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Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
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snark_shark
11/29/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Retail work is one step above slavery. Yeah, they pay you, but it's not even enough to make ends meet, and you get so much abuse to deal with and no benefits most of the time, so it's extra crappy. I worked one Xmas season in retail, and it was enough to put me off forever. Even now, if I hear the stupid Chipmunks Christmas song, I shudder, and it's been 9 or so years.

This is also why I refuse to shop on Black Friday. I'm not going to add to the misery. I also refuse to shop on Labor Day, cuz duh, it's supposed to be a day to honor the American worker, not make people who have some of the shittiest jobs work when everyone else is off. Again, it shows that retail workers are just barely above slaves in this country, and I think that's bullshit. If enough people boycott these ridiculous sales, stores might actually give them up. Yeah, I know, slim chance there.

I just thank dog that I no longer work in retail. No one deserves the shit you get in that line of work. I'd rather work as say, a janitor cleaning bathrooms, and I'm a total germophobe.
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Shiera Hall
11/29/08

@snark_shark: I spent five years in retail and, after having cleaned the store bathrooms more than my fair share of times, dealing with idiots is way better than mopping poop off the floor.
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Ascendo_tuum
11/29/08

@L. Simpson: I STILL work in retail. Last year when I was hiking the Appalachian Trail I spent a couple days shoveling goat shit out of a barn for some extra cash. It was preferable to my present job by a long shot.
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queenieinmanhattan
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
This makes me absolutely sick. Who the hell stampedes a store? Who are we? God.
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LadySoprano is a Fat-Fighting Superwoman
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Christmas is NOT about doorbusters and presents. I am so glad my family and I are so laid-back about gifts. My mom emailed the other day and told me she wants dishrags! She needs new ones to replace her worn out old rags. I'll probably also buy her some pajamas, and I'm making a small scrapbook for her. My dad wants a George Strait CD, which I'm getting on Amazon.

My bro and his wife, and my neices and nephews are getting gift cards. I shall buy them at Safeway.

Shopping done!
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bangers
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
[www.google.com]

someone brought a gat to Toys r' us... anticipating battles over the new Elmo?
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Stabby McStabberson
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
another note that may sicken you: a lot of these people are buying deeply discounted items not for their family's christmas gifts, but to put on ebay at a profit. just makes it all that much better eh?

between this and mumbai, i hate people. i'm sticking to cats.
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SharonTaint
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Fucking shameful. Does this gross shit occur anywhere else in the world?

We are a society jam-packed with gluttonous, greedy pigs.
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theysaidwhat
11/29/08

@SharonTaint: Soccer games in Europe every so often?
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bowleserised
11/29/08

@SharonTaint: There was an Ikea riot in the UK a couple of years ago.
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Stabby McStabberson
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
and in other news two died today in a toys r us shooting today. yes, there were children there at the time.

(to be fair, it sounds like it was gang-related, not due to consumer materialism and corporate greed. but still...)
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Red-headed bookworm
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Ugh, people are sick. I worked at a Wal-mart (briefly) and was there for the Black Friday sale. I can believe this happening. I'm actually more surprised that it hasn't happened before. I went out to the grocery and Target today. I waited until the afternoon and it was still crazy at Target. All I needed was kitty litter and coffee!
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Cam/ron
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
And now we have a deadly shooting at a Toys R Us: [www.kesq.com]
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small-fox
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
So many of these comments are so sadly judgmental. Sure, some of those people probably were there for crap they didn't need bought with credit they couldn't afford. But how many other people were there because they make minimum wage, and all they wanted was to get a gift or two for their children, and that half-off pricetag made a toy attainable? It's all well and good to say we're too materialistic (which we are) and that we should understand what's truly valuable, but who would deny their child completely when a minor sacrifice of time and stress could get them a gift? I'd want to teach my child about the real value of things some other way that providing a bare christmas.

Wal-Mart is the real culprit here. They know the sorts of crowds these sales draw, and should have especially known that customers are extra desperate this year. They had a duty to maintain crowd control, and probably to have the biggest ticket discount items distributed in an orderly fashion. It would have been extremely easy for them to form a line and distribute tickets to the first X number of people to arrive.

The mob was a mob. Even if someone wanted to stop in a mob, it's all but in impossible. You get crushed, as well. This happens all the time at major religious festivals outside the US, when masses of pilgrims end up crushing people. The force moves in a wave; no one person starts it and no one person is responsible for it. This was criminally bad crowd control, end of story.
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angelina jolie-laide is a gaudy tulip
11/28/08

@small-fox: I completely agree, and I hate Walmart to death.
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theysaidwhat
11/28/08

@small-fox: In the NYT story, it says that WalMart called the local police because the crowd was already huge and rowdy at 3:30AM. The police came, but had to leave to attend to crowds at other local stores. It seems that the local police was inappropriately staffed for so many simultaneous crowds.
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Aesop's Foibles. YES.
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
This is awful. Is it possible that this will teach the retailers and consumers alike that rabid, violent, absolutely inexcusable behavior at this time of year has absolutely NOTHING to do with Christmas? And that making your loved ones happy at Christmas needn't involve bankrupting yourself or mauling other people? This is what makes money disgusting, that in order to save some, people will literally kill eachother. Gross. I am sickened by this story.
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lilad
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
I've never experienced black friday.

and THAT'S what I'm thankful for.
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CassetteLove
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
"Although it doesn't take a Lifetime "true spirit od Christmas" television movie to see that there might be something misplaced about making a family tradition of dawn-breaking bargain shopping - or the need for a treeful of expensive gifts - however offensive it might be to some sensibilities, it is not wrong. The people seeking bargains were not cold-blooded killers; question consumerism all you want, but anyone storming an already affordable Wal-Mart for bargain-basement prices is probably not flying private jets in his spare time."

I think they are wrong, that our consumer philosophy is wrong and this whole retail-created 'Black Friday' is wrong.

As to the argument that these are jetless working and middle class persons simply shopping for bargain prices, that doesn't mean much to me. What are they buying? Flat screens, plastic toys and Xboxes. It's still useless crap and it still perpetuates the fucking awful credit and debt crisis we are in.
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FourInchHeels
11/28/08

@CassetteLove: Ahhh, but it's 60% off today, so I'm actually saving more than I'm spending. It's like I'm not spending anything at all, if you think about it just right! ;)
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Kenyakarma
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Dear Parents, When you're finished with all the junk toys you've spent 1000's of dollars on here are a few toys your kids will love forever.

1. a large Cardboard box

2. a roll of butcher block paper

3. paints

4. magic markers

5. sissors

6. tape

7. a roll of tin foil

8. glue

9. a ball

10. a baby

11. a wagon

12. a bucket

13. a water souce

14. dirt

15. marbles

16. a puppy, kitten or both

Play on kiddies.
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dirtybee
11/29/08

@SweetSerengeti: I don't have kids, but when at Ross with my my 4 year old nephew, I let him have one toy and he picked this Spiderman 3 box of Legos.

We get home, he pulls out tiny Spiderman and proceeds to shove the Legos out of the way played with Spidey and the BOX.
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Cam/ron
11/28/08

In reply to Black Friday: Wal-Mart Employee Trampled To Death In Early Morning Stampede
Here's a video clip of people fighting over the last Xbox at 5am today: [www.liveleak.com]
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