Wal-Mart Worker trampled to death by Black Friday shopper mob

[aneeshm]

Does this happen in other countries? Feels like this scenario happens in the US every year either at Thanksgiving or Christmas.

It happens in temple stampedes in India at the special times of pilgrimage, and in Saudi Arabia during the Haj pilgrimage.

Whether or not consumerism is the religion of America I leave the reader to decide.

 

[MjM]

That doesn't make them babysitters. Adults are expected to behave themselves.

Walmart is expected to provide basic security for those on their property. If someone dies on their property, it is their fault. And telling a rampaging group of 200 people to behave themselves is extremely stupid. It is Wal-Mart's problem, and I hope people see that.

 

[MjM]

99.9% (probably 100%, this is walmart) of the people in that crowd unnecessarily slaughtered an innocent tortured animal to eat that morning and you expect them to give a crap about another one sprawled between them and an x-box?

I don't kill my own food. I have factory farms do that for me. Also, there is a moral difference between killing a human and an animal. I'd like to see you kill a chicken then kill a baby and see if people equate them the same. They don't, and they shouldn't. Human lives are worth more to us because we are human, and that is the simple fact.

 

[Zarn]

Walmart is expected to provide basic security for those on their property. If someone dies on their property, it is their fault. And telling a rampaging group of 200 people to behave themselves is extremely stupid. It is Wal-Mart's problem, and I hope people see that.

So if someone is assaulted in his own house, it is his own fault? If someone attacked the babysitter, is it the owner's fault?

The blame lies on the mob. They comitted the act. They should be in jail.

 

[Sharwood]

I wouldn't go that far. After all, I've been in groups of that size. Once they start moving, you go with them, or you die. The people who started it, they belong in gaol, and it should be possible to pick them out with surveillance footage.

 

[Zarn]

Better to be killed than kill. It's not a war zone. You become the guilty party.

 

[Sharwood]

Better to be killed than kill. It's not a war zone. You become the guilty party.

Bullcrap. If you think I, or anyone else, is overriding their sense of self-preservation just because it's "not a war zone" you're an idiot. People have the right to defend their own lives, and that includes taking the lives of others, if necessary. If you're in a stampeding mob, it may very well be necessary.

 

[MjM]

So if someone is assaulted in his own house, it is his own fault? If someone attacked the babysitter, is it the owner's fault?

The blame lies on the mob. They comitted the act. They should be in jail.

Those are different. If someone is assaulted in his own house and he knew the assault was impending, and did not try to stop it, then I would say it is his own fault, even though obviously he did not kill himself.

If the babysitter was in danger and the owners knew about the danger, yet still let her babysit, then yes, it is the owner's fault the babysitter is injured now. Obviously the assailant in both causes caused the damage, but the fault of letting it happen still goes with the owner in either case.

It is the same with the Wal-mart situation. The owners knew a mob was gathering and let it. Instead of either hiring enough raw power for that day (in the form of security. And another brief tangent, don't even try to say Wal-Mart had no intention of having a mob, thus did not hire security. All major retailers know insanity of black friday, and it is Wal-Mart's fault for not adequately planning for it) or closing their store, or telling their employees to flee the scene, they did nothing. And because of that, a man is dead now, and a few people injured. To stop it would have been all too easy for Wal-Mart, but they did not, and they must accept the consequences.

 

[Phlegmak]

99.9% (probably 100%, this is walmart) of the people in that crowd unnecessarily slaughtered an innocent tortured animal to eat that morning and you expect them to give a crap about another one sprawled between them and an x-box?

Hey, look at that! You're an equatist!

 

[Zarn]

Those are different. If someone is assaulted in his own house and he knew the assault was impending, and did not try to stop it, then I would say it is his own fault, even though obviously he did not kill himself.

If the babysitter was in danger and the owners knew about the danger, yet still let her babysit, then yes, it is the owner's fault the babysitter is injured now. Obviously the assailant in both causes caused the damage, but the fault of letting it happen still goes with the owner in either case.

It is the same with the Wal-mart situation. The owners knew a mob was gathering and let it. Instead of either hiring enough raw power for that day (in the form of security. And another brief tangent, don't even try to say Wal-Mart had no intention of having a mob, thus did not hire security. All major retailers know insanity of black friday, and it is Wal-Mart's fault for not adequately planning for it) or closing their store, or telling their employees to flee the scene, they did nothing. And because of that, a man is dead now, and a few people injured. To stop it would have been all too easy for Wal-Mart, but they did not, and they must accept the consequences.

