Saturday, November 29, 2008

Rest in peace, Jimmy Damour.

Early yesterday morning, a man was trampled to death by people breaking down the door at the Valley Stream, NY Wal-Mart.

That's right: a young man is dead now, because a crowd of people stomped on his body as it lay between them and Big Savings.

Christmas spirit - yay!

(WTF is inside a Wal-Mart that's worth trampling over someone for? Really, what?)

Wal-Mart called it a "tragic situation," swept up the broken glass and reopened the store at 1:00 PM. Nobody from the company bothered to call the man's family to tell them he'd been killed. His father heard it from a friend, and went to identify the body.

I don't think it's being overdramatic to say there's something evil about that.

Something is very, very wrong with this culture. Buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff, buy stuff. Buy cheapest, buy most, buy first.

"Black Friday" has been perverse for a long time already. Now there's a death count.

Oh, but who doesn't love a bargain?

4 comments:

  1. It proves that our culture values a good deal over human life.

    That might be a bit much, but with "hundreds of people" trampling this poor guy, who is to say that this statement is wrong? Did nobody notice this?

    I understand the counterarguments, that there was a mob mentality with people pushing on the crowd, and thus the front of the crowd pushed against this man, but still... nobody noticed?

    It brings me back to the quote from the beginning of the movie "The Boondock Saints," where they reference "the indifference" of good people.

    It's sad.

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  2. Wal-Mart called it a "tragic situation," swept up the broken glass and reopened the store at 1:00 PM. Nobody from the company bothered to call the man's family to tell them he'd been killed. His father heard it from a friend, and went to identify the body.

    This is so wrong in so many ways

    I wish I could add something intelligent here but I am simply 'Gobsmacked' ...

    (How did we get to this point? )

    Doesn't sadden me at all... makes me &%$£*&^ Angry.

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  3. You know what I don't get? How are people so crazy stupid over buying shit? Black friday deals MOST of the time aren't that great compared to the normal sales going on between now and the holidays anyway. I don't think I have ever in my life gone shopping on black friday. I can't deal with the crowds, the lines, the mess in the stores where you can't even find what you're looking for.

    In my opinion, people who get up at the ass-crack of dawn to save $50 on the latest video game system are insane to begin with. It is the ultimate in a display of selfishness, entitlement, and a simple mind that buys into that rampant consumerist mentality. I hate to say it, but I'm not surprised by what happened. It makes me sad, but it's a reminder of how many people out there are just wild animals.

    UGH.

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  4. "In my opinion, people who get up at the ass-crack of dawn to save $50 on the latest video game system are insane to begin with."

    Indeed, but step back a second and realize the people at the front of the mob were in line by midnight or so -- waaaay before the crack of dawn.

    As the profit/bargain-at-any-cost mentality grinds itself deeper into our culture, outcomes like this become more likely, but no less sad.

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