PrintNovember 28, 2008
Two dead in Black Friday stampede at Wal-Mart
It sounds like an article from the Onion, but it's not. A surging crowd of bargain hunters at a Wal-Mart in Long Island trampled to death a store worker, and caused a miscarriage in a pregnant woman shopper, as they trampled human beings rushing into the store. Joe Gould of the New York Daily News reports:
The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him."He was bum-rushed by 200 people," said Jimmy Overby, 43, a co-worker. "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."
A pregnant shopper was also knocked down and lost her baby.
Mobs are dangerous entities. Even the slightest provocation (like a savings of $20 on a television) can unleash brutality when individuals lose their individuality and surrender to the impulses of a mob.
Mobs are dangerous entities. Even the slightest provocation (like a savings of $20 on a television) can unleash brutality when individuals lose their individuality and surrender to the impulses of a mob.
This is no joke. I expect that lawyers are already readying suits against Wal-Mart. Perhaps strict crowd control measures must be employed whenever super bargains are on offer. This lust for bargains is one element of then holiday season I can do without. Don't get me wrong: I love a bargain. But no bargain is worth this carnge. I wonder how much enjoyment the purchasers of those flat screen TVs are going to get, knowing two people died in their rush to purchase?
Hat tip: Lucianne.com
Hat tip: Lucianne.com
