Comments on: The Blackest Of Black Fridays

Bob Schieffer On The Tragic Death Of A Store Employee Trampled By Bargain-Hunters

[mmickay]

I work in retail, and while I have never worked for wal-mart I have been on the other end of events such as this one in the past and have been pretty disappointed and even shocked at how people are willing to behave to save a few bucks. Somehow I''ve always feared this day would come so I have always refused to go to such sales as a customer.

Frankly, I think Mr Scheiffer should be applauded for saying what he did. The story I saw on the national news that mentioned what happened spent more time on how the "black friday" sales numbers were going than what happened to this man. The truth is, when my friends and I are in our breakroom we comment constantly about how rude and self-centered the customers are. Editorials are meant to make us think and I really appreciate that Mr Scheiffer, with everything that has happened recently, still took note of this incident and saw it for what it was.

[es48]

I have been to the Valley Stream Mall where this happened several times over the past 5 years and there on Black Friday once. At the main mall building where Pennys, Macys, Sears, etc. are, the crowd is about 90% black. There was no pushing or shoving when the doors opened and there are plenty of "excuse me''s", "sorry''s", and "no problem''s" from accidental bumps or when people want to get buy. The mall, like any mall, has a few characters, but overall, it is a very safe and polite mall to shop in.

Wall Mart, on the other hand, is isolated on the other end of the parking lot attached to Liquidators, which competes price wise. I went into the store once and the inventory was all over the floors along with the food and drinks sold in the store. The place smells bad and the crowd, which is about the same demographics, is very rude. I never went back. Liquidators, right next door, is cleaner, well organized, and security, while being friendly, insure that it is safe. There is a Home Depot less than 100 yards away that is very clean, organized, and safe. The Home Depot in Freeport NY about 5 miles away, however, is filthy, unorganized, and unsafe. The customers are about 50% white.

People will do what you expect them to. This is a store management issue that has nothing to do with demographics.

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[paris1969]

An illegal alien who got in the way of a surging crowd? Sorry but I''''m not crying. Posted by cwbyht

.... then you have the mind of pond scum! Please move to another country!!

[horse3farm]

An illegal alien who got in the way of a surging crowd? Sorry but I''''m not crying. Posted by cwbyht
-----------
You are a part of the problem. You are a despicable, human being filled with hate. I feel so sorry for you.

[mmarym-2009]

Shame on the person who blamed the victim who was trampled to death in the Wal-Mart!

[jowara]

To fism9.....
This story is tragic and you have the nerve to suggest blaming the victim for his death and the media for our outrage. Your claim that Jdimytai Damour was a highly trained security officer who chose to put himself in harm%u2019s way is ridiculous and offensive. NYT reports that, %u201CMr. Damour, who lived in Queens, went into the store sometime during the night to stock shelves and perform maintenance work.%u201D He was a seasonal temp worker, not a trained security worker. Had he been, he would have surely refused to open that door. Moreover, your characterization of the crowd is unbelievably naive. Multiple sources report that witnesses described the scene outside with the words %u201Ctension grew%u201D, %u201Cshrieking mob%u201D, %u201Cchaos%u201D, and %u201Cfists banged.%u201D Wal-Mart%u2019s irresponsibility and the crowd%u2019s inhumanity can in no way be blamed on the victim. Our outrage is sincere and justified. Your comments make me wonder if you are Wal-mart corporate or its legal counsel.

[fism9]

Lost some respect for Bob Schieffer.
It wasn''t an ANGRY mob. Very excited-yes.
It wasn''t a "poor sales clerk". It was
a security guard, trained to put himself in
harms way. Bob, it was bad enough without
giving it an even worst slant. But that is what the MEDIA is trained to do.

[mmarym-2009]

Let us all remember that the store clerk who was trampled at Wal-Mart was a person who was just trying to make a living. May the people who were involved in the trampling get their justice in court and on judgement day!

[stevador39]

This is the new spirit of Christmas. The U.S. has cultivated an image of isolated individualism, avarice and greed. The fascist right has spent over 60 years attacking social programs in the name of patriotism. It is a country trained to hate their fellow citizens. That poor guy represents the millions of poor Americans who are losing their jobs, their homes and their means of feeding themselves. Americans are trampling other Americans economically.

[rckstrdave]

A handful of greedy and thoughtless Americans make us look like a nation of murderous shoppers. Is that what we are becoming? Do hard financial times, deep seated materialism, and a few dollars in savings on non-essential goods conspire to make us barbarians? Personally, this makes me want to abolish store-bought gift giving in my home. I''m baking cookies and re-gifting this year; retail madness needs to die, not innocent Wal-Mart workers.

[v miller]

Thank you for your commentary.

If the poor guy crushed to death was so meaningless to those bargain hunting in lean times, we really are in trouble.

I''d be in favor of posting the photos of those shoppers, but that would only matter if people still had any sense of shame, which needs a sense of community obligation to be effective. These shoppers apparently lack that element of humanity...

[messiahx4eve]

Give up watching any types of commercials on television for just THREE weeks and see for yourself; a person WILL go through withdrawal just like coming off of a drug addiction. Watch movies instead, see what happens in just THREE weeks. Television is the opiate of the mssses, couple that with organized religion and you will believe ANYTHING you are told, even if you don''t think you will. Digital transmission will only make things worse.

[markangeloo]

U are sure to hear that Wall Mart
officials & security say
they never saw it coming !!!

[rek0000]

i think i have one answer to the why; and it is a very old complaint, but no less relavant:

go see Madagasgar 2 and see what we are teaching our children: fighting, grabbing, taking without asking, verbal assaulting, degrading of others;
and this is the normal state of children''s entertainment.

we left after 10 minutes.

[v miller]

Thank you for your commentary.

If the poor guy crushed to death was so meaningless to those bargain hunting in lean times, we really are in trouble.

I''d be in favor of posting the photos of those shoppers, but that would only matter if people still had any sense of shame, which needs a sense of community obligation to be effective. These shoppers apparently lack that element of humanity...

[v miller]

Thank you for your commentary.

If the poor guy crushed to death was so meaningless to those bargain hunting in lean times, we really are in trouble.

I''d be in favor of posting the photos of those shoppers, but that would only matter if people still had any sense of shame, which needs a sense of community obligation to be effective. These shoppers apparently lack that element of humanity...

[gladysde]

Thank you for your Black Friday comment. A man died. that was the story. Others ignored this. Their reports were about our economy. People who were angry because they had to wait longer cannot feel superior to wallstreet. They were thinking only of themselves. We are a caring nation but this "don''t get in my way when I want something" reasoning has been dominating lately.