Buys $300 tent

[Playinghardball]

[tabasco]

1. Stupid assholes regardless.

Well trained little consumers.

OBEY!

[NuclearDem]

5. Little consumerist slaves, all of us.

[Journeyman]

2. Could be they camped out to avoid T-Day dinner with teabagger in-laws. . .

The $250 loss seems a bargain seen in such light, would you not agree?

[Logical]

3. God forbid, maybe they enjoy doing it. But WTH, lets still ban it. n-t

[NuclearDem]

4. No, don't ban, but ridicule the living day lights out of it.

But I don't exactly think camping out in a strip mall is roughing it or enjoyable.

If someone does enjoy camping out in front of a big box store just for the sake of buying a TV, then corporate America has well and truly won.

[Logical]

6. Well, people line up for concert tickets, movie tickets, sports tickets, etc. No difference. And....

not sure why the DU is not more accepting.

I am sure many people logged on to Amazon.com and bought shit yesterday. Lets make fun of them.

[NuclearDem]

7. Logging onto the internet doesn't run the risk of trampling people to death

Nor does it legitimize big box stores forcing their employees to work on thanksgiving.

[Logical]

9. hmmmmmm...wonder where amazon shoppers used to get their stuff? Local stores? Hmmmmmm. nt

[NuclearDem]

13. I never said I liked Amazon or what they do.

[Packerowner740]

23. Yeah, never mind that many of them may have made time and a half or even

Double time and a half. When I worked retail many years ago I lived to work holidays. I banked it.

[MADem]

28. There's no more trampling--they learned their lesson a couple of years ago.

They limit how many people can go in, and people stay in line when the store gets full. As five go out, five go in.

No one got trampled this year that I heard of at all. There were no horror stories like from a couple of years back. Some guy got shot in the leg at in the parking lot of his complex after bringing his tv home, but that wasn't "shopper violence," that was some punkass thief who saw an opportunity to steal a big tv and took it.

[Hayabusa]

37. They added a death on the tracker

a very reaching one where someone out shopping fell asleep behind the wheel.

[MADem]

38. That could have been a turkey sandwich coma, for all we know....

I know that ummmm...mmmm...good turkey puts me to sleep in a heartbeat!

[JI7]

12. those are rare events , with a televsion set one can go out and buy it later easily

but it's not as easy to experience a live concert, game etc.

[TBF]

15. Sure - we also line up to protest &

they pepper spray us.

Gather for days in front of Best Buy to fight over TVs -- > cool w/capitalism

Gather for days in a park to protest capitalism --> your ass in jail

[MADem]

29. Those people did sue, and win.

Of course, the pepper sprayer also sued...and won, if memory serves.

[TBF]

30. I was talking about what happens at the time -

and you know it's true.

Whether people manage to sue afterwards for civil damages and recap is something entirely different - and the subject of another post. Obviously any lawsuits haven't had a bit of an impact on the actions of the police state because they are still reacting this way (and I won't even get into their fascination with shooting our family pets).

I will say though that I think the militaristic culture as a whole comes in to play. I don't think this country is completely fascist yet and I think many people desire that it NOT go in that direction. But as a whole we are too compliant. Ironically it is our fascination with weapons that may save us, though, because the threat of taking them away does bring people to their feet in a way many other threats don't. So it is a very ironic situation but at least it gives me hope people may not go willingly towards that type of rule.

[MADem]

31. I am not going to read too much into the actions of an overweight "campus cop" who overstepped.

That strutting fluffernutter couldn't quickmarch half way down a football field without wheezing--he's not part of a militaristic culture, he's a rent-a-cop with a big head and not much brain between the ears.

He got fired, and then he sued because he was "traumatized, too."

And he obviously had good legal representation, lucky him.

[TBF]

32. Well, that too -

lol

[IVoteDFL]

8. Do you have a TV?

I'm just curious because I waited in line last night (40 minutes, no need for a tent) to get a television and I'm a student who lives with my single mother. She has an auto-immune disease that cripples her physically and financially. Our TV, the same TV that we've been using since my grandmother bought it for me to play my Super Nintendo on when I was like 12 stopped working around June. I mean really, we struggle enough, we just want to watch TV and not be ridiculed for shit we can't help.

[NuclearDem]

10. Yes I do. I bought it during the summer months at a BX.

It's a plasma that was about to be taken off the shelves to make room for LCDs and LEDs. Black Friday isn't the only time retailers offer deals.

I can sympathize with people wanting modern comforts, but there's a limit.

[Logical]

11. I apologize for the idiotic DUers who do not understand why people need deals. They...

have not really thought out this very much.

Glad you got a TV.

[MADem]

33. What some folks here are doing is called "poor shaming." They cloak it in a guise of

"anti-consumerism" but what they are saying, really, is "I am better than these people because I am NOT POOR."

I really think people who don't want to stand in line on the day after "Overeating Day" should just...NOT DO IT.

And leave those who want to do it to their own devices.

I have everything I need, lucky me. I am too old and lazy to stand on line for hours, too. If people want to get a bargain and have the fortitude, good luck to them.

And I'm glad you got your telly, and I hope you and your mom get lots of hours of entertainment from it.

[Martin Eden]

14. They overpaid for those tents.

I've been camping/backpacking for decades, and none of those tents should cost $300 retail.

But, more to the point, some (or most) of those folks probably owned the tents already for going camping somewhere other than a sidewalk.

Even more to the point, it just might be that $50 is a big deal to those folks (after all, they have cheap tents). It could just be a lot of them barely making ends meet because they get paid crap wages and have to pinch every penny to afford a new TV or gifts for their family for Christmas.

In other words, those are the folks getting screwed by the One Percenters. We champion their cause every day here at DU, so maybe we should ease up a bit and not be so eager to ridicule them.

[OnyxCollie]

21. They paid less than a hundred bucks for those tents.

And they're using them for what they were intended to be used for.

They may even use them again in the future. Or not, but that's their own damn business.

[SammyWinstonJack]

16. heh

[BlueJazz]

17. Whatever they want to do that makes them happy....and causes no pain.

spelling

[NightWatcher]

18. who wants to dress up like bears and have some fun....

Scare those sidewalk campers..

[Incitatus]

19. That would be funny, but CCW carriers would be a concern. nt

[Packerowner740]

24. My future daughter in law said the same thing.

[zbdent]

20. Gets 15 minutes of fame ...

[Packerowner740]

22. I have 3 or 4 very nice tents from 2 person to 8 ans

I've never spent more than $40 for any of them brand new.

[Brigid]

25. The way things are going . . .

These people might be needing those tents for more than just camping out for deals at a box store.

[Jetboy]

26. If anyone needs a tv look around on craigslist or

the want ads as usually there are several to choose from and free of charge. Tube tvs are basically a negative value right now. Someone may even pay you for taking it.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

27. Great! Even if you're too late to get the TV deal ...

... you still wind up with a new $300 tent.

Sounds like a "win" to me!

[Coyotl]

34. Sidewalk party. What's not to like here?

Oh yeah, no toilets

[Dreamer Tatum]

35. oooh, can I play?

"Stands in line to spend $500 on iPhone...Has $475 iPhone in pocket."

[Brigid]

40. That one is even funnier!

[DesMoinesDem]

36. How dare people try to save money and use a tent they own at the same time!

[aikoaiko]

39. I respect the tent people more than facebook memers who mock people.