It’s official, the decline of western civilazation, the ultimate excess of American consumerism and the complete bastardization and subsequent commercialization of a religious holiday celebrating the birth of a man whose only mission was to give is now complete.
This morning, a temporary worker at the Valley Stream, New York WalMart, 34 year old Jdimypai Damour, was trampled to death by a mob that literally tore the doors from their hinges in their eagerness to get inside the store.
At 4:55 this morning, a group of around 2,000 shoppers began pushing at the doors, eventually breaking the doors off of their hinges and pushed inside the store, knocking down Mr. Damour and trampling him.
No one helped him as he lay on the floor.
The New York Times reports that:
“People did not stop to help the employee as he lay on the ground, and they pushed against other Wal-Mart workers who were trying to aid Mr. Damour. The crowd kept running into the store even after the police arrived, jostling and pushing officers who were trying to perform CPR, the police said.
“They were like a stampede,” said Nassau Det. Lt. Michael Fleming. “Hundreds of people walked past him, over him or around him.”
Mr. Damour was taken from the Wal-Mart to nearby Franklin Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:03 a.m., the police said.”
It’s plenty despicable that people were so overcome with greed to buy cheap shit that they didn’t even mind killing someone to do it. It’s even more appaling that the tragedy could have easily been prevented. Reports indicate that there was no line or system of organization and/or crowd control in place – shoppers just crammed up against the door.
I’m not saying it’s all WalMart’s fault – it could have also been prevented by any of the people that contributed to the trampling. Just a smidge of common sense and self-restraint could have gone a long way here.
Without wishing to trivialize this incident, I think Billy Bob Thornton said it best in Bad Santa:
“ You people are monsters. I mean, look at all that shit. Do you really need all that shit? For Christ sakes, it’s Christmas.”
Here’s a thought: try giving this Christmas. I mean really and truly giving – of yourself, of your time and of your heart. Does it really matter, even in today’s economy, that you saved five bucks on the gift or got it at 70% off, if the gift is truly meaningful?