They took the doors off the hinges. They let themselves in.

 

[Trajan12]

The crowd should have never been there that way, and would not have had Wal-Mart hired proper security.

The Coporation's greed + The consumer's greed = The working man getting screwed over for trying to make a buck. It's a mighty fine personification of this equation.

 

[Zarn]

This is not corperate greed. People don't day everyday from store openings.

 

[Bugfatty300]

I wasn't aware that Wal-Marts have riot/crowd control squads. I'm not sure how you guys are expecting a Wal-Mart staff to handle and control hundreds of people like that.

I suppose the crippled greeters in wheel-chairs should have been providing cover while the old ladies came in with shields and tear gas grenades. That would have stopped them.

 

[Trajan12]

This is not corperate greed. People don't day everyday from store openings.

These Black Friday messes are corporate greed. They don't care if this kind of thing happens as long as they clear their shelves.

I wasn't aware that Wal-Marts have riot squat/crowd control squads. I'm not sure how you guys are expecting a Wal-Mart staff to handle and control hundreds of people.

They should have made this as orderly as possibly, and if the crowd was being unruly, called the police. I mean, how exactly did they expect this to go down with the crowd just all gathered in front of the door like that?

In all the malls around here, there were guards to make sure an orderly line was formed. First come, first serve, and wait your turn to get in. Sure there was madness in the store, but no one was getting trampled. Why could they have had people to keep things under control at our stores in Metro Detroit, and not their stores near New York Freakin' City?

Either way you slice it, a lot of people(not just the consumers) didn't think this through very much.

I suppose the crippled greeters in wheel-chairs should have been providing cover while the old ladies came in with shields and tear gas grenades. That would have stopped them.

ZOMG U R SO SNARKY.

 

[Bugfatty300]

They should have made this as orderly as possibly, and if the crowd was being unruly, called the police.

This may seem silly but how do you know they didn't call the police before hand? Most of the police could have been occupied else were at larger openings for all we know. There could have been a token police presence there for all we know as well. If people are smashing down doors I don't know what else there is to do.

 

[Trajan12]

This may seem silly but how do you know they didn't call the police before hand? The police could have been occupied else were at larger openings for all we know.

Police were actually around here beforehand. But even if they weren't, then there it's the fault of the Police for being ill-prepared for the shopping frenzies. Either way you slice it, the crowd is not the only one this blame can be placed on. Someone else should have taken care to prevent the situation from coming to this and I for one don't think that we can just blame the crowd and move on. There is more blame to go around.

 

[Ecofarm]

I don't kill my own food. I have factory farms do that for me. Also, there is a moral difference between killing a human and an animal. I'd like to see you kill a chicken then kill a baby and see if people equate them the same. They don't, and they shouldn't. Human lives are worth more to us because we are human, and that is the simple fact.

You would be surprised how many disagree. We are not all so arrogant.

Hey, look at that! You're an equatist!

Hey, look at that! You don't know what ecocentrism is! I could describe many, many meaningful similarities between humans and "lesser" animals. You are wrong this time (you've caught me before), but I appreciate you keeping the word alive.

 

[MjM]

They took the doors off the hinges. They let themselves in.

Then it is even more so Wal-Mart's fault. Do you realize how long it takes to escalate from a line to door-ripping mob? Wal-Mart let the mob develop until they could not stop it. It is undeniable that this could've easily been avoided had Wal-Mart spent a little time making it's stores safe and anticipating the insanity of Black Friday.

Also, I'm not saying the mob isn't at fault completely. I think it's sick that they trampled a person just to save money. I also think it's sick that a corporation as rich as Wal-Mart didn't prevent it when it could have.

 

[Zarn]

These Black Friday messes are corporate greed. They don't care if this kind of thing happens as long as they clear their shelves.

That's your opinion... and then there is reality.

BTW, none of you have told me why it is Wal-Mart's fault that their doors were knocked down.

 

[Bugfatty300]

Then it is even more so Wal-Mart's fault. Do you realize how long it takes to escalate from a line to door-ripping mob? Wal-Mart let the mob develop until they could not stop it. It is undeniable that this could've easily been avoided had Wal-Mart spent a little time making it's stores safe and anticipating the insanity of Black Friday.

Again I'm still fuzzy on how Wal-Mart is supposed to prevent mob development and crowd control. Major police forces have trouble with it, how exactly is Wal-Mart staff supposed to do it?