Death on Black Friday

I just had to comment on this trampling death at WalMart in Long Island, New York on Black Friday. I couldn't believe what I was reading. What kind of mentality are the retailers promoting that stirs people into such a frenzy that they would trample someone to death in order to get a sale?!?!

Even while paramedics were trying to give the person first aid, they were still being jostled and pushed by this herd of freaks that literally cared nothing about it and obviously were hell bent on getting into that store no matter what. Refusing to vacate the store when it was announced that there had been a death? It is absolutely shameful behaviour.

I can never understand the mentality of people that will go to any lengths, including waiting outside a store for 10 hours for sales. They should have had better security, barricades, letting a few people in at a time. There should have been police and security patrolling as soon as it became clear that there were hundreds of people outside this store. The reports are that there were over 2000 people waiting to stampede in as soon as the doors opened. Literally tearing the doors off in the mad rush to get in. People fighting with each other, grown adults reduced to school age children ripping at each other over this years "IT" toy.

Where is the Christmas spirit in that? It's horrifying, the family of that person wont be having a merry Christmas.

While here in Canada, we don't have Black Friday, we do have boxing day sales. Last year, for the first time I lined up outside a store at 630 am to pick up a computer chair for 20 bucks. We all stood in line politely sipping our Tim Horton's coffee and making amiable chit chat. There was no mad rush into the store, just people filing single file into it.

We always hear about how apathetic Canadians are, but it does happen here, to a lesser degree. My kids work in retail and talk about people melting down, grown adults having temper fits cos there was a limited number of items for a particular sale but to literally trample someone to death is beyond our comprehension.

I certainly hope these people are proud of themselves for the sales they got at the cost of someones life. Incredible and tragic.

Cathy