Black Friday

The Front Porch would like to offer you a safe haven from the Black Friday madness. Don’t risk getting trampled – come see us and avoid the long lines!

Here’s a tweet that has been bouncing around the twit-o-sphere today. It reads: “Black Friday: because only in America people trample each other for sales exactly one day after being thankful for what they already have.”

The anti-consumption sentiment strikes a chord with many. But do shoppers really trample each other on Black Friday?

It’s happened at least once: In 2008, Walmart worker in Valley Stream, N.Y., was crushed to death when some 2,000 early-morning shoppers ripped doors off hinges and surged into the store in search of Black Friday deals. As the Boston Globe reports Thursday, Walmart is still battling the $7,000 fine by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration for the incident.

And last year, in another notorious incident at Walmart, a shopper pepper sprayed her fellow bargain huntersat a Los Angeles store. Apparently, she really wanted that Xbox 360.

Still, these incidents tend to be the exception rather than the rule. CBS News posted a rundown of Black Friday injuries in recent years, and most of the perpetrators are robbers, not frenzied shoppers.

In any case, avoid all of the madness altogether, and come get some whisky instead!