Another Black Friday is upon us, the day when people love to shop above all others. Personally, this day always leaves me feeling conflicted. I love saving a buck or two, but I hate both crowds and getting up early. Sleeping late usually wins.
But Black Friday is different this year, just like everything else in the COVID-19 era. Retailers simply don’t know what to expect this time. It’s widely believed that in-store shopping will be way down because of the pandemic. But just how much down, nobody knows. Many stores are hedging their bets by spreading big discounts and sales throughout November. And, of course, the push to buy online has never been stronger. But you can bet your bottom dollar that at least some die-hard traditionalists will be there in person, snatching up bargains before they’re gone.
There’s also a black side to Black Friday that people don’t like to talk about. And with good reason. Because when the annual event goes bad, it really goes bad. Consider these examples.
Walmart seems to endure the lion’s share of unfortunate incidents. That shouldn’t be surprising, given that it’s the country’s largest retailer. With all those people hitting store aisles at the same time, there’s bound to be trouble. Just look at what happened in 2008 at a Walmart in Long Island’s Valley Stream community In New York.
More than 2,000 people thronged outside in the pre-dawn darkness that year. Five o’clock came and went, and the doors were still closed. The store manager rounded up his biggest, strongest staffers and stationed them at the entrance. When they spotted a pregnant woman being pushed against the door, they cracked it open just enough to pull her inside. But at that, shoppers pounced, and a tidal wave flooded in through the opening. They forced the doors to collapse onto Jdimytai Damour, a 34-year-old employee who had only worked there one week. He never got up. Damour became the first known Black Friday fatality. (Fortunately, the expectant mother escaped with only minor bruises.)
A few hours later on that same Black Friday, two women began punching each other at a Toys R Us store in Palm Desert, California. Two men associated with the women pulled out guns and opened fire. Both later died from gunshot wounds.
Walter Vance was looking for deals on Christmas decorations inside a Target in South Charleston, West Virginia, just after midnight on Black Friday 2011. The 61-year-old pharmacist had a heart condition and suddenly collapsed onto the floor. Bargain hunters stepped around, over, and even on him without anyone stopping to help. Vance died on the store floor.
In 2015, an elderly woman was reaching for a discounted TV in a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. When she was shoved to the floor, a 23-year-old man behind her stepped on the senior citizen as he too fell down. A police officer stepped in, but the young man wouldn’t let go of the coveted set. He even hit the officer three times and tried to choke him. The result: The young offender wound up getting a free ride downtown.
For sheer mindless stupidity, it’s hard to top what happened outside a Los Angeles Walmart in 2011. Once again, a massive throng had gathered ahead of the store opening. A mother had waited a long time for a chance to buy low-priced Xbox video game consoles for her children. She pulled out a pepper spray can and discharged it into the crowd, injuring at least 20 people. The woman surrendered to police the next day, but she refused to answer their questions. Authorities cited a lack of evidence for why she wasn’t charged with a felony.
I could go on and on, but space doesn’t permit me to share the many cases of outright mayhem that always happen on this one day. The love of money, we are told, is the root of all evil. Perhaps the love of saving money is the root of all Black Friday violence.
But maybe it will be different this year. Maybe the reduced ranks of bargain hunters who defy the risk of infection to take advantage of low prices will finally act with courtesy and civility. Maybe that will wind up as one of the few positives to come out of this terrible pandemic. Maybe — but human nature being what it is, don’t count on it.
J. Mark Powell (@JMarkPowell) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He’s VP of communications at Ivory Tusk Consulting, a South Carolina-based agency. A former broadcast journalist and government communicator, his “Holy Cow! History” column is available at jmarkpowell.com.
