# Damn the WalMartians and other rude self-centered-shits **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [November 29, 2003, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941 "2003-11-29T18:50:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/41 "2003-11-30T15:09:42Z")
My part-time job consists of distributing a free automobile advertising booklet which comes out every other Thursday. Of course, this Thursday being a holiday when many of my 120 outlets chose to close, I had to be out on Black Friday. What truly amazed me about the Black Friday “bargain hunters” was that I recognized many of them as the same people who went to our Kmart’s going -out- of- business sale and bought scads of stuff in WEEK ONE when the prices were only cut 10%. They even bought shoes and underwear that were on sale at the area Kmarts that weren’t closing at “buy one,get one 1/2 off” (the closing Kmart wasn’t honoring the newspaper ad). These people are no doubt ignorant of the fact that there will be all kinds of “last-minute” sales in a few weeks where almost everything will be discounted–not just a relative few loss-leaders. It’s been that way for the past 10 or 15 Chrismas seasons. Another name for Black Friday ought to be Amateur Day. ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/42 "2003-11-30T15:37:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MsRobyn \* > \*\ ***Tripler** , that was beautiful. I was laughing so hard, I scared the poor baby and annoyed Airman. > \*\* Strange that I can be that creative at 7:AM on a Sunday morn, no? Sometime I’ll have to tell you the tale of how I nearly had to get the 1st Marine Division to help me extract a box of Cocoa Puffs from Albertson’s. Tripler One wouldn’t think Froot Loops are a matter of national security. Oh how wrong you are. . . ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/43 "2003-11-30T15:38:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CrazyCatLady \* > \*\*Unfortunately, this isn’t a new thing. Am I the only one here who remembers the Cabbage Patch Kids riots of the early to mid 80’s? There were multiple people injured then, some of them very seriously. \*\* What I do recall are the “Elmo Troubles” and the long lines, auctioning, theft, assault, and madness that surrounded that piece of recycled trash. Bleh. That obscene thing shaking and giggling with pre-recorded orgasmic pseudo-delight made me feel dirty every time I saw one, as if I had just witnessed a masturbating contest between two winos in the rear of a porn theatre. Then, of course, there was the “Beanie Baby Buggery”, but I don’t recall anyone dying from it. I do recall that when McDonalds started offering Beanie Babies for sale, the line the first day of people for the drive-through was so long it went around the building, down the street a block, and **onto the on-ramp of a freaking 6-lane Interstate!!!** I prayed for the police to come by and throw all of the people who were parked on an Interstate Highway to get in line to get a Beanie Baby into police wagons to take them away, but alas, it never happened. Sometimes, God just says “no”. ---
**Author:** ![Mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mojo)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/44 "2003-11-30T15:50:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Darth Nader \* > \*\*The one thing I learned on Friday is that people who pay $29 for a DVD player don’t have a TV with anything other than coaxial inputs. > > But that is another rant. \*\* Rant? Sounds like justice to me- after spending 3 hours pushing and throwing 'bows for a $29 DVD player, they get home and find out that its useless and they have to go back and drop _another_ $30. It warmed my cockles. ---
**Author:** ![catsix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e19b73/32.png) [@catsix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/catsix)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/45 "2003-11-30T16:08:37Z")
And on WDVE radio Friday evening I heard that ‘Black Friday’ is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year. That honor falls to the Saturday before Christmas. Black Friday is now fourth. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/46 "2003-11-30T20:03:49Z")
I don’t go shopping on Black Friday; it’s not worth the aggravation just to save a few bucks. But a friend who went out to take advantage of the sales at Best Buy told me how they handled it: Store is scheduled to open at 6am; my friend gets there around 5 to find that Best Buy has people in front of the store organizing the early arrivals into a line. Then Best Buy has people go down the line with coupons for all the “limited number” items, passing them out to the customers along with maps of the store which showed where all the sale items are located. When the store opens there is someone at the door who lets the customers in 25 at a time, thereby preventing the stampede effect. They also have extra registers set up in the electronics and computer sections to handle the peak sales areas. My friend was out of the store and home by 8am. No injuries, no ulcers, and she got everything she wanted. ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/47 "2003-11-30T21:13:14Z")
