Episode #26: “Black Friday”, from True’s 30 November 2008 issue.
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Black Friday
Two women started yelling at each other in a Toys ‘R’ Us store in Palm Desert, Calif., the day after Thanksgiving. One of their husbands lifted his shirt to reveal a handgun. The second husband didn’t take too kindly to the threat: he pulled his own gun, chased the first man down, and started shooting. The only two people hurt: the two men, Alejandro Moreno, 39, and Juan Meza, 28, who were both shot to death by the other. Despite the shootings, shoppers streamed back to the store the next day to take advantage of the bargains. “It happened once,” one woman shrugged. “It probably won’t happen again.” (Palm Springs Desert Sun) …Though most shoppers went in armed, “just in case.”
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Great touch with the rifle, Randy!
When I first made the quantum (and the wampum) leap to the premium version of T.I.T….. oh, good grief- I never considered its acronym before! Anyway, as I started to say, when I signed up to me reaction. PVTIT, you asked me to report back in a couple of months as to my reaction. Here it is: Best 50 cents worth I get every week. Your erudite restraint in your tag line comments is much appreciated.
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It’s fun to watch people realize why I call it TRUE for short. -rc
The cap and shades are a good look for you, Randy. The gun? Not so much. Love the take on the Dirty Harry quote though. Happy Holidays!
Taking a shotgun to a toy store is a BAD idea. How could you carry your purchases?
That’s why God invented sidearms.
Love the Tagline and the shotgun!!!! Dirty Harry used a smaller gun though! Maybe the security at Wal-mart should have been so armed? Merry Christmas!!!!
caaaannn’t comment – ROTFLMA
and coffee spewed over monitor – BAD Randy!
Best.True.Video.Ever!
I spewed my wine on the screen!! ROTFLMAO!!! Loved the shotgun. Randy, you are the best!
You should put that easter egg on the “errata” page; You sure as hell wouldn’t get any repeat postings!
(You can also add beer to the list of liquids being wiped off computer screens around the world…)
It always makes me laugh (although it is a very serious matter) when I hear of all the guns people carry & then to see you with a rifle. It is very unusual here – we have VERY strict gun laws & you never see them. Love your comments though!!
Do those two guys get in the Darwin awards?
“Gee dad, today at black Friday I bought a coffin on sale…Buy one get one free…”
Great Video !!!
p.s. just don’t use “buckshot” around Santa, the reindeer get scared too easy.
That was bloody brilliant! 😀
cheers!
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Hm: are you sure that the intensifier “bloody” is the best choice here?! -rc
Hey Lynn from Australia!
No matter what you hear about the US, I don’t see guns here either. I’ve never seen anyone other than a cop carry one, and I lived in Chicago for years!
I love a story with a happy ending… Two less miscreants among us…
We should thank them both for helping clean up the gene pool.
Darwin Award winners, BOTH! There IS a God! What are the odds these two morons were undocumented aliens?
Makes it look bad for us legal gun owners.
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They definitely weren’t: one even had a prior conviction for illegal concealed carry. Saying that makes law-abiding gun owners look bad is about the same as saying a guy who holds up a liquor store makes you look bad. Neither does; it makes criminals look bad, which is OK with me. -rc
I think this is very funny – especially given that it was in a “toys R us” and that these big boys were packin’ their toys…
Being from a country where the police are only people you see with guns (unless you are a sport shooter or farmer) it always amazes me how many guns people in the USA have.
I think that the constitutional right to arm bears (or bear arms) could have been stated in terms that wouldn’t have encouraged so many gun-totin’ hoodlums. Maybe it should have read “the right to bear arms – unless you’re an idiot – in which case we reserve the right to whip your stupid ass!”
Time for another constitutional amendment?
Now you know why I do not go out on Black Fri. There a lot of nuts out there, but these two take the cake. I won’t be home for Christmas you can count on me ho ho ho!
Good that two hot heads are permanently gone from polite society. Bad that their children no longer have their fathers. How about people working on tolerance instead of violence.
Yes, I aqree with eileen. On the one hand this is entertaining and one has to feel that they got what they deserved. On the other hand… I generally make it a point to behave safely around holidays (especially things like driving, since two of the most important American holidays — Christmas and Thanksgiving — fall at icy, dangerous times of the year for travel) and make sure I don’t get myself killed because I don’t want my friends and family to have to deal with that over the holidays. How much worse if it was your parent.
I’m shocked, Shocked! that these gun-toting morons were both Hispanic.
