Is $100 off a HDTV really worth that much to some people, it's sickening, there appears to be a horrific lack of morals and common sense amongst a certain populous that is worryingly growing...
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walmart worker trampled to death on black friday
- Thread starter furcalchick
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A few people get trampled every year, and it's really just wrong.
I hope Walmart (and every other retail that lets stampedes happen) has to pay a massive penalty for this, because they know this happens every year. Ticket systems work well (electronic stores use them) so I can't see why other retailers can't do the same.
Killed over pointless consumer goods...how sad.
how is it wal mart's fault? the idiots outside broke down the door to get in
There was a drive by shooting outside of a store in Lexington this time last year. It's all quite sad to see people act so stupidly in such situations.
They could not have the sales, or spread the discounts over the course of the month of December.
They could not have the sales, or spread the discounts over the course of the month of December.
This type of behavior is neither new nor unexpected.
Black Friday injuries have been on the rise for some time, and retailers need to be held accountable to a certain degree, because they are goading customers and driving them into a frenzy over crappy deals.
I think it's reasonable to expect all retailers, including Walmart, to keep lines orderly. Best Buy (at least the one in my area) did this by putting up ropes to mark a clear line boundary and gave customers tickets to represent their place in line. No one was in front of the door, no one could run over anyone else (security was there too). Mind you I wasn't there to witness it because I stay away from Black Friday, but the news story last night showed a very clearly thought out process and Best Buy should be commended for their foresight.
supposedly (with good reason) this was the heaviest advertised black Friday. Not the most deals, the most advertising. The ads are what get people into these frenzies and most people know that the $129 blu ray players in major short supply and that just adds to the chaos.
Around here Best Buy was showering everyone with ads about that blu ray player for at least a full week. When it came time for people to get them they found like 4-5 per store. So that is around 250 people, some who stood in line over night that will now all fight for the 5 blu ray players. I think that stores should not be allowed to mass advertise products that are in extermely short order. The whole purpose of it is bait and switch (especially when they are all gone), but it really creates an unsafe shopping experiance.
Around here Best Buy was showering everyone with ads about that blu ray player for at least a full week. When it came time for people to get them they found like 4-5 per store. So that is around 250 people, some who stood in line over night that will now all fight for the 5 blu ray players. I think that stores should not be allowed to mass advertise products that are in extermely short order. The whole purpose of it is bait and switch (especially when they are all gone), but it really creates an unsafe shopping experiance.
Yay consumerism.
But seriously, we saw this coming didnt we? It amazes me people the type of people who participate in Black Friday.
But seriously, we saw this coming didnt we? It amazes me people the type of people who participate in Black Friday.
People are intelligent enough to take responsibility for their actions, even if you believe that a retail store can drive a person "into a frenzy". Doesn't matter. The customers are responsible. They still have a brain, and they're still responsible for using it.
Ah great, is that where all the gang-bangers hang out now?
Maybe that's not entirely fair.
But then I've never experienced the things that are in the papers first hand in terms of Black Fridays either. Just long lines, crowded stores, the items on the advertisement are no longer available, and some grumpy people. But I've never been shoved, let alone stampeded during one.
My memory of boxing day in Toronto was that it was not crazy, but it was pretty crazy the last time I went (several years ago) in Vancouver. Although apparently Toronto has had at least one incident....
Anyway, I guess my point was simply that with people of any race, ethnicity, language, culture, upbringing, intelligence level, around the world, if you create the wrong circumstances for them (and Black Friday is the wrong circumstance for lots of Americans, it seems), then there is a high risk violence will ensue.
I guess it's time to regulate Black Friday.
Either via torts or via laws, we should change things so this doesn't happen again....
The problem is that we know the customers aren't capable of thinking on Black Friday, because a few of these stories happen every year, and they seem to get worse each year.
I don't see why Walmart can't go the way of Best Buy and implement crowd control. It's done at concerts, rallies, etc. Why not at a Walmart? When you know something terrible is probably going to happen but don't do anything to prevent it, I think you're partially responsible.
Don't worry, I'm sure the Transformers toys can handle them.
While I disagree with your earlier sentiment that people like this should be put to death, I do have an extreme disdain for the whole Black Friday thing.
There is plenty of blame to go around. The individuals that did these things certaintly need to face charges, but I also fault American industry as a whole for fostering an environment where things like this are likely to take place sooner or later.
There is no need for a time-compressed, panic-mode shopping spree to kick off the holiday season. It's just a gimmick to get shoppers all worked up in a frenzy and into the stores in pursuit of some kind of bargain or other. And while it obviously works, it extolls moneymaking at the expense of customer safety. (How many more people end up getting sick because they were standing outside the store for hours in sub-freezing weather for the chance to have first crack at a 47" Samsung HDTV? While there are obviously no statistics to support this, it wouldn't surprise me a bit if there have been cases of people who got pneumonia and died from such silliness.)
