There I was, pinned, not able to move an inch. No family in sight, no friends to hear my cries for help. I was just surrounded by chaos.
Black Friday isn't for the faint hearted. It takes a special breed of bargain shoppers — shoppers who understand that in order to save a few bucks, you need to have a game plan and prepare to be elbow-to-elbow with your fellow shoppers.
We read the same stories about Black Friday every year: people get trampled, pepper sprayed and even stabbed.
They're the stories journalists report on and society loves to read, but it doesn't take these extreme instances for people to get hurt.
When I went Black Friday shopping this year, the store full of people recovering from their holiday feasts turned into animals pouncing on their prey as the sales took effect. The crowd pushed its way toward $10 griddles, pinning me between my shopping cart and shelves. I tried to push my way through the herd, but it wasn't until an older gentleman — and I do mean gentleman — helped me, that I was free.
Across the store, my brother-in-law witnessed a teenager get trampled, causing her to crash into a video game display. Instead of making sure she was OK, people went about their business, grabbing whatever cases they could.
And for what? For a $15 video game or a $3 waffle maker.
I love a good deal as much as the next person — otherwise I wouldn't set foot in a store the weekend after Thanksgiving. But at what cost?
Throughout the night as I inched my way down the aisles, I heard multiple people say things like, "People are so stupid," or "These crowds are ridiculous."
Those people are right.
We've gotten so crazy that deals are no longer reserved for the day after Thanksgiving. Deals start Thursday night and don't end until Saturday, while some people opt for online deals on Cyber Monday, so they can avoid massive crowds.
It's time for common sense and courtesy.
Black Friday is over, but sales for the holiday season are just beginning. Hanukkah and Christmas are less than a month away, which means we'll probably make several more trips to the mall before the season's over.
When our loved ones open gifts, we don't think about the price tag or the woman in the store we fought with to get it. Instead, we think about how their faces light up with excitement. Let's remember what the season is really about and show more courtesy when we're vying for their gifts.
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