Riot erupts at Indiana Old Navy over $1 flip flops

[Are_grits_groceries]

MISHAWAKA — Shoppers pushed, shoved and screamed at each other as they fought over $1 flip-flops Saturday morning at the Mishawaka Old Navy store, customers and police say.

"It was insane, worse than the day after Thanksgiving," said Renee Becker, of Osceola, as she stood in the parking lot with 20 new pairs of sandals in bags at her feet.
(snip)
"You couldn’t move as the doors opened," Becker recounted in disbelief. "If the manager hadn’t jumped out of the way she would have been trampled."
(snip)
"It was crazy, I don’t know how else to describe it," said Becker, who heard about but did not see actual fights. "But the tension and tempers were high."

Customers screamed when they saw other people cutting in ahead of them in the checkout line that stretched around the store, police said.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090523/News01/905239950/-1/XML

Flip-fricking-flops???????????????????

[barbtries]

1. i read this to my son

and he said, that's the Onion. he couldn't believe this was true. it is almost too idiotic to be true.

[Name removed]

2. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[ConcernedCanuk]

3. Land of the Free and the home of the brave - how far you have fallen . . .

.
.
.

Michael Jackson's song "The man in the Mirror" comes to mind

"If you wanna make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself then make a change"

hmmm

I don't think he meant to bomb the shit out of MORE countries

but I could be wrong

:freak:

[Rage for Order]

11. I see your point

The riot was probably caused by the Pentagon trying to buy tens of millions of pairs of $1 flip flops so we could bomb some random country with them. :eyes:

By the way, Michael Jackson isn't popular anymore. Of course, you're in Canada so I understand why you would be 15 years behind the pop culture curve. Just letting you know for future reference, eh.

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. .

:evilgrin:

[proteus_lives]

31. That guy can connect the "America Bad" meme to any topic.

It's actually really funny. I think an American kicked sand in his face one time.

[Posteritatis]

55. It's kinda embarrassing

At least from the perspective of this Canadian. CC's become a parody of Canadian anti-Americanism lately to say the least.

[ConcernedCanuk]

58. When the shoe fits . . .

.
.
.

"An American" - actually millions of USAmericans have been doing a lot more than kicking sand in other people's faces

They've been slaughtering them for centuries, and still continue . .

NOT funny - ask the Iraqis, ask the Afghans, ask the Koreans, the Vietnamese . .

ask any other number of countries the USA has flexed their military might . .

'nuff said

[proteus_lives]

78. Yawn.

Do you know what a "one-trick pony" is?

It's funny while you have a semi-valid point it's lost by connecting it to a article that has nothing to do with it. Now if you were talking about crude consumer behavior I could understand but you're not.

Explain to me how this has anything to do with US foreign policy.

Also, I'd like you provide evidence that this sort of situation has never happened and can never happen in Canada. You're claiming moral superiority, so prove it.


P.S.
Iraq, Vietnam: I agree, mistakes and unnecessary.

Korea: Justified. Think that NK invading their southern neighbors at the behest of Stalin and Mao had something to do with it? (BTW, Canada had over 25,000 men in that UN conflict.)

Afghanistan: I have issues with the way the conflict is proceeding but the Taliban should not have been left in power.

[reggie the dog]

41. I agree with you

pure uncivilized behavior. When did Americans forget about being civil to each other?

[jus_the_facts]

4. Just your normal everyday trip to the mall...or Wally World.....

....you take your chances with the consumer ZOMBIES out there... :yoiks:

[demodonkey]

16. I used to work in the mall where that movie was filmed....

... and knew a lot of the "zombies" (people who worked as extras) personally. I couldn't stop laughing when I saw them in it the first time, and I was in another city in another state where people thought I was nuts.

[Arkansas Granny]

5. LOL! I'm showing this one to my DIL who wanted to go to Old Navy yesterday

and pick up some flip flops. Luckily for us the parking lot was so crowded that the empty spaces were further away from the store than we cared to walk with two babies.

[fishwax]

6. funny stuff

Mishawakans must really be starved for entertainment :shrug:

[XOKCowboy]

7. Those must be some darn nice flipflops..

What a bunch of idiots.

[donco6]

8. My thought exactly.

Since when did flip flops become so desireable? Is there something in the water? I only drink cola.

[Liberal_in_LA]

21. Yeah, flips flops aren't much better than old tire treads tied to one's feet.

And really...how many pairs do you need? They last forever.

