Some things bring out the worst in people. In the past decade, there have been 10 deaths and 105 injuries directly or indirectly related to Black Friday. Don’t believe it? Check out this Black Friday death counter.
It’s twisted, really. One day, after being thankful for everything we have, people trample each other to have more.
If The Purge were to meet The Walking Dead, it would come pretty close to some appalling, real-life situations caused by retailers. Here are our top offenders of 2016:
1. Walmart: Turning Humans Into Animals
Walmart pops up in the news on a regular basis—most often with a negative headline—for various reasons. But we have an issue specifically with Walmart’s incitement to excessive consumerism.
By setting ultra low prices, Walmart effectively promotes wasteful consumer spending with the motto: “It’s cheap, just buy it.” On Black Friday, this effect is heightened to the point where people’s wants are turned into needs, which leads to violence.
Walmart has a history of Black Friday injuries, rightfully earning its spot as our #1 offender. This retail monster transforms its stores into a morbid shopping scene each year. Incidents range from pepper spray attacks to killings over a parking spot to deadly stampedes. Here’s a compact summary of consumerism tolls this year.
With so many horrific past incidents, it’s safe to say that Walmart.sucks.
2. Target: Indifference Trumps Humanity
This retailer is an all-time favorite among shoppers on Black Friday. And while Target doesn’t get remotely as ugly as Walmart, it’s going down the same road.
In fact, Target has also had its fair share of unruly crowd incidents, with several people being crushed in a chaotic mob in 2010. And just one year later, a crowd of frenzied shoppers walked over an older man who had collapsed and later died.
Bear in mind that this all happened the day after Thanksgiving. It’s enough to make you feel like BlackFriday.sucks.
3. Toys “R” Us: Guns Over Toys
The giant toy retailer has mastered the art of hyperconsumerism. In 2016, Toys “R” Us stores were set to open at 5 p.m. on November 24. Yes, on Thanksgiving. Talk about a calculated marketing strategy that replaces a centuries-old tradition with rampant greed.
You wouldn’t expect a toy store to be a place of violence. Yet, in 2010, a woman who cut in line at a Toy “R” Us store in Wisconsin threatened to pull out a gun on people who complained. Clearly, that’s the spirit of the holidays.
When consumerism overcomes the joy of giving, you know something’s gone awry—honestly, hyperconsumerism.sucks.
4. Your Local Mall: Violence on the Rise
While we had to include the major retailers above—they bank on Black Friday consumerism big time—local malls have also become the sites of fatal tragedies this year.
- One person was fatally shot outside a Macy’s at a New Jersey mall.
- A group of shoppers broke out into a violent brawl at a California mall, which was caught on video.
- Two people suffered gunshot wounds in the parking lot of a Tennessee mall.
We’ve only mentioned three but there’s been too many shopping-related shootings this year to count, and we’re getting tired of it. All we have to say is that mallviolence.sucks.
The Takeaway
Consumerism makes people go nuts, and companies take full advantage. So how do we keep our humanity intact during this yearly shopping frenzy?
Some brands react responsibly in the face of such terrible behavior. In Vancouver, Adidas canceled a sale after the crowd got so worked up that a man began whipping other people with his belt. Other companies refuse to take part. REI closed all its stores on Black Friday and paid for its employees to spend the day outside.
We all know that Black Friday can get pretty ugly. Just watch a few customer stampedes on YouTube—that’ll send shivers down your spine.
Let’s wrap this all up with a fitting quote:
“Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need.”— Tyler Durden, Fight Club
Voice your concerns about consumerism by registering a .SUCKS domain.
Photos: David Marcu, Mike Mozart, Mike Mozart, Mike Mozart, Igor Stepovik / Shutterstock.com
