Coming to blows over toilet paper: The grim REALITY of Black Friday
What comes to mind when you think of Black Friday?
Laptops, wide-screen televisions, and a turkey-fuelled lust for shiny things at knockdown prices?
Yeah, us too.
But if rolling commentary from EWN Twitter account is anything to go by, the Friday following Thanksgiving is a clear illustration of countless people's grim financial circumstances.
#BlackFriday Chaos over toilet paper. CE pic.twitter.com/7sveqQk3IH
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 25, 2016
While grappling over bumper packs of toilet roll could sum up the hysteria which generally descends once the last morsel of Thanksgiving turkey has been consumed, many people feel a recent Twitter upload is an indictment of significant economic hardship.
"Jesus this is terrible. People are fighting over TVs and they are fighting over toilet paper!" commented one.
#BlackFriday The fight goes to the floor as the soap is brought out. CE pic.twitter.com/MDygQYZAQe
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 25, 2016
"Just a tragic illustration of the low household income of millions of South Africans," wrote one.
"What hurts me is that most people will then not survive the rest of the next month because of money spent impulsively today," added another.
#BlackFriday The fight goes to the floor as the soap is brought out. CE pic.twitter.com/MDygQYZAQe
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) November 25, 2016
Meanwhile in the UK, reports of a stabbing during a Black Friday sale in Leeds City Centre have begun circulating.
While full details have yet to be confirmed, it is understood an off-duty police officer was stabbed after confronting a shoplifter in a branch of HMV.