[Are_grits_groceries]

22. That's what I thought.

However, this lady thinks differently:

Some shoppers pushed carts brimming with sandals, like Angie Garza of Millersburg, Ind. She had 23 pairs in her cart for her two teenage daughters.
"This will last them until next year at this time," said Garza, who sported a pink flip-flop tattoo on her back and sandals on her feet.

23 pairs? I thought that would last them into the next century. Do they wear them 24/7 and in the winter??

[Liberal_in_LA]

23. Angie is the type who wears flip flops all the time, subjecting the world to her ugly toes.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

74. I bet this is slapped on the back of her beat-up minivan...

Most feet should be kept under wraps.

[AlCzervik]

28. she could have spent $23 and got a good pair that would have lasted a long time.

i wear Reef Flip flips, i paid $30 for them and i've had them for almost 2 years and they have a bottle opener on the bottom.

[cherokeeprogressive]

30. Love my Reefs! Love the opener!

[LostinVA]

47. Mine were $24, have had for five years, no opener, look almost new

[AlCzervik]

50. they're great aren't they?

[LostinVA]

51. You can walk in them, drive in them, and they are comfy as hell

And, kinda snazzy!

[AlCzervik]

52. the driving is the big one, most of my flip flops are plat form so forget driving but

after my daughter got a pair of reefs and kept on telling me how comfy they were i finally bought a pair and the clutch is problem.

[XOKCowboy]

73. OK Where can I get a pair???

I finally broke my 5 yr old pair of FFs last fall. Getting by with sandals but haven't found a decent pair of FFs yet. That's why this thread interested me.

[LostinVA]

46. I bought a cheap pair at Old Navy SEVEN YEARS ago and still have them

And, I wear them all summer.

:wtf:

I also have a pair of $24 Reefs I bought five years ago that look like new.

WTF do they do with their flip flops?

[Posteritatis]

37. Maybe they're collecting the entire visible spectrum?

"Okay, I just need 475, 510 and 700 nanometers and I've got the whole set!"

[Posteritatis]

34. Looks like people were trying to hoard them (nt)

[tblue37]

59. Nope--Look at the pic with the actual article. They are just plain,

thin rubber flipflops. The very cheap kind. Heck, people could get them at any discount store for the same price, or maybe a few cents more.

http://www.southbendtribune.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?

[Haole Girl]

9. People are crazy. nt

[-..__...]

10. This part irks me...

The limit of five pairs per shopper

as she stood in the parking lot with 20 new pairs of sandals in bags at her feet.

She had 23 pairs in her cart for her two teenage daughters.

Five pairs limit means just that... no exceptions. Of course things would have gotten really ugly if the store actually enforced it.

I hope there's some sort of allergen or toxic byproduct in the rubber and all vultures develop a severe case of foot rash.

Edit to add: Apparently the insanity wasn't confined to just one store...

http://news.google.com/news/more?um=1&ned=us&num=10&cf=all&ncl=dCPEjitYwlfloMMgRJWfPuTiZul5M

[Posteritatis]

35. Maybe there's an Imelda Marcos-themed sale that we don't know about? (nt)

[reggie the dog]

42. easy, 5 per mom, dad, babies, kids etc.

[-..__...]

62. The store policy was per "shopper"...

not how many family members the buyer has.

I'm guessing that the manager decided to overlook it rather than create an even bigger shit storm.

[cwydro]

12. For flip-flops???

sheesh.

[leeroysphitz]

13. Well at least we have our priorities straight in this country... n/t

[book_worm]

14. Ok, fighting over flip flops for $1--forget it!, but by-god I will not let anybody cut in front of

me in the check out line! That person is playing with fire with that tactic.

[chatnoir]

17. I swear we're on the road to 3rd World Nation...

[madrchsod]

18. cheap ass chinese flip flops?

people are fucking insane

[Kansas Wyatt]

19. When are these STUPID store managers going to realize...

That they have the power to go out (from around the back door) and tell the mob that they had better be on their best behavior and act in a civilized manner, or they will be thrown off the property?

The store does not open until you people calm down and back off!

[JVS]

27. Do they have the power, or would corporate shitcan them for turning away potential customers?

[Posteritatis]

36. With these mobs? They'd be fired, or the crowd would bust in by force (nt)

[agentS]

20. Do these folks have a Dollar Tree?

because ya know, they sell flip flops there for a buck-10 or so.
I'm just sayin...

[dgibby]

24. If you think this is bad, just wait until the food riots start.

And no, this is not scarcasm or a joke. This is just the tip of the iceberg,imo.

