Walmart - Did You Find Everything You Were Looking For Today?

[SalBac]

Even officers who arrived to perform CPR on the trampled worker were stepped on by wild-eyed shoppers streaming inside, a cop at the scene said.

"When they were saying they had to leave, that an employee got killed, people were yelling, 'I've been on line since last night!'" a witness said. "They kept shopping."

"I look at these people's faces and I keep thinking one of them could have stepped on him," said one employee. "How could you take a man's life to save $20 on a TV?"


I can't stop thinking about this incredible scene. I can't stop thinking about Jdimytai Damour's final moments. I can't stop thinking about the horror of feeling your cheek split open under the weight of someone's boot. The agony of people running across your soft stomach and breaking your ribs. And knowing... knowing that they're willing to crush your windpipe to get a good deal.

It's tempting to fling generalities and condemnation, but Damour's mob murder isn't WalMart's fault. The blame doesn't rest with the retail industry, marketing and advertising agencies, the spirit of capitalism, a looming recession, or any politicians, corporate Fat Cats, or ideology.

The only people responsible for this tragedy are those who participated in it. Every day, people all over the world elevate themselves above greed, boredom, impatience, anxiety, fatigue, inconvenience, need, and group think. Every day, people all over the world subsume the Self within the larger Society.

Those people at that WalMart on that day at that time didn't. They murdered Damour. The rest of us are just horrified sympathizers.

[DomstcSuperHero]

Nov. 29, 2008 at 12:40 PM

It's such a horrible thing that happened, though I disagree that it's not Walmart's fault.  If you have THAT many people coming to an EVENT (which is what it is), you need to have enought security to make sure those people (those working such an event as well as those participating in it).  It's frighteningly easy for a large crowd to get wound up into a frenzy- you can't communicate in such a situation and a situation that seems like an animal stampede could easily ensue.  There should have been more organize security so that this could not happen.  Such a horrible thing indeed. :(

[Bryn1020]

Nov. 29, 2008 at 5:12 PM

This story is awful!  And to hear the shoppers didn't want to leave the store even after they heard someone had been killed can only be answered by they have no concious.  Shame on them.  Can Walmart predict people will be have like savage beasts?  No other Walmart had such an incident.  I TOTALLY disagree with y ou DomstcSuperHero.  If it was your brother, your husband, your child, would you blame a retail, or the person or persons whose feet crushed the life out of another human being?  Are we not responsible for our own actions?  Does it not bother you that the crowd that killed this young man didn't want to quit shopping after hearing of his death?  They only thought about themselves saying they had been in line for hours, so they were going to get there deals.  That attitude is what caused this unnecessary death.  If Walmart is to blame, as you claim, then I hope they quit passing on such deals to consumers - because who knows how the consumers may behave and since they are resposible for those actions, they should offer those deep discounts to their employee's only who line up single file and act human beings.

[BigMommaJesca]

Dec. 2, 2008 at 2:50 PM

This reminds me of that guy who sued a store for back problems after carrying too much merchandise.  "They should be aware that no one can resist deals like this, and be responsible for the consequences."

Whatever.  Although WalMart COULD have prevented this, I don't think it's fair to say "They should have KNOWN that human beings are going to act like total animals (though to be fair, even animals can stampede without killing each other) in order to save a few bucks!"  No, that should NOT be a "given."

That SAID, Bryn, you asked "would you blame a retail, or the person or persons..."  If it were MY loved one?  I'd blame the retail.  They have more money, and funerals are expensive.  (Okay, maybe not ME, but the AVERAGE American!)

People gross me out sometimes.  They really do.  This story is a SAD statement on the human condition.

[KissieBaby3]

Jan. 8, 2009 at 3:50 PM

When I heard this on the news it made me sick to know that we live among such animals that are willing to injure, hurt, kill another human being to save a few lousy bucks!  I didn't take advantage of "Black Friday" for just that reasoning!  I had no idea people could be so evil.....but I remembered what HELL I went through about 3 weeks BEFORE Christmas and remembered the growling, snarling, evil glares of others as I'd reach for something on a shelf.  I was actually afraid to leave my shopping cart for a split second at Toys R Us in fear that someone would steal my hard searched for items from my cart.

What a very un-necessary loss that day!!  No one should have died or even been injured.  Sad......