Some of the shoppers said they were mad because they'd been in line since Thursday morning. Is that the point we've reached now? We're willing to miss Thanksgiving with our family in order to save a few precious bucks?
And the article made no mention of anyone being arrested in the fracas. How do you determine who's guilty when you essentially had a riot situation on your hands? With so many people, I doubt the Wal-Mart employees who tried to save this poor guy got a good look at anybody who did the trampling; they were trying to save their own asses as well.
It's insanity. I really do think the current Black Friday practice should be made illegal, and I really don't give a good goddamn if the businesses whine about it. The ticketing system some posters mentioned seems like a good alternative.
I totally agree, I was just curious if you had anything documented. I'll tell you this; I'm curious enough that I'm going to investigate the Eaton's Centre on Boxing Day.
Don't worry, I'll wear one of these:
Mind-boggling.
Not only that someone was actually trampled to death, but that apparently the crowd en-masse lost their own senses of self-preservation. It's incredibly fortunate that their weren't more fatalities given that others were also injured.
Is it so damn difficult to stand in a queue?
Not only that someone was actually trampled to death, but that apparently the crowd en-masse lost their own senses of self-preservation. It's incredibly fortunate that their weren't more fatalities given that others were also injured.
Is it so damn difficult to stand in a queue?
Nice!
I do ask, that if Cylon Centurions are used for crowd control on Black Friday, that they not be placed in the control of Walmart. I think we all know where that road leads.
You speak from an ingrained instinct that is drummed into, possibly even genetically, all Brits.
(Nice to see you around, Chris)
People in the Atlanta area stood in line up to 10 hours to vote, shopping is no different. No rush and trampling there. Humanity goes down the tubes.
Somebody make a movie called "Walmart". A cast of gigantic women buying piles of absolutely worthless stuff because it is on sale. Screaming children being abused. A back room where clothing is being sewed by crying children while being prodded by glowering Chinese soldiers. The same gigantic women eating 8000 calories at the food court. Unemployed males pushing carriages full of babies. Depressed employees stealing food out of the dumpsters. I could go on. Cultish Walmart advance operatives handing out money and threats to local politicos so their stores will be approved. Someone like Mr. Burns at the helm. It could be pretty funny.
It looks like Walmart is getting some related attention for another fatality during apprehension of a thief:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-norman/more-mayhem-death-at-wal_b_148922.html
Oh, the Huffington Post article on this topic is a fairly biased source... here's local press from Myrtle Beach, where this happened:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/697943.html
Interesting:
It's interesting that a bystander was involved in this one. It's certainly very sad that this person is dead. I guess it does raise the questions of... what the Walmart policy is (i.e. are they asking individuals who are not trained in safe restraint techniques or combat to engage physically with a perpetrator) as well as the issue of the line between well-intentioned bystander helpfulness and vigilantism.
If the bystander truly was a retired police officer, then he was trained in both combat/defense and safe restraint. So I would think that, particularly for him, a pretty high standard should be levied with respect to whether his actions constituted manslaughter or contributed to a wrongful death....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/al-norman/more-mayhem-death-at-wal_b_148922.html
Oh, the Huffington Post article on this topic is a fairly biased source... here's local press from Myrtle Beach, where this happened:
http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/news/local/story/697943.html
Interesting:
It's interesting that a bystander was involved in this one. It's certainly very sad that this person is dead. I guess it does raise the questions of... what the Walmart policy is (i.e. are they asking individuals who are not trained in safe restraint techniques or combat to engage physically with a perpetrator) as well as the issue of the line between well-intentioned bystander helpfulness and vigilantism.
If the bystander truly was a retired police officer, then he was trained in both combat/defense and safe restraint. So I would think that, particularly for him, a pretty high standard should be levied with respect to whether his actions constituted manslaughter or contributed to a wrongful death....
This is very true... although his all cause mortality probability during those five minutes had he not been restrained is probably fairly low. The local news report stated that the autopsy would take a month or longer... which to me is fairly surprising. While I agree that, at this time, there's no evidence yet of a crime, they ought to be diligent in at least quickly obtaining an indication of the cause of death.
OTOH, some of the points I raised are irrespective of the cause of death. Workers should not be asked or expected to physically restrain anyone without proper training in safe restraint. Period. It's a recipe for disaster. In fact they should be clearly told not to engage in this. And if Walmart has not already done so, they need to work harder to educate their employees about this. Take the man's photo and/or a photo of his car and let the police deal with it.
Even if you don't care either about the death of the thief or of the stress this places the Walmart employees under (e.g. what if one of them develops PTSD?), it's also good business sense. The last time this happened with Walmart, according to one of the articles, they paid a $750,000 business settlement. A cost of doing business that is being passed on to their customers.
