To be shocked at the dickheads in the Black Friday riots.

[NomorepepperpigPLEASE]

Woke up to lots of videos on my news feed of people actually brawling over tvs. Police men holding on to items while grown adults are trying rip it out of their arms. Men and women actually pulling, pushing and climbing on items with £30 off!

I feel sorry for the shop workers today. What A bunch of animals.

It makes me cross that people are so obsessed with 'bargains' on a specific day, it's consumerism gone mad. I mean each to their own but rioting and hurting other people? Really? For a tv? Fuck's sake

YANBU op

"people are more important than products!"

I feel a bit sorry for the people who have to do this and I'm not usually the soft hearted type. But to have to take part in a rugby scrum to save a few pounds you must be quite desperate. I suppose nobody could have anticipated this madness.

This has been going on in the US (where I'm from originally) for years and it's so depressing, it's too bad it's invading Britain now too (sorry! we suck!)

In the US people do actually die occasionally, trampled or shot (of course)

It's not desperation. The things you see people fighting over are not necessities, it's TVs and games and fancy clothes.

But I suppose it is another kind of desperation, that people want nice things and feel this is the only way they can get them. People don't have any sense anymore that the future will be an improvement and maybe they can have nice things down the line.

Was in a large M and S, sainsburys and Next this morning and it was fine, busy but not crowded

I don't know what is wrong with some people

I don't generally pay attention to sales and discount days so I have never seen any of this attitude live as it were

Have seen it on american sitcoms and the news though

For those of you worried about the shops today, I was doing small-town shopping earlier, and it was lovely. The shops were quiet and there was much more parking than usual. Presumably a good percentage of normal Friday trade had gone bargain-hunting in bigger places.

agree YYYY depressing greedy dickheads

if you look at DM online there are 2 women brawling over a TV in asda wembley what do you expect

everyone has summed it up, i just join you in pouring my scorn upon their greediness

We should make retailers pay for the extra policing required, like football clubs. That will make them think.

I work in a supermarket and thankfully it was civil this morning. But, our sales didn't start until 8am and we had people queueing at 5.45

We had professional security and they separated the "Black Friday" bit from the rest of the store. People were let in in groups of ten, and that was it. It was all over by about ten.

It's very depressing indeed and makes me sad. It is not desperation. Desperation is when people who have nothing to eat, and no food for their children, are fighting over food aid, the result of the fight determining whether someone lives or dies. Not people who already have a television fighting to get a few quid off a newer one.

I think it's such a shame we have to copy the Americans all the time.

And I work Fridays so have no chance to do it!

I think it is a mixture of things:

Rampant consumerism where 'things' are valued more highly than people and their rights and dignity

Irresponsible promotion by shops - see the Tesco's Ad: 'come on down - we've got LOADS!!!!!!' - get stuck in type of stuff

Sheer greed

Desperation - yes - if you buy a tv with £80 off and can sell it on and make £50 on it then that is a weeks food shopping for many

I agree with DreamingBohemian:

"But I suppose it is another kind of desperation, that people want nice things and feel this is the only way they can get them. People don't have any sense anymore that the future will be an improvement and maybe they can have nice things down the line."

It's not just 'yobs' either - you should have SEEN the scrum outside Ikea Edinburgh when it first opened and the Queues for those American doughnuts that come in fancy boxes when they first 'came to Scotland' (as we are known to be not averse to sweetmeats) were completely insane!

The funny thing is the deals usually aren't that great, people just like the idea of a bargain. Buying shit they don't need with money they don't have.

Saying that I bought something at jl online. Had been thinking about buying it, the nuritbullet and it is cheaper today than its ever been before. Still I do kinda need it...

I've just been shopping (for normal stuff not black Friday bargains), but we were in a large shopping centre and it was nothing like this.

It was busy but not noticeably more so than a normal Friday.

We didn't even realise it was black Friday until we noticed posters in some of the shops.

But most of those had signs that said "black Friday 25% off from 26 Nov - 30 Nov" which also makes no sense. That's not a black Friday event, it's a five day sale.

you hit it with that fightclub quote and as for:And that's the mumsnet friendly words, not the ones I am actually thinking, cos that would get me banned

agree!!!!! I think people have very much restrained themselves here

America can take this one back!

I am really confused as to how Black Friday has even become a UK event. It's all part of the US holiday as most people have the day off work, just like the UK Boxing Day sales. In the UK, it's just a normal working day. What is the point?!

It's a mee-dea creation for the terminally dim and for stores to sell stuff.

WetAugust has got it. Shops selling stuff you don't need and didn't know you wanted at a discount so they can get your money from you. Pathetic.

I think this is an almost inevitable result of the constant barrage of advertising we're subjected to. Everywhere you bloody look, someone is trying to sell you their product.

In everyday life people try (to a greater or lesser extent) to tune it out, remind themselves that they don't need whatever it is, they can't afford it, the money'd be better saved for something else. But when everything is significantly discounted, they see all these items as suddenly being within their reach - for a short time only - and it's wow, got to grab the opportunity quick because it won't come round again. Tomorrow all the things they've been programmed to desire will become inaccessible again, so they don't even think, they just go all out to grab the stuff while they can.

And probably most people don't go out planning to riot, but if one person gets grabby then everybody starts to worry about the prize being snatched away from them.

It's not needing a new TV, and I don't even think it's wanting to impress the neighbours with a new TV. It's spending a lifetime being given insidious little messages that a new TV is enormously desirable. We all like to think we're proof against that crap, but we're not really.

I've had about 10 marketing emails for this from different companies just today It's stealth marketing.

Just disgraceful.Like animals. If they where starving people fighting over food I could understand it.But TVs. Horrified that this happens in Britain today.

Britain or America? It's getting difficult to tell the difference.

I decided last New Year to only buy absolute essentials. So, the total clothing I have bought this year is one fleece and one bra. I am using up the stash of rarely worn items I acquired over the years while worshipping at the cathedral of consumerism.
It's quite liberating and very healthy for the bank account,