Our View – Dec. 8, 2012

What is it going to take for the business community to learn?

Creating chaos is not the best form of business and does not endure you to a community … no matter how much they are saving.

In the ever-growing world of bargain hunting, some businesses have started holding special sales on the day after Thanksgiving (a.k.a. Black Friday).

Unfortunately, for some people, the words civility and good will went out in the trash with some of the holiday leftovers and unwanted scraps.

It has gotten so bad some businesses have called upon members of law enforcement to help maintain control.

Of course, if even one person feels the off-duty officer mistreated them, they will complain.

Before you say it only happens in big cities, you better think again.

Pensacola has joined the growing list of locations where a deputy and sheriff's office could be facing charges.

There are several ways to solve this problem, but the best way is to design sales so they are not feeding frenzies.

Some stores went to “Grey Thursday” and at one location we will not name, a reporter observed (at 10 p.m.) people mking a mad dash as soon as the shrink wrap was removed from a stack of DVD players. Some of those who participated in the unorganized rugby-like scrum came out carrying four or more of the DVD players.

The big question is, what can one officer do when watching the shopping sharks during a feeding frenzy?

Call out to see who doesn't listen the most?

A grand solution is to keep the officers out of these situations so they do not set themselves and their departments up for a lawsuit.

In order to maintain their authority, they are dressed in their uniforms and driving their patrol cars so they are representing their department, whether on duty or not.

If this holiday assault continues, will stores try to get the governor to call out the National Guard? Yes, we’re joking, but the point is made.

Christmas has been over commercialized for decades so there is nothing new to this argument.

Halloween wasn't even over and there were some stores putting out their Christmas Trees and other items.

Life might be fun the in fast lane, but we seem to miss so much as we try to rush through everything, including Christmas.

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Our View – Dec. 8, 2012