Friday, November 29, 2013

Black Friday Rant


As I stepped out of  Kia Baby early AM Saturday for my weekly speed shop in Wal-Mart I thought YOWSA! What is That?

Sitting beside the door of Wal-Mart , was this Mobile Police Station the likes of which I have never seen before.

I snapped 3 quick shots,  and I heard a giggle and a young girl sitting up against the wall in the corner, said "I wondered where the flashes were coming from."

 I said "I know WHAT this is but WHY is it here".... She Said.....



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UPDATE at 10 AM on Friday to this post... 22 million shoppers went to 4100 Walmart stores on Thanksgiving Day.
The fact we need a mobile police station at Wal-Mart is a scary thing to me.
and this is why it is there.




Talk about BLACK MOMENTS... our news is telling us that there are 40,000 homeless in our county.... they are struggling to feed them and to set up shelters for the cold that hit us on Thanksgiving Day...

But HEY... you will be glad to know the Elephants from the Circus at the state fair had a big Thanksgiving Meal...and Americans PAID to watch them eat it..

Our country is is Black Mode and it has nothing to do with Friday... Greed is rampant and people can't stay home and enjoy Thanksgiving because they are camped on sidewalks in tents waiting for SALES... it is all about expensive things, forget the love of others.

And be sure to miss part of the day we give thanks for what we HAVE to go out and buy MORE.

Please take me back to the fifties again, when a new pair of shoes and a cheap doll was all I got and thought it was a treasure.

I took a name from the Christmas Tree at the YMCA for a 16 year old. Her Christmas list was a shirt and pants and a Spanish/English dictionary. I searched Wal-Mart high and low for the dictionary, they only have it ONLINE because NO ONE USES THEM ANYMORE... they USE Computers... that is what I was told.
I said not everyone in America has a computer. And she said most people do now-days... BAH HUMBUG Wal-Mart. I drove to Books-A Million and bought one.



30 comments:

DeniseinVA said...

I have never seen a mobile police station before. I won't be going out today. I was happy to see you were buying clothes for a 16 year old. My son who works in retail said that in their store most of the gifts on their angel tree were being bought for the real young children and the older ones were being ignored. He and I will be giving to those older kids in need.

Catherine said...

A mobile police station at Wal-mart? Perhaps they are getting ready for the season of shop-lifting. Christmas. LOL! Well that's kind of sad actually.
xo Catherine

From the Kitchen said...

We had a nice, relaxing Thanksgiving--visiting, conversing, eating! No one left to shop. No shopping for me today either. There's nothing I want enough to risk the mob scene.

Best,
Bonnie

Amy Burzese said...

Amen, sister. Truly sad. Greed. Entitlement. And a lot of it is competition too. The "I gotta get it first and better" mentality.

Kim@stuffcould.... said...

I think the same about the greed. Walmart and a police station, umm?

TexWisGirl said...

glad you found the 'book' dictionary. we've had those lookouts at the malls for years, here. not surprised walmart needs 'em, too.

Inger said...

Thank you for this beautiful, heartfelt, compassionate, thoughtful, and truthful rant. And for getting that dictionary for the girl. You have such a good heart.

Linda said...

Oh, my GOODNESS!! That is just crazy!! I'm not a big shopper - unless it's a thrift store or Goodwill! You are so right - we are a greedy people by nature. This is just so sad......

photowannabe said...

Preach it Sandra.
The greed and selfishness says a lot about the American reputation.
I was so happy just so stay home and enjoy my family and the wonderful meal we shared.
We talked about the things we were thankful for in this past year. Very wonderful and heart-warming.
The guys watched football and the rest of us watched some great Hallmark type stories. Good times with pumpkin pie and turkey.

Ruth Hiebert said...

We really do have our priorities all messed up. Canada is right in there with the rest. What ever happened to plain old decent and quality family time,let alone,love for God and respect for each other.

Ginny Hartzler said...

What a wonderful Black Friday post this is!!! I could never match it! I would never have guessed the why of that police station!!! Do they come down or stay up there so they can get a bird's eye view of the violence? Those elephants look really happy! You are awesome for thinking of that girl with no computer, THAT is what Christmas and the spirit of giving is all about!

diane b said...

It is a sad state of affairs the way some people behave. Great post/rant.

Ann said...

a mobile police station, never seen one but that's pretty sad that it's necessary. Pitiful that in the season of giving people will go to
ANY lengths to give. Some will give till it hurts without consideration of WHO it hurts. I for one would love to see a simpler Christmas.

Debby@Just Breathe said...

That video upset me so much. I can't stand that people actually do that. I did shop one deal online at Kohl's on Thursday after dinner but that was it. The elephants made me smile!

SquirrelQueen said...

From what I understand most Walmarts, including the one here, had cops on hand. I read that Twitter has been blazing all day with tweets about the violence. One tweet said something like, "Black Friday is our Hunger Games." It is pretty disgusting. We didn't even leave the house today.

There are a few good people left out there, this story from right here in our state made me smile.
http://news.yahoo.com/photos/farwell-elementary-tradition-provides-thanksgiving-photo-174054685.html

Teach children the importance of helping one another and hopefully they will continue it as they grow up.

Good for you on tracking down the dictionary! I always choose an older child too.

