According to the experts, this year's Black Friday deals were only so-so.  But that didn't stop us from the annual violence, fights, and riots that people use as Exhibit A when they criticize America. Here are some of the "highlights."

1.Child Abandonment in Massachusetts.

The signature moment of this year's Black Friday happened in Springfield, Massachusetts.  34-year-old Anthony Perry went to K-Mart for their midnight deals, and took his girlfriend's two-year-old son. But when he RAN into the store to get a 51-inch TV, he FORGOT the kid in the car. Then, after he bought his TV, he thought he'd lost the kid in the store - he panicked - and called a friend to pick him and his TV up. The police found the boy in the parking lot at about 1:30 A.M. Fortunately, the kid was okay. Anthony is going to be facing reckless endangerment charges. [Yahoo]

2. A Guy Pulls a Gun On Someone Who Cut in Line.

There's nothing people take more seriously on Black Friday than other people showing up late and trying to cut in line. That happened on Thursday night in San Antonio. Apparently, a man tried to jump the line, so another person in line, 33-year-old Jose Alonzo Salame, pulled a gun on him. The line jumper took cover behind a refrigerator, and fortunately no shots were fired. Jose had a carry permit and won't face charges. [San Antonio Express-News]

3. Armed Robbery Outside a Best Buy.

Why wait in a Black Friday line when you can just rob the people who did? In Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 45-year-old Shelly Ludlum-Cheers was robbed outside of a Best Buy around 1:00 A.M. The robbers didn't realize she was going into Best Buy, not coming out with stuff she'd bought, but they took about $200 from her and her cell phone. That wasn't the only robbery. A 14-year-old in Maryland was also robbed by five men as he was coming out of a Bed, Bath & Beyond around 2:00 A.M. And two 23-year-old women were arrested after they robbed an Old Navy in Michigan. [The Smoking Gun / Baltimore Sun /Grand Haven Tribune]

 4. A Hog-In-Heat Stink Bomb?

This is a new one.  At a Walmart in Pearl, Mississippi, someone dropped a hot-in-heat scent bomb to try to get other people to leave the store. Apparently it smells like hog pee. There's no word on how many people it drove out of the store. The local ABC station tweeted a photo of an unfortunate Walmart employee having to clean up the remains.  Here's the photo:

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5. A Walmart Riot Over Cell Phones.

It wouldn't be Black Friday without at least one horrifying riot.  A video surfaced from a Walmart in Moultrie, Georgia where people pushed, elbowed, and fought over a crate of cell phones.

You can also see more Black Friday fight videos here and here.

6.  Run Over in a Walmart Parking Lot.

Tons of people walking through parking lots on Black Friday, and tons of drivers fighting for spots is a bad combo. Especially when one of those drivers is drunk. On Thursday night, in Covington, Washington, a 71-year-old man drove drunk to Walmart and ran over a man and a woman in the parking lot. They were both rushed to the hospital in serious condition.  The driver was arrested. [Huffington Post]

7. A Shoplifter Dies After Walmart Employees Tackle Him. 

It seems like there's an unfortunate death every Black Friday, and this year's happened in Lithonia, Georgia. A man allegedly shoplifted two DVD players from a Walmart  and two employees and a security guard chased him into the parking lot and tackled him. When the cops got there, they realized the man was bloody, unresponsive - and dead. A Walmart spokeswoman said, "No amount of merchandise is worth someone's life." Both Walmart and the police are launching an investigation into how this happened. The employees were suspended. [Atlanta Journal Constitution]

As you can see, Black Friday is certainly not the most honorable American tradition. What's your opinion? Would you like to see Black Friday go away, or do you enjoy the thrill of getting that great deal? Let us know in the comments section below.

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