If there’s one thing Americans can’t stand, and there are many, it would be
having to wait for anything. Fast food
replaced good food. Instant-on TV,
quickie divorces, Speedy Alka Seltzer, the Kwik-E-Mart: these are all signs of
a nation that wants it, and wants it NOW.
Well, our traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping took a crazy turn this year
in may parts of the nation. In some
town called Porter Ranch, California, a woman
who apparently thought she was a UC Davis security cop brought pepper
spray to a WalMart so she could keep other shoppers at bay and grab the best of
the door-buster specials for her own sweet self. She got to the electronics department just after the WalMart
opened on Thanksgiving night at 10 (since God forbid we would have to wait
until Friday to celebrate Friday around here) and laid out a smokescreen of
cayenne and jalapeño, which had the effect of laying out some 20 other shoppers
– some of whom are children. 10 of them
needed medical attention.
In case you’re wondering, the store did not close. WalMart is not going to allow a mass assault to ruin everyone’s
shopping experience, for crying out loud!
Also in sunny California, open up that Golden Gate of pain to read how a man
was found shot and bleeding in the parking
lot of a Bay Area Walmart just before 2 a.m. “Several” people with guns
tried to take the family’s purchases by force.
In Kissimmee, Fla., two men in search of just the right teardrop necklace
for their dear sweet little lady friends fought at a jewelry counter at a
WalMart. One of them was dragged away by the police, and I guess the Greeter at
the front door had some pretty stern words for the other one.
Down Fayetteville, NC way, shots were fired around 2 a.m. outside Cross
Creek Mall near a food court entrance. One of the people involved ran inside
the mall. Then there were more shots fired, or, as it always says in the news
about these things, shots “rang out.” A
good idea for mall owners would be to “beef up” security, and make sure that no
“blazes” “roar” through the structure either.
Another shooting was reported at a parking lot next to a Wal-Mart in South
Carolina. There was also a report of a robbery attempt at another mall there.
Retailers like the holiday shopping season.
That’s when they can make 25 to 40 percent of their annual revenue. It's
expected that shoppers will spend nearly $500 billion during the holiday shopping
season, or about 3 percent more than they did last year.
I’m writing this on Friday evening, so the chances are that more mayhem will
occur at our malls and WalMarts as we prepare to celebrate the birth of our
Lord and Savior.
I need to get Peggy a
present.
Cover me, will ya?
2 comments:
Wow. It seems like it's getting worse. I heard about the pepper spray woman, and it read like they didn't catch her.
But she turned herself in over the weekend! Can't wait for the trial...
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