Black Friday just got a little blacker

[BethT]

http://www.thestar.com/News/World/article/545269

im sorry, this seems insane to me.

[SouthShoreGirl]

It's a shame. This town is not too far away from where I live/work. I am 35 weeks pregnant myself and there's no way you'd catch me out there today! DH actually has banned me from the mall this season because of the craziness that ensues!

[Greg]

It's a tragic story. The greater tragedy, I think, is what this incident says about our (Americans') consumerism. This quote from the original Newsday story got to me:

Shoppers who surged past the fallen Wal-Mart worker into the store were asked to leave by other store workers, some of them crying and visibly upset, said one shopper, Kimberly Cribbs, of Far Rockaway.

Though rumors circulated among the shoppers that someone had been badly injured, people ignored the Wal-Mart workers' requests that they stop shopping, move to the front of the store and exit, Cribbs said.

"They kept shopping. It's not right," Cribbs said. "They're savages."

[hermione]

It's not just the consumerism that is sickening but the complete lack of morality and dignity.

[rabidpotatochip]

My wife said it best today: "I hope the deal they got was worth killing someone over".

[SouthShoreGirl]

Hearing reports today that a bunch of people are planning to sue Wal-Mart for this. I just don't feel that it's the store's fault though. What has happened to society?

[Catana]

Originally Posted by SouthShoreGirl

Hearing reports today that a bunch of people are planning to sue Wal-Mart for this. I just don't feel that it's the store's fault though. What has happened to society?

Yes, it is the store's fault. With a massive crowd of people outside, and past instances of this kind of thing happening, the store manager should have had crowd control procedures and staff in place.

[SouthShoreGirl]

Originally Posted by Catana

Yes, it is the store's fault. With a massive crowd of people outside, and past instances of this kind of thing happening, the store manager should have had crowd control procedures and staff in place.

I think as HUMANS though there should be some responsibility taken from the "crowd". As I said, I live and work in this area and see people being pushy everyday......whether it's on the train or trying to be "first" in line at the grocery store. People in general are lacking in respect for one another, and there comes a point where they cannot "blame" others for their own behavior.

[kav122]

This story LITERALLY made me sick to my stomach. I just don't understand. What could someone possibly want bad enough to walk on someone to get? I will say a prayer for those that were a part of the whole ordeal--and all of us. *sigh*

[gt0163c]

Originally Posted by SouthShoreGirl

I think as HUMANS though there should be some responsibility taken from the "crowd". As I said, I live and work in this area and see people being pushy everyday......whether it's on the train or trying to be "first" in line at the grocery store. People in general are lacking in respect for one another, and there comes a point where they cannot "blame" others for their own behavior.

I agree. Although that's easy to say here and now and on this side of something like this happening. It's well documented that people in a crowd act very differently from people who are alone or in a smaller group. Doesn't make it any less wrong nor excuse anything, doesn't even really explain it, but it does make it a little easier to understand how something like this happened. The scary thing, to me, is that this doesn't happen more often. There are many stories of people being injured in fights over merchandise at stores. I've witnessed people getting into screaming matches over store merchandise. I'm sure many of us have.

We're a screwed up bunch of people in a screwed up world. We can each do our part to make things closer to the way that they should be. It's hard, but it's worth doing.