Why I Don't Shop on the Day After Thanksgiving

[Doghouse 0]

Dave, is that beer glass registered, and are you licensed to carry it? Seriously though, retailers who run these sales from 4 am to 8 am are only setting things up so this sort of thing can happen. There is absolutely no reason they can't open on their regular business hours, and run those sales for a week or even longer. That would go a long way with reducing that mob of tired, unthinking, frustrated and desperate gang of people. Hasn't anyone heard of shopping online? Sales come during the whole year, why wait till after thanksgiving to start shopping? Save gas, save lives, save time, save wear and tear on your car, save money and save your sanity by staying out of this situation in the first place. We as consumers have a hand in this by allowing ourselves to play this game too. If nobody showed up for those stupid early morning sales, retailers would be forced to rethink the whole thing.

[+Jarhead1 27]

I do agree that shootouts are not good Canadair but if u take guns away from lawabiding citizens and criminals dont mind the laws and still have the guns, then what is the law abiding citizen supposed to do? Point their finger at the criminal that breaks into their house and is threatening them and say BOOM, ur dead? Come on, think about it. Ur just screwing the citizens over and taking away their RIGHT to protect themselves, their well being, and their families well being and livelyhood.

[serverandenforcer 33]

I do agree that shootouts are not good Canadair but if u take guns away from lawabiding citizens and criminals dont mind the laws and still have the guns, then what is the law abiding citizen supposed to do? Point their finger at the criminal that breaks into their house and is threatening them and say BOOM, ur dead? Come on, think about it. Ur just screwing the citizens over and taking away their RIGHT to protect themselves, their well being, and their families well being and livelyhood.

 

 

Just to add to the reality of why that right is nescessary. Several months ago, while my dad was in the backyard working on the garden, the cops were chasing some guy around my neighborhood. Well, apparently, the guy decided to try to lose the cops by going through people's backyards, including mine. It just happened to be by dumb luck that I was out there cleaning my FNP.40 just about done puting it back together and about to do a function check when this guy jumped over the fence between my house and my neighbors house. I quickly loaded up a mag that I had in my gun box on the ground next to me and aimed at the moron ready to shoot and yelled some form of profanity at him, suggesting that his life expectancy has two possibilities depending on how wise he gets in the next 2 seconds. Of course, I didn't shoot him, but the a-hole stopped dead in his tracks staring down the barrel of a .40, with his hands in the air. My dad (who is not at all crazy about me having a gun) was kneeling on the ground next to him ready to plant some flowers in, completely stunned by what had just happened. The cops got him and hooked him up and I shook hands with them. The guy apparently had warrants for armed robbery and assualt with a deadly weapon (and yes, he was armed when I drew down on him). Now, if I didn't have a gun, a lot of different things could have happened, the guy could've kept on running and the cops would have had a harder time catching him, or, worst case scenario, he could've held my dad hostage and killed him.

 

The fact of the matter is, this is a dangerous world and it will always be one. There is nothing that anyone can really do to make it safer except the extermination of humanity. You can't outlaw weapons to make it safer. All you do is just make more laws to break for the bad guys (who really don't care about laws in the first place), and make life a lot scarier for those of us who abide by the laws. I have been in situations, that have been extremely scary and dangerous, in which the cops had a response time of about 1 hour. Not good if you're not allowed to carry a weapon to defend your self. If you don't want a gun, fine, that's your right. But don't keep me from being able to defend myself, and maybe, in some weird case of chance and irony, to defend you. You think making it illegal to manufacture weapons in the states will curb the problem? I got two words for you... Black Market. I got another two words... Illegal Imports (in which firearms are illegall imported into the U.S. from other countries - oh, and btw, this happens a lot, and if you knew what was being illegally imported, you'd crap your pants). Our EOD team just uncovered a burried cache of Zunnie rockets out behind some guys house (who apparently never knew that there was anything burried back there). That's just barely a chip off of the extremes of what's getting illegally processed into the United States. So, you might want to really think long and hard if disarming citizens is a smart move. Oh, and btw, the primary weapon offenders in the U.S. are not U.S. citizens (such as the guy that I stopped).

Edited December 3, 2008 by serverandenforcer

[+Fates 63]

 

If Benjamin Franklin only had his way....this would be the national bird.

[scouserlad13 0]

Guns dont kill people, people kill people.

 

If I take my 9mm and throw it on the floor and leave it there.....it will do nothing. Nothing at all. It will continue to do nothing until a person does something with it.

 

The number 1 assault weapon in England is the beer glass. So should beer glasses be banned? So Canadair, its the people that are the jack ass'es. Ok I am in a pub right now having a pint with a few friends so lets keep the thread civil please.

 

 

Really? I would have thought a knife was, what with all the knife crime going on. I think its shocking the amount of kids that get killed by knives.

