Faith in humanity: ZERO

[gridlore]

Wal-Mart worker dies after shoppers knock him down

A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.

At least three other people were injured.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.

OK, time to end this Black Friday farce. No more doorbuster sales, no more limited time specials. And anyone who lines up hours before opening should be ticketed for loitering.

Comments

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Over half of those are the result of physical failures (walls collapsing, etc.) or have a clear cause not related to a surge (a riot breaking out, hailstorm, armed bandits in the stands.)

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

...which is still many, many more than the single Who show you mentioned. As for "riot breaking out", are you saying this doesn't count as a riot? *boggle*

[gridlore.livejournal.com]

Nope. Riots are the breakdown of social order. Characterized by random violence, looting, and vandalism. A riot may be directed at a perceived target (see the White Night Riot in San Francisco) or result from a large crowd getting out of control (see The Lakers Riot) or from a spontaneous reaction to an event (see the Rodney King Riot)

In this case, people, once in the store, shopped. They queued up, and up until the manager shut the place down were ready to pay for their purchases. Most didn't know that someone had been killed.

End the doorbusters. Or you can go tell the family of Jdimytai Damour that his death was just part of the American experience.

Oh, one thing about that list you posted? The majority of stampedes happen in Third World shitholes. We're supposed to be slightly more advanced than them. After The Who stampede, most venues with limited access changed their policies on festival seating. In some places, laws were enacted requiring such changes.

And yet the Republic survived.

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

It's now being reported his death was the result of people breaking into the store before opening time - which is already a crime, of course.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression I was trying to insult you or otherwise attack you personally. I respect your opinion on most things, and I wouldn't have gotten so exercised if I didn't otherwise value what you have to say.