores for hours, in some cases they have camped out ala Occupy Wall St. But, I put in my head all the positives to be gained by waiting in line vs the negatives. The negatives come out front all the time. Of course, this is just me. I recall about five years ago people coming to Walmart on Black Friday with a U-Haul truck. That...is insane. They made some changes this year. They started Black Friday earlier, shrived to make things more orderly. Unfortunately, this has only met with limited success.

Case in point; at our local Best Buy fights broke out about 4AM when someone cut in line. Police had to be called in to break it up. But, not before someone got robbed in all the confusion. At least no one was killed as has happened before at Walmarts around the nation. But, in the rush to "save money," people have lost their common sense. A man in Charleston, West Virginia collapsed and died. Did anyone render assistance? Sadly, they were walking past him and, in some cases, over him. No, he didn't die as a result of people knocking him down in the rush to save money. It was cardiac arrest. Off-duty nurse and paramedic assisted the man. But, it was too late. If this were the exception and not the rule during Black Friday Craziness, I could look over it. I remember last year a security guard at a Walmart in New York was crushed to death. It has gone on for too long. Nothing the merchants do is working. People are still going nuts.

I don't have the answers to stop the craziness of black Friday. I don't think merchants will ever stop. Black Friday has become too richly ingrained in the fabric of Americana now. I just feel an orderly process could be done. If people start running in the store, they are stopped and escorted out. Make it known beforehand this will be done. I also think Black Friday could be spread out over the Thanksgiving Day week. Just do away with Black Friday day and make it a week. You can spread out the sales over the course of a week. I just believe when there is a risk of people getting injured or killed, something reasonable can be done to prevent a tragedy. But, it's doubtful any measures I mentioned will ever be implemented. That would take all merchants coming together to make a change. In the cutthroat business of retail, that will never happen.

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