Remember the Furby? WTF _was_ that thing, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Tripler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripler/32/21807_2.png) [@Tripler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tripler)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2003, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/48 "2003-11-30T21:59:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SnoopyFan \* > \*\*Remember the Furby? > > WTF _was_ that thing, anyway? \*\* Wasn’t that some hideous cross breed between a Tribble, an owl (the beak), and Teddy Ruxpin? Good Lord, if that thing came alive in searches of world domination, we’d all be up a crick. :eek: Tripler Thank goodness they never became sentient beings. . . ---
**Author:** ![Siege](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dbc845/32.png) [@Siege](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siege)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/49 "2003-12-01T12:12:36Z")
**Tripler** , thank you. Your Mission to Walmart brightened my morning. I’ll keep it in mind next time I venture into enemy occupied territory, aka the local shopping mall. 😃 CJ ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/50 "2003-12-01T15:01:34Z")
Wenever I get stuck behind a shopper frozen in place, I just reach over to them and hit control\>alt\>delete. Takes a few minutes, but usually they reboot. ---
**Author:** ![CheekyMonkey613](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e480ec/32.png) [@CheekyMonkey613](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheekyMonkey613)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/51 "2003-12-01T15:03:43Z")
In the very first months that the Montreal Casino was opened, tables were jam packed and there were people waiting for a chance to play. Long story short, I was dealing at a Roulette table. Some guy drops dead right in front of me (of a heart attack). The guy is ON the FLOOR, HOLDING HIS HEART … Security and the Casino nurse are on the way to the table (wading through the mass) and the ambulance has been called. WHAT HAPPENS? People are STEPPING OVER the guy saying: Can I play with his colour now? (FYI: In roulette, each player has a colour chip that only he plays) THE GUY IS DEAD OR DYING AND YOU ARE STEPPING ON HIS FACE TO GET A CHANCE TO PLAY WITH HIS CHIPS? HAVE YOU ALL LOST YOUR MINDS? I’ll never forget that one … ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/52 "2003-12-01T15:26:43Z")
It’s a little late for a reminder, but Black Friday was (and will be again in a year) [National Buy Nothing Day](http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd/). I can’t claim that I followed through religiously, as I did buy gas and cigarettes for the 4-hour trip to visit the folks this past weekend. I don’t know if that counts, though… ---
**Author:** ![SnoopyFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d07c76/32.png) [@SnoopyFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnoopyFan)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/53 "2003-12-01T17:58:34Z")
**CheekyMonkey** I’m not at all surprised. Back in the 90s, when I was still living in western KY, the Ohio flooded really bad and people were STILL going to the damn casino in Metropolis, IL. I can’t remember what exactly they had to do to get on the boat but I remember it was dangerous and thinking they were crazy. People with addictions will pretty much stop at nothing to get their fix, chances are the people stepping over the heart attack guy at your casino were regulars. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/54 "2003-12-01T18:07:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by jayjay \* > **It’s a little late for a reminder, but Black Friday was (and will be again in a year) [National Buy Nothing Day](http://www.adbusters.org/campaigns/bnd/).** Funnily enough, I bought $80 worth of books at Borders just to thumb my nose at this. There was a local news crew out looking for an anti-commericalism protest that was supposed to be happening around downtown Santa Cruz. No one had turned up. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/55 "2003-12-01T18:36:40Z")
**Michael Ellis** , I don’t necessarily agree with the demonstrations, but I do agree with the day. I simply have no clue why people put themselves through Hell just so they can go shopping the day after Thanksgiving. I had half of my Christmas shopping done two weeks ago and will have the rest done over the internet by the middle of December. There’s just no need to go into a frenzy over _stuff_. It’s just stuff! It’ll be there tomorrow. It’ll be there on December 26. It’ll be there in mid-January. I try to avoid all malls from Black Friday to roughly the beginning of February. Yes, I miss sales. But I figure I add a year to my life by just avoiding the hassle and frustration of Holiday-time shopping. And that’s worth a heck of a lot more than what I’d save on discounts. