Sigh.

"I do feel that it's on the onerus [sic] of the business owners to secure their property . . . "

--Mayor of Putnam, CT, regarding "what retailers can do" to prevent crimes against their customers

Sales of the coveted PlayStation 3 game opened today. Scores of avid gamers had camped out on chairs under blankets and sleeping bags for three or four days in front of stores such as Wal-Mart and Best Buy. In our town, they had reportedly been permitted to abandon their spots to attend local college courses for a few hours. Their spots were "saved," and they retrieved them after class. In Putnam, CT, a car full of thugs drove up and started bullying would-be customers, brandishing a gun and robbing them of any cash they could get. One steadfast man refused to give them his cash and was shot in the chest/shoulder. His injuries are reported as life threatening.

At the large and popular mall in a nearby town, a successful PS3 purchaser was scoped out inside the store and then mugged upon exit. The security camera captured the incident, which came across on TV in very poor resolution. The mugging is clear. After throwing down the customer and stealing the game, the criminals jumped back into a waiting getaway car. One of the muggers wasn't so lucky, and didn't quite make it into the car fast enough. The others threw him out of the car and onto the parking lot blacktop, where they left him as they drove off. He, a minor, was arrested.

Why would you wait three or four days with a large wad of cash outside in public for a stupid GAME?

Why would youths commit a crime and doom their everloving entire futures for a stupid GAME?

Why can't a mayor speak basic English? And why does the mayor blame the business owners who are paying the taxes that support his town for the crimes committed there? No wonder we're all so effed up.

Dumbasses all.