Occupy Black Friday: An Antidote to the Guns, Pepper Spray, and Madness of This Shopping "Holiday"

It is not even noon on the East Coast, and this year's Black Friday shenanigans already include:

--A woman pepper spraying fellow shoppers at a California Wal-Mart

--Security guards pepper spraying shoppers at a North Carolina Wal-Mart

--Someone firing a gun at a North Carolina shopping mall

--Someone shooting another person in the parking lot of another California Wal-Mart

--An armed robbery attempt in South Carolina

--A fight at the jewelery counter of a Florida Wal-Mart

--Another fight, this time in the electronics department of a New York Wal-Mart

--Plus the madness of stores opening for Black Friday on Thursday

Is it just me, or is this one of the craziest Black Fridays ever?

As an antidote to all that, here's a more positive story, via Raw Story:

Protesters plan to Occupy Black Friday

Across the U.S. on Black Friday, activists in the Occupy movement are urging boycotts of big chain stores.

At least 150 protesters were gathering outside Macy’s flagship store in Manhattan for an anti-fur rally.

In Seattle, protesters were carpooling to Wal-Mart stores. Occupy Seattle is encouraging shoppers to patronize small business or give homemade gifts.

Occupy D.C. was calling for donations to a “really, really free market” so that others can go shopping for free.

Flash mobs were planned in Iowa. And in Chicago, protesters will sing Christmas carols asking shoppers to buy local.

All of these actions are part of Occupy Black Friday, which seeks to "hit the corporations that corrupt and control American politics where it hurts, their profits." Find more info on the action's Facebook page.