Update: The pregnant woman was injured; she did not miscarry as stated in early reports of the incident.
I’ve never understood what would move someone to get up early and be at a store at 5:00 am on the day after Thanksgiving. The crowds, the hassle, and the grotesqueness of over-consuming is enough to make me stay away from any store on Black Friday. Apparently, I am not alone, as today is also Buy Nothing Day.
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Today is Buy Nothing Day:
Suddenly, we ran out of money and, to avoid collapse, we quickly pumped liquidity back into the system. But behind our financial crisis a much more ominous crisis looms: we are running out of nature… fish, forests, fresh water, minerals, soil. What are we going to do when supplies of these vital resources run low?
There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less.
It will take a massive mindshift. You can start the ball rolling by buying nothing on November 28th. Then celebrate Christmas differently this year, and make a New Year’s resolution to change your lifestyle in 2009.
It’s now or never!
Tragically, two souls have been lost already on this Black Friday. When the doors opened at a Long Island Wal-Mart at 5:00 am, a worker was trampled to death and a woman miscarried. The worker was an overnight stock clerk who was trying to hold back the unruly crowd of shoppers. Even as the man was trampled and gasping for air, shoppers continued to rush over and around him. A pregnant woman was also knocked down. When the paramedics arrived, they told her there was nothing they could do for the baby that was already gone. Sadly, shoppers just kept entering the store without paying attention to the dead man on the ground and the pregnant woman who lost her baby.
This story breaks my heart. Consumerism is not only killing our environment and culture, it is literally killing people too. There are so many things wrong with this story. If I would have been the owner of the store, I would have closed the store’s doors for the day in honor of the loss of life; however, I doubt the megastore did anything out of respect.
Image: Cyber Net News
My heart aches & grieves for this woman and her family,as the loss sinks in for them this will truely be a black friday……so very sad.
As for the poor Walmart employee,my heart goes out to his family also,what must they be thinking about the human condition.What have we become that we don’t stop to help each other when some one falls? We really need to take a serious look at ourselves!
I have to say that since a Target came to our area I drive the extra 20 min out of our way just so I don’t have to contribute to that horrible place. I’ve known several people in different states who got injured on the job and where treated really poorly,even badly by the corporate offices. I expect nothing less of Walmart than to sweep up the floor and keep on with $ business as usual! Equally sad & heart renching.
The stores fully knowing what the out come of having such events as black fridays should be held fully accountable
My heart aches as well. I am sure that mother and the family of the Wal-Mart employee are just in shock. As a mother, I would have a hard time forgiving myself that my baby died because I wanted a bargain. As for the employee, he was just doing his job. I just can’t believe people would keep rushing by without noticing. I agree the store should be held accountable, and Black Friday practices need to be changed.
It’s not a stock clerks job to do crowd control. That’s what security guards are for. Obviously, this person went above and beyond and paid the ultimate price for a minimum wage job.
WalMart gave my partially disabled father a job when no one else would even talk to him so they are good for that. Otherwise, Walmart is a piece of crap.
The mother did not miscarry that is erroneous information. New York Daily News and AP both report Mom and baby are OK. Thank goodness Mom and baby are reported as doing okay. I feel really bad for the Wal-Mart worker. I can’t believe people would act like this to get a good bargain! What a horrible way to start the season.
For what I understand the 8 month pregnant woman and her baby are fine.
Thank goodness she is ok! I noticed they updated the article I linked to in the post too. They are now saying he was a temporary maintenance worker, and that police shut down the store. The information was different when I wrote this post in the morning. I am glad there is some good news for the mother and child.
More bad news, two shot at So Cal Toys R Us on this very black Friday.
http://www.wusa9.com/rss/local_article.aspx?storyid=78956