Wal-Mart...warning, graphic violence and adult language
So this is it, Black Friday.
Place- Ahford/Dunwoody Wal-Mart, Atlanta, GA.
Time- 5:03am.
Weather- High clouds, a late November chill in the air.
I make my way inside after waiting in line for just 3 minutes. The friendly Wal-Mart greeting crew usher us in like the consumer cattle that we are. Most of the pack seems to know already where they want to graze and they waste no time getting there. “Electronics in the back y’all, that laptop is mine bitches!!!,” yelled one enthusiastic patron. She and her party sprinted to the left, I kindly stepped to the right.
With no idea what I was getting myself into and armed only with my digital camera and a strong curiosity, I proceeded with caution.
First stop, toys. Anxious mothers n’ fathers pushed carts, peered down at their well-marked Wal-Mart savings guide, then looked desperately for the isle that housed the magic item that would surly inspire their children to love them even more come Christmas morning. The mood of the early bird Santas was a civilized mixture of ‘every man for himself’, ‘get the hell out of my way’, and ‘thank god the kids aren’t here’. They all seemed to find what they needed with little incident.
I continued on through menswear, ladies undergarments, home and garden, and home storage. Moderate shopping activity and absolutely no voluntary eye contact exchanged. I asked one friendly enough looking elderly man what got him out of bed so early. “The wife” he replied.
I continued on past sporting goods and turned the corner into what looked like a whole new dimension. All pretense of civility had left the scene. This was a war zone and I had just stumbled upon the front lines. This folks, was electronics.
“Only 5 laptops left and 10 PCs!” yelled an employee from his post standing on top of the help desk. The crowd responded with desperate shoves.
Two minutes later, on the other side of the crowd, one man emerged with what appeared to be a laptop computer tucked securely in his arms. Another man followed behind yelling, “that was mine! I had that shit first!”.
“You set it down, I picked it up man!” the computer carrying man replied. A struggle ensued. The crowd collapsed on the brawling shoppers as security struggled to break it up.
I tried to get to a better spot for some close up photos, but couldn’t get through the crowd before the two men were being taken away by a female security officer. I was told to turn off my camera by another security goon, so I decided I’d had enough Wal-Mart excitement. I headed back out into the great unknown of black Friday and on to my next destination.