Illinois man gives away everything to counter 'Black Friday' craziness

    By Alexandria Fisher, NBCChicago.comIn just a few hours on Saturday, a west suburban Chicago man gave away almost everything he owned.Brian Bagnall, 32, of Franklin Park, who authored a book on happiness, gave away everything in his home aside from a few personal items as he prepared for a move to a furnished home in Virginia.Instead of selling his belongings, Bagnall reportedly posted on Craigslist that he was giving away his things for free.See original report at NBCChicago.com“After seeing the many videos of people acting crazy on Black Friday, we wanted to encourage some human kindness,” the Craigslist ad read. “We thought about selling it, but that just wouldn’t be in the holiday spirit.”But the sale didn’t come without a few rules.Bagnall asked that no one push, shove, run, yell or do any other mean acts during the giveaway.“This isn’t Walmart,” the ad said.Roughly 200 people showed up Saturday morning to clean out his three-bedroom home in the 3200 block of Dora Street, and within a few hours, the place was empty."People were waiting all over the lawn and cars were lining up and down the street," Bagnall said. "There were 40 or 50 people on the front lawn when it first opened."Bagnall said the sale was part of his and his girlfriend's plan to live the life he preaches.He said the two try to do little things each day to spread happiness, like buying a coffee for the person in line behind them when they go out.Bagnall gave away everything from couches and love seats to tools and ladders. He said people were even taking shelves off the walls."There were a lot of smiles today," he said. "People need happiness more than ever right now and Black Friday shows it."