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That’s not what shocks me. What shocks me is that someone as educated as you are (since despite the obfuscating “name” you entered, I do know who you are) is so willing to appear racist in public. How many stories did you just breeze by and didn’t say “Yeah, what do you expect from a white guy?”? The fact is, the ethnicity of these guys is completely immaterial, having more to do with their locational demographics than anything else. I hope you will think about how your attitude is affecting others. -rc
Black Friday, Weird News Video #26, is an excellent example of the Darwin Effect in action. The real shame is these two idiots were in a Toys R Us Store where innocent people were put in danger.
To “geeknerd:” Unfortunately hotheads come in every flavor of human bean. It’s unfortunate that these particular two happening to be Hispanic allowed you to make your non-PC comment. I can’t discern if you were serious or had tongue firmly in cheek. Being the eternal optimist, I’m hoping the latter. We really don’t need more negative sentiments in our lives just now…or even ever, for that matter.
Well, Randy, I just watched your Black Friday video — to the end. And I’m posting a comment in spite of your dare. 🙂 I’ve been around firearms since I was a kid and I noticed something about your comment. I didn’t hear a round going into the chamber. You had an empty magazine! Rule number one when getting into a gunfight is to make sure there is a round in the chamber!
You did prove one thing though. The sound of a round being racked into the chamber of a pump shotgun is the universal language. No matter what language you speak or where you’re from, you understand what is being said by that sound!
Love True and the great work you do — AND the video.
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Well, maybe the microphone missed the sound, eh? (But of course, indeed the gun was unloaded for safety.) -rc
To quote comedian Eddie Izzard; “The National Rifle Association says ‘guns don’t kill people. people kill people.’ But I think the guns help.”
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They also help to save lives. -rc
To those who think that any offspring of these two “men” would be better off having their fathers still living I have a comment.
Really? How do you figure that they would teach anything worthwhile? It’s obvious that anger management and gun safety are not good topics. Lack of common sense (gun fight in the toy store) is also self evident. I also have my doubts about the mothers (seeing who they chose as sperm doners), but that’s another conversation.
To Bob in NJ: Losing one’s father is almost always traumatic; it is unfortunate the children of these two must go through that experience. Also…eliminating them from the workforce makes the rest of us work harder and also provide support for their survivors. However, clearing out the shallow end of the gene pool could be better in the long run.
Firstly, Randy, great commentary! I always love the after-credit bits you toss in there.
WRT the kids of the reported idiots, while it is a shame that they will be without their fathers, best indications are that this would have happened somewhere along the way anyhow; it just happened to occur in a more newsworthy setting that usual.
I love that these stories always seem to bring out the 2nd Amendment naysayers, especially those from outside the US. In case y’all didn’t notice the story, and Randy’s follow up, neither of these fellows had a legal permit to carry a concealed weapon. In fact, one was confirmed to have been specifically restricted from carrying due to a prior conviction.
As a permitted, concealed carry holder, I am acutely aware of what is proper and not, with regard to carrying, displaying, and using a weapon. I know many CC permit holders. If you were around us, you wouldn’t “see our weapons” unless there were a dire need. That’s part of the whole “concealed” business.
Frankly, the whole thing is a straw-man argument anyhow. Those who typically are wantonly destructive of society through the use of weapons have no regard for the law to begin with. The 2nd Amnd. is meaningless to them.
To speak to Izzard’s quip, the Brits are talking about outlawing sharp knives carried on one’s person, whether kitchen, sword, or folding they will be unlawful to have. What’s next, outlawing carrying stones or bricks in your hand? Will a mason need to have a weapons permit to work? Sure, I’m taking it to an extreme, but where does that thinking stop?!
Of course, I’m just an Alabama redneck clinging to my Bible and guns… and I’m OK with that. 😉
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Actually, your point is a lot like the one I made, here. -rc
OMG!! I laughed so hard I choked on my mashed potatoes! Going in armed the next day indeed!
Dang it, Randy, I wish you were still making these weekly.
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I did have fun with these, but there was no return whatsoever on the significant time/cost investment to make them. I didn’t expect cash back, but I did hope for new subscribers coming from them. But not even that happened. -rc
I miss these too. Is it alright to offer a link to the ones I like on Facebook? Maybe the publicity will help with new subscribers.
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Sure: all public pages here are happy to have a link to them. -rc
That’s the main reason I bought a pump shotgun. I figured I should only have to rack it once and never have to shoot it. Most people should understand the universal message of “STOP! Your a$$ is dead if you continue to do whatever it is you’re doing that I don’t want you to do.” So far I haven’t had to put my theory to work. Yet.
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May you never need to. -rc
Ahh, yes, indeed, no one is totally useless . . . they can always serve as a terrible example!
I saw Daddy shooting Stupid Claus….