Black Friday Is Upon Us

All across the United States today, the holiday shopping season has made its official debut. It’s “Black Friday”, which is a day when incredibly long line ups that begin forming in the wee hours of the night outside of retail stores and shopping malls are commonplace.

Canadians are very well aware of the annual post-American Thanksgiving phenomenon and are often part of the large crowds trying to squeeze their way into stores when they open early in the morning. Due to the astounding discounts that are offered on “Black Friday”, it is also not uncommon for fights to break out between customers!

Earlier today, the QMI Agency reported that a 21-year-old woman was arrested in Madison, Wisconsin for threatening to shoot fellow customers in line at a Toys “R” Us. Apparently, she attempted to cut in line to the dismay of the other waiting shoppers and alleged to take out a gun and shoot those who questioned her.

Crazy, right? Thankfully, no gun was found on the woman after police arrested her for disorderly conduct. Naturally, stores across America have increased security today as shoppers have been hurt in past “Black Friday” shopping experiences. There have even been past reports of customers being trampled to death.

QMI notes though that customers tend to feel unruly on one of the only days of the year when such enormous discounts are offered on the most popular items on the market. The report actually quotes a random Twitter user as tweeting, “First rule of Black Friday, there are no rules.”

Another tweeter exclaimed, “Never be a polite person on Black Friday. Ever.” Now, we’ve heard of “buyer beware” before, but one can only question if “Black Friday” was named for the black eyes customers should be willing to endure to secure an amazing deal on their desired items!

QMI affirms, however that “the day is dubbed Black Friday because most retailers find it’s the first day of the year they start to turn a profit — or their books are now in the black.” We’re beginning to think that the term now carries a different meaning. This isn’t to say that Canadian shoppers should necessarily avoid “Black Friday” shopping, but they should certainly be careful.

For those who are unable to take advantage of “Black Friday” deals in the States today, QMI reminds you that you “may turn to the Internet on Monday. The Monday after the U.S. Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday and is one of the biggest online shopping days of the year.”