Although no charges will probably be filed against them, I demand an investigation of all writers of The Onion to see if they accidentally wrote a satirical story that came to life, Jumanji-style. Because that's just how stereotypical this tragedy is.
We have Wal-Mart, the symbol of unfettered capitalism gone asunder. We have the day after Thanksgiving, known as "Black Friday," where people are known to go crazy for 5 a.m. "doorbuster" sales at department stores. ("You can't beat these prices unless you, y'know, go online!") We have an apocalyptic unruly mob, only instead of racing fellow consumers for Soylent Green or the new Brawndo flavor, they want 20 percent off flat-screen TVs. And we have the death of a Wal-Mart employee, trampled to death, as hundreds of avid customers skip over his body, unaware of the grisly death underneath their tennis shoes. A pregnant woman was also injured in the bullrush.
This actually happened, right? This wasn't some kind of viral video stunt? Because that would somehow make more sense.
After reading comments in the Fark and Daily News' threads, one central theme is clear. "This, my friends, is everything that is wrong with America," wrote one commenter. Another reader said, "How absolutely sickening! It just confirms my belief that Black Friday is the High Holy Day in the religion of Materialism when everyone bows down to the Almighty Dollar."
Those sentiments, and more, are probably true. Building on that, these are thoughts that, in dystopian words depicted in Idiocracy and Rollerball, don't exist except maybe in the head of the lone protagonist. As a society we pretty much have clear boundaries of right and wrong. Wrong: fatally running over a retail store worker. Right: Um, not doing that. Wrong: Letting your kids run free in the aisles. Right: Yelling at your children in a public venue, which will teach them a valuable lesson, years later reminiscing while on a therapist's coach, on how to be a bad parent.
Article comments
1 - Terry
Well! At no time should Wal-MArt be held liable. This is the mob and only the mobs fault. I say review the tapes and arrest and convict the first 500 knuckleheads. Give them 500 hours of community service at the county morgue. Have them banned from participating or being a spectator in any event with more than 100 people and shopping at walmart for life.
P.S. Let Wal-Mart do the right thing and pay out a reasonble condolence GIFT, say about $100,000.00 (100 grand)
2 - summer
those deals aren't found online. that's why those thugs went in line because those bargains were instore only.
3 - Douglas Mays
I would say that Wal-Mart is liable. Every holiday season I see all these crowds shoving their way into big box stores across the nation. this was bound to happen sometime.
The way situations like this are controlled are to create a long line and let in groups of people at a time. Barriers, security are needed to do this. Why hasn't retail ever done this?
Wasn't anything learned in 1978 when 4 people were crushed under the same circumstances at a WHO concert at Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinatti?
DM
4 - Dr Dreadful
Douglas,
You need to put "http://" in front of your website address in the URL box before you submit comments. If you leave it off, people will just get an error message when they click on your URL.
You should only need to do it the one time, and your browser will remember it.
Thanks,
Dr D
Assistant Comments Editor
5 - Dave Nalle
How the hell do you see this as comparable to the deaths at the Who concert in 78? There's no comparison at all. Crazy.
Dave
6 - Jet
I thought it was the Rolling Stones at Altamont?
7 - Ruzanna
an investigation will not change anything - Jdimytai Damour is already dead. even if police finds those who killed him, the incident will be called an accident and no one will be actually responsible for it.
8 - Douglas Mays
Dave (#5), it is exactly like the WHO concert!! Ever been to Riverfront Coliseum? I've seen a few concerts there in the past. I thought that they could have a trampling death every show.
It is EXACTLY the same in this respect. Riverfront Coliseum had entry doors like any big box store. You have an anxious huge crowd packed around a front door. The doors open. You have a huge push of people trying to get thru an entry way, like sand thru an hour glass. A simple crowd control situation.
How is that not exactly like the WHO concert? The only thing different was the event causing the maniacal crowd.
As a teenage concert goer here in Seattle in the late 60s and 70s I always wondered why things were handled the way they were. Taking this huge group of people and creating this line hundreds of yards long. The cops would ride horses and use them to keep this line (5 -10 people wide) of concert goers in line.
After the WHO incident, I realized why this was the method used for entry into shows in my town. A method used long before the WHO incident. This is a smart, basic method (no matter what the event is) to avoid crushing death.
After looking into the Cincinatti event, I blame the City of Cincinatti or Coliseum management or event promoters (who ever is responsible for crowd control in the the rental of Coliseum contract). So in this case, I would blame Wal-Mart. They are the unfortunate ones of any store nationwide that this type of incident occurred. It could have happened at any store.
Anyway, Dave, it is exactly like the Cincinatti WHO-> show...
DM
9 - Deano
I'm not sure how you could ever claim Wal-mart wasn't liable or responsible.
Wal-Mart has a legal responsibility to their employees as well as to their customers to provide a safe and healthy work environment.
If their expectation for a sale was hordes of shoppers, then establishing basic safe crowd control measures in order to protect their retail employees is a legal requirement - not something that would "nice to have". The reality is that there are no accidents - everything about this incident was entirely preventable and controllable. They could have laid on extra security, issued vouchers to the first arrivals, established proper line-ups and entry procedures.
They failed miserably and it cost someone their life. I think they should be held to account for it.
10 - Dr Dreadful
It was Terry Pratchett who said that the collective IQ of a mob is inversely proportional to the number of its members.
And with Wal-Mart customers, the bar isn't set all that high in the first place.
11 - El Bicho
I agree with Doug about it being like The Who in Cincy. People racing in for something they want (cheap electronics, spot close to the stage) and didn't care who got in their way.