I don’t hate Sam Walton, I don’t hate jobbers or discounts or international trade. I don’t even hate many lawyers. I hate when corporations jump through hoops to set up faux social media (social media includes listening) in order to reach out to everywoman and then they trample us.
Literally.
There is only one thing for Walmart to do at this point in time.
Apologize.
There’s a dead man and his father had to bury him. Yes, a father buried a son so that someone could get a flat screen TV, cheap. Rather than apologize Walmart has just today taken this off their website.
Just to be sure that search engines pick this up properly, let me give you the text.
Bring a buddy!!! If you guys think you can do this alone, think again people! These shoppers are die hard and they’ll run you over like there’s no tomorrow! The more you have, the better!
This comes from Kim at Hormone Colored Days. Naturally the mom who had originally posted it come through with a thoughtful comment.
I took a screenshot of this hideous comment for a number of reasons:
- I’m sure that A Cowboy’s Wife will remove it at some point and deny saying it.
- I’d like everyone who has a son try and imagine what Jdimytai Damour’s family would think reading that?
- I’d like everyone with a conscience to imagine being on the jury that will surely hand out punitive damages to said family
- I’d like Walmart to respond with an apology. A real one.
When a mother dismisses the death of someone’s child as not worthy of discussion or apology, I’m wondering if she, too, ought to be shunned.
Yes, I’m still on my high horse, because Walmart needs to tell the 11 moms to shut the fuck up and issue a proper apology.
A fund has been started by an attorney in the Northeast, I’m waiting for details.
[This post was written by Jessica Gottlieb.]
It;’s WalMart, anyone who thinks they really care is clearly fooling themselves. That’s what I don’t like about this 11 Moms stuff, it’s just a marketing ploy to make people think WalMart cares what moms think.
Can I be honest and say I am not sure how to react to either side? I am not sure how it makes me feel really, the words that were intended to be funny before someone lost their child to being trampled over on Black Friday.
I can tell you however, it was just this side of a few weeks ago that we celebrated the anniversary of my brother’s suicide only to find that Pepsi had a huge ad campaign in the works that depicted several thoughtless and insensitive images of a character committing suicide in various ways, ways that included hanging, which was my brother’s choice. You can imagine the nasty letters that came of Pepsi’s choice of advertising agencies. Utterly ridiculous.
And yes, I am still furious with Pepsi, no matter the end result of that pulled campaign.
But even with that said, I do think that we try to make light of things not intentionally trying to cause pain to others. I am sure A Cowboy’s Wife truly did not mean any harm, though you are absolutely right the effect it would have on the family of Jdimytai Damour should they read it.
Wal-mart should absolutely do the stand up thing and truly, truly, soulfully apologize for the entire thing. But I do think that A Cowboy’s Wife has started her own apology, however I could do without the doesn’t anyone have anything better to do at the end of her comment.
How about: I didn’t meant to be insensitive or hurt anyone with words that were meant to be lighthearted before the tragic loss of Jdimytai Damour. My thoughts are with his family and will continue to be. Please know I will personally see to it that my tips are editted appropriately.
The end.
Why does she have to defend herself beyond that? That kind of bothers me, I have to admit. Yes she may feel quite attacked of late. But this is as a result of her words, regardless of what her intention was. Take your lumps like a big girl if you don’t mind. Take responsibility and then take your lumps, don’t try to tell everyone else how they should feel because, well, you haven’t lost someone you love due to being trampled on Black Friday.
Walmart has been on a perminant boycot in our house. There just isn’t a good enough reason to shop there! If I want cheap plastic crap, I can get it used on ebay or at the thrift store. Walmart does not care about families, women, taxes, communities or the environment. I’ll take my dollars elsewhere, thank you very much.
I don’t know what’s more puke-worthy, the exclamation point used when dealing with a highly-sensitive topic, or the accusation that people are being oversensitive when a man died.
“I’m tired of people griping and trying to find the bad in every single thing”. Lady, I don’t need to try to find the bad in a man being trampled to death by people after cheap shit to buy. It’s right there, disgustingly lingering because of your refusal to apologize for encouraging this animalistic behavior that resulted in someone’s DEATH. Have a sense of decency and an iota of humility and apologize, then quit acting like barbarians every year on Black Friday. Your cheap tv or Wii Fit is not worth someone being trampled to death.
It’s just ugly and incredibly sad. We stopped shopping at Wal-mart years ago and if I was considering stepping foot in one for any reason, I would certainly rethink that now.
I think we have two separate issues here…
1) It’s incredibly tragic that a man died on Black Friday at WalMart. More should have been done to prevent it.
2) The comment that was posted had nothing to do with it as it was posted before the event occurred. That doesn’t make the comment WRONG, it makes it very unfortunate.
I have a son. If I read that comment I’d be upset, until I realized it was posted long before the event occurred and then I’d say, “that’s really unfortunate”.
While the comment was made before the incident this year, there have been similar incidents in previous years. It’s certainly not a new thing that just happened in 2008.
@Heather I can’t quite agree with you about the first comment, but what about the comment A Cowboy’s Wife made on December 16th?
“I’m so tired of people griping and trying to find the bad in every single thing. Doesn’t anyone else have anything better to do?”
That is what Walmart’s 11moms blogger wrote. I’m sorry, but a campaign of insensitivity coupled with social irresponsibility wrapped in a neat packaged of personal injury, death and poverty is worth mentioning.