So it’s Black Friday! How are you celebrating? In Long Island, they’re celebrating by killing Wal-Mart workers:
A Wal-Mart worker has died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers shortly after the Long Island store opened Friday, police said. Unconfirmed reports said a pregnant woman also miscarried as the crowd rushed in.
Nassau County police said the 34-year-old Wal-Mart worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. ET, an hour after the store opened.
A police statement said a throng of shoppers “physically broke down the doors, knocking him to the ground.” The exact cause of death “will be determined by the medical examiner’s office,” the police stated.
A 28-year-old pregnant woman was also taken to the hospital, after evidently miscarrying.
UPDATE: Thanks to Charles Brubaker in comments for alerting us that the inital reports of a miscarriage were false.
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You know, the way the Black Friday stampede depicted in the comic strip Retail is becoming more and more realistic.
http://coopersretailblog.blogspot.com/2008/11/high-cost-of-low-prices.html (the blog of one of the strip’s characters)
Oh, and it looks like the woman didn’t lose her baby.
It seems that this occurs every single black Friday. Can we really be that desperate to save a few bucks that we think it is okay to just crush someone. I think the part that sickens me most is the idea of someone stepping on someone to save a couple of bucks.
In Palm Desert which is some place near Palm Springs, two people were killed during a shootout over some item in Toys ‘R Us. ‘Ol Dennis claims it was not over a toy however but they were fighting over something else.
Renee- the crowd may actually have been propelled forward after the man fell by a combination of momentum from the doors opening and people pushing from the back — where they’d have no idea that a person had fallen in the first place. The people that stepped on him may have had their view of him obstructed by the throngs of people, and been pushed forward by those behind them. If they stopped, they may have fallen on top of him and also been crushed, or been left standing on him instead of moving forward. It’s an unfortunate situation all around, and not without precedent.
http://www.crowdsafe.com/taskrpt/
it would be simple to depict this as mindless, greedy, uncouth, backwater walmart customers killing a walmart workers intentionally and rushing past the body in an effort to not miss out on some sale.
the death was not intentional. the celebrating by killing comment was crass.
this was a tragedy.
the death was not intentional. the celebrating by killing comment was crass.
Intentional, no, but according to the report, people did refuse to leave when they were told that the store was closing because of a death. So depicting the average shopper, whoever he or she may be, as greedy and uncouth has some justification.
it would be simple to depict this as mindless, greedy, uncouth, backwater walmart customers …
Backwater? The store is less than 10 miles from the Bronx borough limits.
it is fashionable and trendy to disparage folks that shop at walmart as uncouth, backwater, vulgar and pedestrian.
sometimes they are accused of celebrating the holiday by killing walmart workers…….
In relation to this incident, such a description of Walmart shoppers would be dead-on accurate. This news report provides additional details as to what occurred. Here are some of the things that those unfairly maligned Walmart shoppers did:
– They took the doors of the store off their hinges.
– They knocked several employees down to the ground. Other employees had to climb on top of vending machines to avoid the stampede.
– While the rescue workers were performing CPR on Jdimytai Damour, the victim, they were stepped on by frenzied shoppers streaming into the store. (So it’s not like people were merely propelled in the initial crowd surge.) Other shoppers (or at least one shopper) climbed on top of a vending machine to gawk at Damour’s lifeless body and the attempts to revive him, as you can see in the video that accompanies the article.
– When told that the store had to close due to a fatal accident, patrons refused to leave and continued to shop, motivating their conduct by the fact that they had waited “since Friday morning”.
Roger, please don’t try to make it look as if a bunch of “elitists” are beating up on poor common folk who depend on Walmart discounts for their survival. Being frenzied out of control because you can’t afford a loaf of bread is one thing; being frenzied out of control because you can’t afford a flat-screen TV is quite another. The behavior of Walmart shoppers in this instance was beyond vulgar and uncouth — it was callous, greedy in the extreme and brimming with contempt for human life or dignity. Do you honestly think a discount on a DVD player justifies that?
jeff states in the indicative that customers celebrated “black friday” by killing a walmart worker. this statement is either accurate or it is not. if not then i would say that he is indeed disparaging an entire group of persons.
this is a tragedy not a celebration.
Roger, please don’t try to make it look as if a bunch of “elitists” are beating up on poor common folk who depend on Walmart discounts for their survival. Being frenzied out of control because you can’t afford a loaf of bread is one thing; being frenzied out of control because you can’t afford a flat-screen TV is quite another. The behavior of Walmart shoppers in this instance was beyond vulgar and uncouth — it was callous, greedy in the extreme and brimming with contempt for human life or dignity. Do you honestly think a discount on a DVD player justifies that?