[nichomachus]

39. DING. DING. DING. NO MORE CALLS PLEASE. WE HAVE A WINNER. n/t

[omega minimo]

54. Greed Is Good

:sarcasm:

[northernlights]

25. why not just go to the family dollar?

flip flops are a buck every day there.

What a bunch of freakin' idiots. :eyes:

[donco6]

33. But they're not OLD NAVY flip flops!

Because, they're like - better or something.

Snort.

[LostinVA]

48. Even though teh same 12-year-olds made them in the same factory with the same materials!

[donco6]

53. It's that extra .007 seconds of slapping on the logo -

that makes it all worthwhile. That and the extra lashings they get if they put the logo on wrong.

[LostinVA]

56. Seriesly

[Wednesdays]

26. K&R

:kick:

[Deja Q]

29. Here's an advert for how exceptional those flippies are...

http://consumerist.com/298888/walmart-pulls-foot-burning-flipflops



To lose is to win, and (s)he who wins shall lose.

[chatnoir]

32. Let me guess:

"Made in China"

[donco6]

64. Good God!

I just know WalMart is out to kill us all. And our dogs and cats.

[LostInAnomie]

38. As a native Hoosier, all I have to say is...

... it's Mishawaka. Almost any time something crazy happens in the state it's connected to Mishawaka. :evilgrin:

[NoPasaran]

65. So what you're telling us

Is that Mishawaka is the Florida of Indiana?

[reggie the dog]

40. how much are they normally? 5 dollars?

[madmom]

43. So where is the condemnation of the store for doing this? I hear it for

the customers but not for the store like there was for walmart. These stores (all of them) are stupid for doing this kind of thing and as long as people are stupid enough to fall for it they will.

[Stevenmarc]

44. When I saw the ad on TV I knew it would be an asshole magnet.

[dana_b]

45. damn... i'm such an idiot for paying $2.99/pr at Walgreens!

I should have stood in line for an hour or so to play "Mortal Combat" with other moms over flip flops so I could save $1.99. Stupid me.

[Greyhound]

49. There is a steadily growing sense of panic out there, and when stupid people

panic, it gets really ugly.

We've turned into the caricatures we used to laugh at.

[marmar]

57. Never misunderestimate the human capacity for horse's assishness......

:dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[cherish44]

60. You're going to see a shitload of Old Navy flip flops on Ebay and at Mishawaka garage sales

I saw flip flops for 99 cents at ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm A FUCKING 99 CENT STORE.
Boot to the head to these people.

[deutsey]

61. Our culture conditions us to be consumers, not citizens, not compassionate.

[-..__...]

63. Out of pure boredom and anal curiosity...

I checked Ebay... 28 pages of "flip-flop" listings posted on the 24th.

How many are vendor listings or are unrelated to the Old Navy stampede?

:shrug:

I have no idea. I may be anal, but I'm not that anal to sort it all out.

:smoke:

[Uncle Joe]

66. If it had been .99 flip flops, I could understand it, but a dollar!

People are crazy.:crazy:

[Marr]

67. This is what you get when you put a bunch of me-first,

high self-esteem, consumer sheep in one location. We have an awful lot of assholes in this country-- people who refuse to just let perceived "disrespect" slide. When they come in contact with one another, sparks fly over stupid shit like flip-flops and parking spaces.

[Quantess]

71. If that is the definition of "high self-esteem" then you can count me out

of the high self esteem clique. :)

I think you meant something more along the lines of "self absorbed" or "self centered".

[bumblebee1]

68. My sister told me about this sale.

Her daughter and granddaughter were supposed to go to Old Navy after franddaughter's dental appointment. By the time they got to Old Navy, they store was out of flip flops. My grand niece would wear them all year around if she could. My question is: How many pairs of flip flops does one need? I, personally, have two. I usually wear them around the house.

[Blue_Tires]

69. i don't get it...

what makes old navy $1 flip-flops so special? and once they ran out, why wouldn't people just wait for a new shipment to come?

[Skittles]

70. I detest flip flops

they are ugly and bad for the feet

[XOKCowboy]

75. They're the closest thing to being barefoot so how can they be bad for the feet?

Ugly? Well that's more how one perceives the foot in the flipflop isn't it?

[Skittles]

77. .

http://www.livescience.com/health/080624-bad-flip-flops.html

[KittyWampus]

72. I don't understand. Read this whole thread and STILL don't understand.

[Hannah Bell]

76. the epsilons are so disgusting, aren't they? i'm glad i'm a beta.

[friendly_iconoclast]

79. Nice Huxley reference. However, I would say...