[scouserlad13 0]

I do agree that shootouts are not good Canadair but if u take guns away from lawabiding citizens and criminals dont mind the laws and still have the guns, then what is the law abiding citizen supposed to do? Point their finger at the criminal that breaks into their house and is threatening them and say BOOM, ur dead? Come on, think about it. Ur just screwing the citizens over and taking away their RIGHT to protect themselves, their well being, and their families well being and livelyhood.

 

 

What is the homeonwer supposed to do with the gun, shoot the tresspasser? I know that would seem the likely option, but a while ago now, a man in the UK had his house broken into, so what does the homeowner do, he goes downstairs, and shoots the intruder, which resulted in the intruders death. The homeowner got sent down for murder. We have disscussed this topic in my classes. Personally, i say that if a home gets broken into and the homeowner has a right to defend hiself by shooting the intruder then go for it, but we have to face the facts, if the intruder ends up dead, you will be sent down for murder.

[Ruggbutt 45]

.............a man in the UK..................if the intruder ends up dead, you will be sent down for murder.

The laws are different everywhere. If you're in fear of physical harm or death you're allowed to use "up to" deadly force to protect yourself. Especially if the intruder is carrying a weapon. At least thats the case here in the states in most of the states. Some states will crucify you but here in Arizona anyone can carry a pistol openly as long as it's in a holster.

[Roopod 0]

This is why we stay home on black friday, as well as all places where mobs congregate for despicable purposes such as sales at such retail giants. It's also why I don't buy from that chain of stores. The sign that read "Blitz line" showed that the actions resulting in death and injuries were premeditated along with the conditioning by the national media for the expectation of the bizarre animal type behavior being exploited as consumerism. The type of exploitation I've seen done leading up to riots in cities over the last few decades too. This type of mob mentality has been seen across the globe in other countries as well so I wonder how some seem to only associate it with the U.S. or black friday. One final thought to the 2nd Ammendment bashing that I like to bring up is how grateful I am to my ancestors for moving to the United States of America so long ago. I'm also grateful that I am free to defend my life as well as my families with a firearm that so many other countries forbid their own citizens to do. The millions of incidents where lives were saved by law-abiding citizens goes mostly unrecorded in the official national record for mostly politically correct reasons, unfortunatly.

 

"Before a standing army can rule, the people must be disarmed; as they are in almost every kingdom of Europe."

Noah Webster, 1787

 

"The Constitution preserves the advantage of being armed which Americans possess over the people of almost every other nation... (where) the governments are afraid to trust the people with arms."

James Madison (4th U.S. President)

[Fubar512 1,350]

Black Friday has become the national holiday of the FRRAA (Free Range Rude Arsehole Association). They, in concert with the ADL (Anti Destination League), team up to kick off the Christmas and Holiday season, with a one-two punch.

 

You first encounter the ADL on almost every major road. Their mission in life is simple, to do their absolute best to ensure that one does not make it to their destination in one piece, or at the very least, without being aggravated by their lack of courtesy and common sense, while driving.

 

If one manages to run the ADL gauntlet, and successfully makes it to their destination (say, a shopping mall), they will then be greeted by the FRRAA. There is obviously some overlap between the two groups, as one might initially see FRRAA members behind the wheel, blocking the access roads to and from mall parking lots while attempting to find a parking spot nearest the mall entrance. They have been known to sit for hours, waiting for that certain spot to open, despite the availability of several hundred open parking slots (that are all within reasonable walking distance of the mall entrance). Perhaps this explains why many of the FRRAA also tend to exhibit the symptoms of LA (Lardass). And this is just the beginning.....

 

Once inside the mall, one immediately notices a similarity between FRRAA family units;

 

Husband: overweight, disheveled appearance, deficit in the personal hygiene department, and attempting to make up for the latter by bathing in copious quantities of cheap aftershave or cologne. Moves in a sloth-like manner, denoting a total reliance on lower brain-functions. If one should be so lucky as to secure the services (or at least the attention of) of a sales clerk, FRRAA husband always seems to find a way to rudely interrupt the clerk who is right in the middle of explaining the advantages of one large screen television over another.

 

Wife: Shrill, and often quite large (approximate girth equaling or surpassing that of her spouse). Her attitude leaves no doubt as to her role as master and commander of the family unit's shopping "expedition"; extremely rude, resorts to communicating in banshee-like tones while simultaneously swatting at her equally rude and undisciplined progeny. FRRAA wife gets under your skin by rudely cutting in front of you at the checkout line, and then, leaving her shopping cart as a place holder in said line, while she runs off on on excursion to the outermost, hereto unexplored regions of the store, in search of that "special" gift for herself (such as a thong meant for someone half her diameter)....

 

I won't even go as far as describing their offspring, as that would just be mean.

[GwynO 16]

What is the homeonwer supposed to do with the gun, shoot the tresspasser? I know that would seem the likely option, but a while ago now, a man in the UK had his house broken into, so what does the homeowner do, he goes downstairs, and shoots the intruder, which resulted in the intruders death. The homeowner got sent down for murder. We have disscussed this topic in my classes. Personally, i say that if a home gets broken into and the homeowner has a right to defend hiself by shooting the intruder then go for it, but we have to face the facts, if the intruder ends up dead, you will be sent down for murder.

