Two days into the Christmas shopping season, and things are already getting nasty:
For decades, the day after Thanksgiving has been called simply Black Friday, because it is the unofficial start of the holiday shopping season, when retailers supposedly move into the black, or start turning a profit.
But bargain hunters competing for scarce quantities of ?doorbuster? discounts have given this day an increasingly sharp-elbowed, close-fisted and purse-swinging edge.
Shortly after midnight yesterday, an estimated 15,000 shoppers pushed and shoved their way into the Fashion Place mall in Murray, Utah. Police soon joined them, responding to reports of nine skirmishes.
Once inside, shoppers ransacked stores, overturning piles of clothes as they looked for bargains. A retailer?s dream ? too many customers! ? quickly turned into a nightmare, forcing store clerks to shut their doors, and only let people in after others left. The mall even briefly closed its outside doors to avoid a fire hazard.
?It?s like a mosh pit,? said Lexie Dewegel, 19. ?You get pushed everywhere.?
Is this a shopping mall or a Ozzy Osbourne concert ? And, believe it or not, people are still fighting over Tickle-Me-Elmo:
At 6 a.m. yesterday morning in Times Square, a line of shoppers several hundred deep burst through the doors of Toys ?R? Us and promptly formed a second, equally long line to buy the $40 T.M.X. Elmo (Tickle Me Elmo Version No. 10).
The familiar Elmo-induced panic ensued ? pushing, shouting, grabbing ? until the dolls sold out and a frustrated crowd fanned out across the store in search of a substitute. ?Complete madness,? said a 16-year-old, Ray Robinson, who snatched one of the last Elmos.
A 16 year old with a Tickle-Me-Elmo. I really hope it was a gift for someone else.
Meanwhile, George Will recalls when the day after Thanksgiving was far less complicated.
