An effective consumer is one who takes the job seriously and that means (in America) approaching the doors at WalMart on "Black Friday" well-armed. Otherwise you're are not supporting the system(s) we have set up in this country to mesh consumer activities with our economy, our politics, and our system of take-no-prisoners partisanship.
Matthew Lopez went to the Wal-Mart in Porter Ranch on Thursday night for the Black Friday sale but instead was caught in a pepper-spray attack by a woman who authorities said was "competitive shopping."
Lopez described a chaotic scene in the San Fernando Valley store among shoppers looking for video games soon after the sale began.
"I heard screaming and I heard yelling," said Lopez, 18. "Moments later, my throat stung. I was coughing really bad and watering up."
Lopez said customers were already in the store when a whistle signaled the start of Black Friday at 10 p.m., sending shoppers hurtling in search of deeply discounted items.
By the time Lopez arrived at the video games, the display had been torn down. Employees attempted to hold back the scrum of shoppers and pick up merchandise even as customers trampled the video games and DVDs strewn on the floor.
"It was absolutely crazy," he said. ...LATimes