 

 

That scenario is one that I totally agree with, I am all for people owning guns and having them at home for home protection, find a burglar and point the gun, if he moves threateningly kill him, and the interesting thing is that if you had a gun, no matter the legality of the gun, it would be legal for you to kill the burglar with your gun if you could prove that you had reason to believe your life was in danger. (Principle of instant arming) However what Tony Martin did wrong in the eyes of the law is that he didn't only shoot at them in the house, he followed them as they were running away from his house and kept shooting. It is hard to defend yourself in court that you were acting in self defence when the attacker is running away from you when you shoot! What made it much much worse for him is that he hid the gun and went on the run. If he had called the police, chances are that the burglar would have been taken to hospital and survived, even if he didn't it would have stood a much better chance of getting him a non custodial sentence or even no sentence at all.

[Ruggbutt 45]

he followed them as they were running away from his house and kept shooting. It is hard to defend yourself in court that you were acting in self defence when the attacker is running away from you when you shoot!

That wouldn't fly here as well. Once the threat has ceased you have no rights to use force. For the record, I was a CCW instructor for the state of Arizona for many years.

[GwynO 16]

That wouldn't fly here as well. Once the threat has ceased you have no rights to use force. For the record, I was a CCW instructor for the state of Arizona for many years.

 

sometimes I wish we had concealed carry for certain types of jobs here too! I have been a security guard for the past 4 years and the job I have tomorrow is fairly daunting. Philosophically I'd rather that all guns were at home, at the range or other suitable place and not on the street but in practice of course, life as we know it runs not to the writ of philosophical thinking. Not long to go for me now thoug, I'm finally getting out of this insane job!! We can't even have cs spray or batons, not even mag lite in the day time!! Even worse, we are discouraged from wearing protective vests as they appear "threatening" to the public.

 

I must say though, in all my time, it isn't guns that are the main weapon here in the UK, it is fists and knives on the street and bottles in the pubs and clubs. Luckily for me, I have survived encounters with each of the above on more than one occasion.

[serverandenforcer 33]

sometimes I wish we had concealed carry for certain types of jobs here too! I have been a security guard for the past 4 years and the job I have tomorrow is fairly daunting. Philosophically I'd rather that all guns were at home, at the range or other suitable place and not on the street but in practice of course, life as we know it runs not to the writ of philosophical thinking. Not long to go for me now thoug, I'm finally getting out of this insane job!! We can't even have cs spray or batons, not even mag lite in the day time!! Even worse, we are discouraged from wearing protective vests as they appear "threatening" to the public.

 

I must say though, in all my time, it isn't guns that are the main weapon here in the UK, it is fists and knives on the street and bottles in the pubs and clubs. Luckily for me, I have survived encounters with each of the above on more than one occasion.

 

 

Mab, get out of that job ASAP! I take it that it's security for a shopping center, right? I used to do that and it was a horrible experience for me. They won't cover you if you make a very minor mistake, and they will blow it way out of proportion as if you had killed someone. Also, they will give the least amount of assistance if you get hurt. And more importantly, they're not really focues on security as much as public image to get more customers. That's why they don't want you to wear a vest. It doesn't sell, and for them, they're more interested in making money than making sure that you're safe. The only private seucrity companys that will allow you to protect your self are armored transports (the guys that deliver cash from point-A to point-B), closed facilities, and escort services (of very various kinds). Armored transports will pay you the least amount. Closed facilities is a little bit more higher up, but not by much. Escort services (which can range from VIP to convoys in war torn countries - like Black Water) will pay you a very hefty amount of cash (average $300,000.00 per job - which can be 6 months long), but they can be one of the most dangerous, and some of them have specialized training that you have to pay for, and it is extremely expensive.

[GwynO 16]

Mab, get out of that job ASAP! I take it that it's security for a shopping center, right? I used to do that and it was a horrible experience for me. They won't cover you if you make a very minor mistake, and they will blow it way out of proportion as if you had killed someone. Also, they will give the least amount of assistance if you get hurt. And more importantly, they're not really focues on security as much as public image to get more customers. That's why they don't want you to wear a vest. It doesn't sell, and for them, they're more interested in making money than making sure that you're safe. The only private seucrity companys that will allow you to protect your self are armored transports (the guys that deliver cash from point-A to point-B), closed facilities, and escort services (of very various kinds). Armored transports will pay you the least amount. Closed facilities is a little bit more higher up, but not by much. Escort services (which can range from VIP to convoys in war torn countries - like Black Water) will pay you a very hefty amount of cash (average $300,000.00 per job - which can be 6 months long), but they can be one of the most dangerous, and some of them have specialized training that you have to pay for, and it is extremely expensive.

 

Check your pm in a couple minutes, don't want to hijack this thread further