Last night, I wrote something here on the site about the various Black Friday-related Occupy actions planned for today. At the time, it occurred to me that, if protesters really wanted to convey to people what’s at stake at this moment in American history, as they wait all night outside of stores like Best Buy, the best way might be though a generous burst of pepper spray. I was going to suggest that people dress up in John Pike outfits, and saunter down the sidewalk in front of their local big box stores, blasting people in the eyes, while saying, “don’t worry, it’s just a food product.” Of course, I wouldn’t really have wanted anyone to do that. I was just thinking that, maybe, if people knew how bad it hurt to be pepper sprayed, they might be a little less likely to dismiss the point-blank spraying of students, the next time an attractive blonde talking head on Fox News tells them that it’s not so bad. Anyway, as it turns out, some late night campers did get sprayed as they rushed in to claim their goods at an LA Wal-Mart this morning. It wasn’t Occupiers that did the spraying, though. Here’s a clip.
A woman shot pepper spray to keep shoppers from merchandise she wanted during a Black Friday sale, and 20 people suffered minor injuries, authorities said.
The incident occurred shortly after 10:20 p.m. Thursday in a crowded Los Angeles-area Walmart as shoppers hungry for deals were let inside the store….
[note: I wasn’t going to reference the Megyn “pepper spray is a food product” Kelly meme here, as I don’t think it’s fair. As much as I dislike Kelly, in this particular case, I don’t think she deserves the condemnation. Yes, the phrase, when taken out of context, is terrible. But, having watched the whole conversation, I don’t think that was her intention. Still, though, the quote is asinine, so I decided to include it in this post.]
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Speaking of Wal-Mart, Occupy Ann Arbor protesters are now broadcasting live from inside one.
The stream was interrupted after ten seconds by a long ad for Clinique make up.
Yeah, I probably should have mentioned that., Bob. I liked the irony.
Some great footage of Black Friday insanity.
http://gawker.com/5862663/jaw+dropping-scenes-of-this-years-crazed-black-friday-crowds/gallery/1
If you think Black Friday footage is terrifying, just wait until we have food riots in this country.
It’s funny, just sad that even the revolution gets co-opted. The revolution will be televised…on pay-per-view.
I don’t know that I’d say “co-opted,” Bob. It’s not like they’re making money from the ads. It’s more like they’re exploiting the commercial infrastructure to get their message out. Still, though, I find it ironic.
Speaking of hateful things said in relation to OWS, check this out.
Discussing Occupy Wall Street, Coulter Says: “It Just Took A Few Shootings At Kent State To Shut That Down”
http://mediamatters.org/blog/201111260001