The sales weren't THAT good!

I knew there was a reason I didn't want to get up at 4am to try and get in on those "Super-Duper Once A Year Prices!!!". I got the local newspaper and looked through the ads for anything I thought I couldn't pass up, and guess what? There was nothing, Nada, zilch. Absolutely no deals that were so awesome that I HAD to be at some store or another at 4am, 5am, or even the less shocking 6am. There were a few great deals, but nothing earth shattering so I decided to keep to my normal routine and got up just in time to be at work by 10am.
The ex-husband was the first to call me this morning to tell me that in New York state a man who worked at the local Wal-Mart there was trampled to death and a mother-to-be was trampled enough to be sent to the hospital (she and baby are ok, news reports are saying). The mob of 200 shoppers tore the doors right off of the hinges, and didn't even stop entering the store so the paramedics could help the injured. Later, I hear a 60 year old man punched a 14 year old girl in the face at one of our local stores over an MP3 player. Now I just read an incident near LA in which shots were fired and two people died in a Toys-R-Us store. What the Hell??!! Come on people... is someones life less important than saving ten dollars on some electronic gadget, or even a few hundred on a new computer system?
I think I was more shocked at the local punching than the other two events. Here in Montana, we are generally pretty laid back. Sure, many of my neighbors left their warm homes to stand in line at the shop of their choice, but if the item they were after happened to be snatched up before they were able to get to it, that's the way it goes. They would shrug and go on to the next item on their lists. I know for many local folks, if they run into a long lost friend they would choose to go have coffee and catch up, opting to go shopping on another day.
So, here I sit... shaking my head at all the nonsense this "Black Friday" has created. I think next year the media should dub the day after Thanksgiving "Black and Blue Friday". Chances are, I will not be out shopping next year, either.