Betsy Banks Adams said...

I am totally in agreement... It's ridiculous what is happening in our country....The news reports these days talk about our economy being so bad --and that people are struggling... HA---just look at how much money is spent/wasted on crap which most people don't need.... Drives me insane!!!!

On my FB post this morning, I put this 'cartoon': Black Friday: Because only in American, people trample others for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.

Kinda sad, isn't it????? I heard that someone died today at a Walmart somewhere after being trampled...

Hugs,
Betsy

Angela said...

I've never seen that and if I did I'd probably be scared to go into the store at all with it there! We drove by a local WalMart on our way home from having dinner at my sister's house. The parking lot was completely full and was overflowing across the road into the Lowe's parking lot! You couldn't pay me to go in there! Most of the things they put on sale aren't really that great of deals anyway. And to rant more, I seen where they say it cost around $46 to feed 10 people a Thanksgiving dinner and people are complaining that it cost too much! You don't hear them complain about paying to eat out which cost us a family of 4 right around $25 to eat at McDonalds. You times that by 10 people and that is way more! I found one of those dictionaries you were looking for at a local library that has a book sale. I bought it for my daughter who is taking Spanish right now. Bless your heart for getting her those things. Our church has taken on families for Christmas before and I'm afraid that these kids are asking for big ticket items which most kids do but I'm with you I was happy to get a doll and a sled for Christmas one year. And I played with my toys. Kids today only play with the video game type toys. It's a different world.

Marie said...

It's all so ridiculous! So many people are self-centered and really missing what matters.
We donated food to the needy for Thanksgiving and we always give to children in need at Christmas through Chick-fil-A and sometimes more.
Hope you all enjoyed your dinner. :)

Susannah said...

Hi Sandra, Boy oh Boy...you are right on target with this post. These are all the things that have been bugging me today, too. Although, I guess there were a ton of people out shopping today but the news said there was no trouble and the people were civilized!!!!! Kim and Todd went out at 7:15 this morning and she called me and said it was great shopping ...not many crowds a all. They left at about 11 and it was getting busy then. I'VE GOT TO FIND A FEW THINGS FOR jIM BUT OTHER THAN THAT THEY ALL WANT MONEUY SO THAT IS MOSTLY WHAT THEY ARE GETTING!!!

RoeH said...

I couldn't agree more!! I hate this "black Friday" business more than just about anything I can think of. It degenerates Christmas into something totally disgusting. All those people fighting over some stupid purchase. I truly with that there could be some federal mandate that would eliminate this crap that ruins Thanksgiving and Christmas both. Until this country can get back to what Christmas really is and means, it is lost. Sorry for the rant but this stuff just infuriates me.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sandra, I am with you on everything you wrote in this post. We have sadly become a nation of wants vs. needs and retailers have fed into that so well. We went nowhere this weekend, bought nothing and gave thanks. And, I too remember the days past when it was not about the gifts received which were so modest and yet people were happier then.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

One of our local news channels posted a video on facebook of people having a free for all over cheap towels. I did have to go and get a few groceries, but I missed the crowds...thankfully! I second everything you said in this post!

Willow said...

Never seen such a mobile police station before , was an interesting yet odd sight . I don't but into the hype myself , just keep to the simpler life.

LindyLouMac said...

Crazy times indeed!

Laura Delegal - Leroy Photography said...

I have a 13 YO as my angel this year. She wants a jacket, flannel nightgown, watch, earrings, and socks. So simple to meet a need. I know all will be much appreciated.

Mersad said...

I don't know how people can do this to themselves. I don't care how low the prices are, violence like that in the video is never justified or necessary. This is certainly not what Thanksgiving should be about.

Mersad
Mersad Donko Photography

EG CameraGirl said...

Crazy for sure, Sandra. I was visiting Upstate New York over Thanksgiving and heard some of the horror stories on the news. I wish I could say Canada was a lot better...but I can't. We had a three day "Black Friday" here to try to keep Canadian shoppers on this side of the U.S./Canadian border.

What's even more crazy about this shopping frenzy is that the prices are artificially increased BEFORE the sale so the stores can sell the "bargains" on Black Friday. A NY TV station showed the sales prices of certain "hot" items at different sales during the year and Black Friday is truly no better than any other sales. Hmmm.

DawnTreader said...

My computer froze and gave an awful noise when I tried to watch that video two days ago. Thought I'd have to remove the battery in the laptop to stop it... But then it did stop anyway. I cleared my browsing history and cookies and ran a couple of security checks,then all seemed okay. I still suspect something may be wrong with that website though so dare not click on that again. On top of all I then tried to send you an email with this message - but the day after got it returned with Failure Notice. Made me wonder if you'd had a crash too - but I see you've put in another post now so I suppose not!

Grandma C said...

Well said! It is nice to see other bloggers feeling the same way.
The over commercialization of the holidays on TV and internet this year bugged me so much I deleted all my "Black Friday" emails.
The gift I remember most from my childhood was a doll house both of my parents worked for months on together and hid in the garage till Christmas morning.

Betty Manousos said...

couldn't agree more. great post/rant, sandra!
our greedy nature will kill us all. i bought nothing this weekend.


how wonderful you got the dictionary for the girl.