Comments on: Black Friday Crowds Kill Walmart Worker.

By: MoneyMateKate

MoneyMateKate — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 06:36:43 +0000

Ah, FitWallet, I was going to mention that bit as well. Apparently Walmart shoppers were pissed that they had to wait until 1pm to resume their shopping due to the investigation. And how about the 8-month pregnant shopper who also got a bit banged up in the same incident? Instead of feeling sorry for her, I couldn’t stop myself from thinking how incredibly stupid she was to knowingly participate in the 5am Black Friday crush.

Things like this embarrass me on a deep cultural level.

By: fitwallet

fitwallet — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 02:23:24 +0000

The worst part of the report I read was that shoppers continued to shop after the store announced it would close. So literally, they trampled and killed this poor man, then continued to shop for the best deals. Sick on so many levels.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:29:46 +0000

I live on Long Island, so that story was all over the papers on Saturday. I just can’t be shocked, although I am disgusted and horrified. Where I live is obnoxiously commercial — kids in the HS where I teach are judged based on their cell phones.

The Black Friday sales here are ridiculous. I used to work retail, and even in the little stores I worked, it was almost intolerable.

I read in the paper today that the counties are looking to make laws that will prevent this. Aside from banning Black Friday, I don’t know what they could do.

By: Jen

Jen — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 23:44:59 +0000

It seems like this happens every year. Sad to say that I’m no longer surprised by this.

By: thinkingthing

thinkingthing — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 04:18:54 +0000

Trampling must be the worst way to go. The futility of it is enraging.

The employee who told the crowd that the store was opening early, if this actually happened, should be charged with inciting riot.

The people who kept shopping should be charged with impeding the investigation. Walmart can tag a lot of them via credit card transactions.

Walmart should be charged with criminal negligence for not taking enough precautions. The press release on their site is pathetic.

By: Keith

Keith — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 19:28:54 +0000

Even in stores where nobody died there are still examples of consumerism run amok. How did saving a few hundred dollars for something you likely wont even use in a couple of years ever become more important than spending time with your friends and family on a holiday? People wait overnight in freezing cold to buy stuff. It seems so de-humanizing, though maybe that’s how the stampedes and disregard for life happen.

By: ChristianPF

ChristianPF — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:32:48 +0000

wow, my jaw is on the floor… I almost can’t believe this story. Some things never cease to amaze me…

By: SHARON GOIST

SHARON GOIST — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 16:01:27 +0000

This is truly a disguesting situation. Things evidently being more important than a human being.

Jerry from one of the comments above said the family probably would not have any recourse. They should immediately seek a
“good” workers compensation lawyer and file a civil suit. I’m sure that OSHA will also get involved. If not force them to – with only a phone call.

Money will not bring back this familys loved one but maybe it will help someone else and workplace safety during these types of situations. It is evident that there were not enough employees to handle such a situation. Was this man trained for this type of situation? My guess is no. Nor was the situation “safe” for the employee as the doors were also broke down?

Supervision at this Wal-Mart was directly responsible to see to the above. They miserably failed this man. How many others?

When money and things become more important than employee lives its time to bring down that corporation or in the least get them to do some corporate restructing and training so this can never happen again.

Human beings unfortunately will not change but law and training can.

Sharon

By: David

David — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:50:01 +0000

So true FD, so true…

By: Michele

Michele — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:06:17 +0000

This is SOP for Walmart. Tho I have heard of this sort of thing happening at a grand opening of an IKEA where a customer was trampled a couple of years ago.

I worked at Walmart in 1993 and tho no one got killed, people acted similarly and had no concept of right and wrong. When I came in at midnight there were several RV’s camped in the parking lot, by 4 a.m. there were a couple dozen people in line to get in. When the doors opened, they ran through the aisles trying to get at the loss leaders. People were stalking other customers with one of the precious 10 items that they had waited all night for, and if that person stepped away from their cart, they would take it out of the cart and rush to the check out. I never saw people so mean, so selfish and show complete disregard for the people around them. Whatever happened to being decent? That was pretty much the last time I ever participated in Black Friday.

I was really hoping more people would sit Black Friday out and send a message.