And Here I Thought Buy Nothing Day Wasn’t Needed
According to the NYTimes, yesterday was the first time anyone had been killed during a Black Friday frenzy. I blinked at that, because it seemed to me that something like this had happened before. Maybe I was just remembering all the times people had been badly hurt and almost trampled to death and extrapolating. To me, this seemed like the natural outcome of Black Friday madness. Of course someone was going to be killed so that people could shop for cheap shit — that’s the American way.
The employee, whose name was Jdimytai Damour, was a temp worker. Can you imagine going to work one morning at a damn Wal-Mart and ending up dead? All because people broke down the doors (not just shoved in quickly when they opened, but BROKE THE DAMN THINGS DOWN) to get to their $20 DVD players that much faster. Yay consumerism!
Not to say I’m immune from consumerism. I have a tendency to spend far too mch around the holidays, too. I rolled my eyes at Buy Nothing Day, because I didn’t think it could really have an impact. You’re going to buy that thing, anyway, so you might as well buy it while it’s on sale. Now I’m thinking that perhaps we need to step up Buy Nothing Day. Buying nothing might save a life.
Or maybe not:
About the time that Mr. Damour was killed, a shopper at a Wal-Mart in Farmingdale, 15 miles east of Valley Stream, said she was trampled by a crowd of overeager customers, the Suffolk County police reported. The woman sustained a cut on her leg, but finished her shopping before filing the police report, an officer said.
Sigh
I didn’t buy anything yesterday. The Spouse blew it for the household though, because he had to get some cerveza to go with the Thanksgiving Dinner leftovers dinner last night. If that hadn’t happened we’d have not spent money at all. But then we travel the subway with monthly metro cards, so maybe we spent money after all, though the cards were bought earlier?
I simply don’t get this thing. I am so alienated from this nation in so many respects, for so long now. Obviously there’s a huge population of this sort of consuming fool, but I don’t know any of them, thank goodness.
Love, c.
I used to get up at 5am to buy socks at half price; but this year even that is too expensive. I’m making all my gifts and woe unto the souls who get them; this “stupid” “dumb” woman has no art talent either–go figure. Why does human life mean so little during “sales”? Ditto sigh.
i will never understand the frenzy of black friday… i mean i love the thought of a good sale too but damn… people lose their damn minds and it seems to be getting worse…. there was this walmart incident and then there was the incident at toys r us, where 2 men died after shooting each other… smh.
This is just such a shame!
But THAT is not all…. there is a news report online that a shooting occurred at a Kids R Us involving a dispute between two fathers… one man is now dead.
This is getting out of hand.
Pretty soon…people will enter stores and police with riot gear will be standing there with tasers at the entrance way!!
It is good being too poor for even Black Friday. I really don’t have the money to RISK overspending, LOL.
I cant imagine breaking down doors for walmart!!!! But I think the people there could not get to a mall or something ( notice this happens at the local discount store in the run down/ex-urb neighborhood). I cant imagine this happening at the LLBean stores and their ilk.
When I heard about the deaths, I was hurt.
Can you imagine going to work one morning at a damn Wal-Mart and ending up dead?
Quite easily, actually. Wasn’t Wal-Mart the place where they were baracading their employees in and not allowing them to use the fire exits, even in an emergency? (I seem to remember someone getting badly hurt and nearly bleeding to death because of inability to get out of a wal-mart)
This is the first place I’ve seen that’s published the name of the dead man. As a member of the media, I understand that most newspapers have guidelines that discourages publishing the names of victims of violence and in some cases (particularly when it comes to things like rape) I think that makes sense.
But in some cases I think it just serves to dehumanize. To allow people to go, “Did you hear some guy got trampled. Geez.” and move on. Putting his name in makes you stop and think about exactly who was lost. And maybe there’s a public value to that…given that it was messed up public values that cost the man his life.
Can you imagine going to work one morning at a damn Wal-Mart and ending up dead?
Yes, unfortunately I can. Walmart kills people everyday by denying their employees affordable health insurance.
But yeah how sad about the poor guy who got trampled? I mean I’m just embarrassed to be an American when I read that shit. Only in the US do we rationalize killing someone for a Tickle Me Elmo or whatever.