Black, black Friday
A death at Walmart: When shopping fervor goes too far
A crowd of shoppers (not pictured) tramples to death a Walmart employee on Long Island.
(APP)
What happened
When a Walmart store on Long Island opened at 5 a.m. for its Black Friday sale, the ensuing stampede of shoppers crushed and killed an overnight stock clerk. Even as emergency crews attempted to save the clerk's life, shoppers rushed past them into the store. The police reported several other injuries, including a pregnant woman who was trampled, causing a miscarriage. "They're savages," said one witness. "It's sad. It's terrible." (New York Daily News)
What the commentators said
"It sounds like an article from the Onion, but it's not," said Thomas Lifson in American Thinker. "I love a bargain, but no bargain is worth this carnage." This event will certainly lead to "strict crowd control measures" for super bargain sales, but shouldn't we know better? Can anyone enjoy their new flat-screen TV when someone died for it?
All the more reason to stay home on the first weekend of the holiday shopping season, said Kimberly Palmer in U.S. News & World Report online. "Retailers are doing everything they can to lure you into their stores," but you'll be happier if you skip the post-Thanksgiving mobs altogether. Stores will be crowded; you can find better deals online; if you buy nothing, you'll be encouraging giving back and sustainable living; and avoiding the stores gives you more time with your family—isn't that what the holidays are about?
This is certainly a gruesome example of American consumerism gone too far, said David Ellis in CNN Money online. Besides the death of the Walmart employee, there are many examples of the fever pitch of Black Friday hysteria. One family skipped Thanksgiving dinner in order to wait outside stores on Thursday night, in anticipation of Friday's sales. But the death in Long Island is certainly a "tragic turn" from the usual holiday shopping frenzy.
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9 Comments
Posted by thomas acito, Friday, November 28, 2008, 12:27 pm I guess the economy's not in as bad shape as we think. Either that or we are just addicted to consumerism. It's truly sad and a bit pathetic to see evolution stopped in it's tracks.
Posted by Rose, Friday, November 28, 2008, 1:15 pm I have to say, Canadians do it better - they line-up.
Posted by fenise, Friday, November 28, 2008, 3:37 pm I used to work Walmart here in Texas... and i cant believe this happened!! So glad that where i live they dont even shut thier doors plus have 3 cop cars so this wouldnt happen! This is New York one of the pushest cities.. why wasn't there cops? Walmart knows better and all they can say is its traggic... My prayers will go out to his family members and I hope his wife will sue walmart for every dime she can cuz this is messed up!! I know it wouldnt bring him back but at least hopefully she wont have to struggle to raise thier children if they had any... I hope New York walmarts will be smarter next year!!
Posted by Ben, California, Friday, November 28, 2008, 8:58 pm This is definitely tragic, and a sign that we have gone too far. This does not mean, however, that 'the economy is not in as bad a shape as we think.' It means we ARE still attached to our consumerism, but more dire times mean people are going to be more ruthless to acquire their goods on sale. This can be said especially considering the news comes from an alternative-good store such as Walmart that benefits from downturns in the economy as people avoid shopping at nicer, more expensive stores and look at the B-rated ways to acquire the goods we let run our lives. So it looks like we are hesitant to change our ways and end-desires, only the means. Further, a lot more stores are offering deals online, usually matching the values you will find in the stores, and the cost of shipping is often waived on larger purchases, or is offset by the cost of time and fuel it requires to go to these warehouses and malls. Not to mention the emotional and physical strain of listening to christmas songs on repeat while elbowing the elderly for the last item on the 50% off shelf. Welcome to the holiday season. Hurrah.
Posted by kishor.patil, Monday, December 1, 2008, 5:41 am the week,at it's best always. sir, i have read the special book named "best of the week",which was published in 2ooo,,recently..i also got myself known with the pain which you have taken in starting the magazine and the best of efforts which you have put to make this magazine available at every coffee table in india.I am a regular reader of the week.The article''Black,black friday" was one of the best! i wish best of luck for your troop,thank you
Posted by patricia flores, Monday, December 1, 2008, 6:52 pm what the hell are these people thinking? to see a man on the floor and still continue with there shopping like as if nothing happened . freakin' people should really get a hold of them selves,wake up people loose weight and get alife
Posted by Diana, Tuesday, December 2, 2008, 7:18 am @ Thomas Acito: I will have to go with the latter - it's disgusting and sick to think that people put possessions over people. While this is an isolated incident, it a bad snapshot of what our SOP could become.
Posted by Jen, New York, Wednesday, December 3, 2008, 12:56 pm In reference to the comment about NY Walmarts, I would like to say that this Walmart was on Long Island and that is not the same as NYC. This is a tragic thing that should have never happened, but I can assure you it's not because it was in New York. There was also a shooting at a Target in California that day - but I doubt that was because the store was in California. Not everyone in NY is pushy, just like not everyone in the south is friendly.
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