Where Everybody Knows You're Numb

Psych Lit · Guru

RE: Wal-Mart Worker Trampled to Death

BoxDog · Guru

Psych Lit wrote:

BoxDog wrote:

Black Friday is the American version of a World Cup soccer match, sadly, but that's all. Collective adrenaline at it's worst example. RIP workerman. But, sadly, I would bet his spouse, SO, mother, some family member were in a similar line there or elsewhere. Because that's what far too many Americans do, for a gadget.

i was watching the news coverage abou this today. they interviewed people who were there. one woman said "i didnt come for this. i thought it would be fun." new york is freaking cold this time of year. how can parking yer butt in the freezing cold at 4am be fun? gift cards for the day after christmas sales seem like better chances for bargains.

i do think the store has some liability at least in the "attractive nuisance" sense of liability. they should have employed real security guards at the store because of the economic times and the history of these events being pig piles. one person who was there said people saw that there was no real security so when the doors opened they just piled in.

We have had far too many examples over the past dozen years of this type of havoc. There are are some simple fixes. It's like waiting in line for concert tickets (back in the day) or giving your lunch orders to "live" peeps at a drive thru becuase the P.A. system is down. If those first hundred people have specific "goods" they want, there should be staff available to collect some surety and in return provide some sort of promissory of the item, that simple. When those 3 plasmas are SOLD! and the 10 MP3's are gone, and the last farting barney of the year is claimed, end of stampede. The goods are gone before the doormans dead. Simple fixes, to save lives. I do feel strongly that it is NOT the corporation or store managements responsibility, but the combined efforts of the community and the big box stores. Hey, would you stand in line for five hours for something that sold out four hours ago? Nope, especially while jonesin' for a ho-ho!

-- Edited by BoxDog at 07:41, 2008-11-30

Psych Lit · Guru

BoxDog wrote:

Black Friday is the American version of a World Cup soccer match, sadly, but that's all. Collective adrenaline at it's worst example. RIP workerman. But, sadly, I would bet his spouse, SO, mother, some family member were in a similar line there or elsewhere. Because that's what far too many Americans do, for a gadget.

i was watching the news coverage abou this today. they interviewed people who were there. one woman said "i didnt come for this. i thought it would be fun." new york is freaking cold this time of year. how can parking yer butt in the freezing cold at 4am be fun? gift cards for the day after christmas sales seem like better chances for bargains.

i do think the store has some liability at least in the "attractive nuisance" sense of liability. they should have employed real security guards at the store because of the economic times and the history of these events being pig piles. one person who was there said people saw that there was no real security so when the doors opened they just piled in.

Nightowlhoot3 · Guru

BoxDog wrote:
But, sadly, I would bet his spouse, SO, mother, some family member were in a similar line there or elsewhere. Because that's what far too many Americans do, for a gadget.

Well? I didn't leave the house Friday. Nor did I buy anything online. I've done that "in the stores on black Friday" thing twice in my life -- once on purpose, and the other time, not. Not my cuppa tea. Way too anxiety creating, for me, and it seems as if "rudeness" is the order of the day. Unleashed greed is not something I like to see upclose and personal. I like ... heck, I love good bargains, but ...

BoxDog · Guru

My Turn wrote:

holy heck.....

NEW YORK (Nov. 28) - A worker was killed in the crush Friday after a throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains burst through the doors at a suburban Wal-Mart , authorities said.
At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.
"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. The man's name was not released and the cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after the store's 5 a.m. opening time, shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground."
A metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.

Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores in the annual bargain hunting ritual known as Black Friday. Many stores open early and stay open late, and some of the most dramatic bargains are available in limited quantities.

Among the bargains offered by Wal-Mart for Friday were Samsung 50-inch high definition Plasma TVs for less than $800.

Witnesses told the Daily News that before the store was closed, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the worker's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead," said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people suffered minor injuries, he said.

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman at National Retail Federation, said the group knew of no other incident where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart is working closely with police, company spokesman Dan Fogleman said.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.
2008-11-28 11:01:49

"A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people suffered minor injuries, he said".

I believe this woman should have been charged with reckless endangerment of an unborn child. Unless she just swam ashore from another country and didn't know, or was deeply in need of using a bathroom what the hell did she think could potentially happen in that line? I think it ridiculous that the corporate office was contacted for a comment. I think the peers, loved ones, parents, children, clergy or whatevers of all the morons in line that acted like animals should be contacted for their comments as well. It's not the STORES FAULT. Black Friday is the American version of a World Cup soccer match, sadly, but that's all. Collective adrenaline at it's worst example. RIP workerman. But, sadly, I would bet his spouse, SO, mother, some family member were in a similar line there or elsewhere. Because that's what far too many Americans do, for a gadget.

My Turn · Senior Member

holy heck.....

NEW YORK (Nov. 28) - A worker was killed in the crush Friday after a throng of shoppers eager for post-Thanksgiving bargains burst through the doors at a suburban Wal-Mart , authorities said.

At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on Long Island was closed.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was doing maintenance work at the store.

"He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight people off my back."

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. The man's name was not released and the cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after the store's 5 a.m. opening time, shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground."

A metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.

Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores in the annual bargain hunting ritual known as Black Friday. Many stores open early and stay open late, and some of the most dramatic bargains are available in limited quantities.

Among the bargains offered by Wal-Mart for Friday were Samsung 50-inch high definition Plasma TVs for less than $800.

Witnesses told the Daily News that before the store was closed, eager shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the worker's life.

"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead," said Halcyon Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."

A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people suffered minor injuries, he said.

Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman at National Retail Federation, said the group knew of no other incident where a retail employee has died working on the day after Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart is working closely with police, company spokesman Dan Fogleman said.

"The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families at this difficult time."

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press. Active hyperlinks have been inserted by AOL.

2008-11-28 11:01:49