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/56 "2003-12-01T18:56:10Z")
Well, the nice thing about Borders is that you don’t get trampled trying to buy a copy of _Maxim_ and a Dilbert book. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/57 "2003-12-01T19:06:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Michael Ellis \* > \*\*Well, the nice thing about Borders is that you don’t get trampled trying to buy a copy of _Maxim_ and a Dilbert book. \*\* You weren’t there when _Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_ came out, were you? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_Ellis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Michael\_Ellis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_Ellis)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/58 "2003-12-01T19:08:17Z")
Yeah, but I specifically said I was buying this month’s Maxim and a Dilbert book. ---
**Author:** ![Flutterby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Flutterby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flutterby)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/59 "2003-12-01T21:53:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > Sorry to continue the Cabbage Patch Kid hijack, but oh man, I hope you find the clothes. > > I had the same idea as you (pulling out my cabbage patch kids for my baby) and imagine my surprise to discover via E-Bay that the dolls are pretty much worthless. It’s _all_ about the clothes. Original CPK clothes run a pretty penny…_if_ you can win an auction! Really? Cuz I do have a small bag filled with CPK clothes… I have a couple outfits, one of those ‘bendy’ outfits… the ones with the wire in it so you could pose them… I have 2 or 3 records (ie CP Christmas)… it’s mere a matter of digging them out. I also used to have CP diapers (exactly like real ones) and the board game but those are long gone I think… ---
**Author:** ![Tars\_Tarkas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Tars\_Tarkas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tars_Tarkas)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2003, 8:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941/60 "2003-12-05T08:07:53Z")
[UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE!!!](http://www.local6.com/money/2683654/detail.html) Apparently this woman falls down more than my step-dad after returning from the bars! > [@](#): > > In 1978 and 1982, more than $400 in worker’s compensation was paid after she claimed injuries from being struck by a falling object and from slipping and falling while working as a machine operator at a now-defunct manufacturing plant in DeLand. > In 1984, she claimed a back sprain from working at a restaurant in Winter Haven, producing $356 in worker’s compensation. > In 1987, she filed an injury claim against Deltona Lanes, a Volusia County bowling alley, after claiming she slipped and fell while bowling there. In a 1993 sworn deposition in another case, Vanlester testified she received a cash settlement from the bowling alley claim, but did not recall the amount. > In 1989, after her car ran off Interstate 4 in Volusia and overturned, she filed a claim against Big T Tire and Wheel Service, of Orange City, claiming the crash was caused by a tire blowout. She testified she received a cash settlement in that case, as well. > In 1991, she claimed to have slipped on a puddle of hand lotion while shopping for a curling iron at an Orange City Walgreen’s, causing “permanent injury, disability, disfigurement (and) mental anguish.” She filed suit in 1993, but it was thrown out in January 1994 after a 10-minute hearing. Walgreen’s argued no one at the store had seen any liquid on the floor, so it could not be liable for failing to clean it up. > In 1995, Vanlester reported slipping and falling on liquid or grease while working in the meat department of a Eustis Publix, resulting in more than $1,200 in worker’s compensation. > In 1996, she claimed to have slipped and fallen while working at the layaway desk of a Mt. Dora Wal-Mart, leading to more than $600 in worker’s compensation payments. > In 1997, she claimed a back strain while working at the snack bar of an Orange City Wal-Mart that was replaced by the Wal-Mart Superstore where she claims to have been trampled last Friday. > [@](#): > > “We will investigate this claim as thoroughly as we have the other 10 claims that this customer and her sister have brought against our stores in the past.” HA! That quote kills me for some reason. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/damn-the-walmartians-and-other-rude-self-centered-shits/215941.md?page=4)