I agree with Rob on this one. Walmart is in no way responsible for what happened to these people. Sure, Walmart was aware that there would be crowds and the people may have gotten out of control. However, it is the shoppers who acted like crazed animals in order to get the bargains.
Of course, in our “victim”-minded society there will be calls for a lawsuit against Walmart. And we “must” make every effort to identify the people who are responsible. But, you know, shit happens. That’s life. And for you elitists, we should not assume to be better than the rest of the world. Getting something for nothing is a desirability all peoples share. We are all animals, remember. And what pregnant woman in her right mind would place herself in a situation where she would certainly be jostled by a large crowd. Everybody there knew there would be a mad rush once the doors opened. But they were willing to participate.

What’s more amazing is the title says “She was 28 and pregnant” but the story describes a “HE” Is there more going on at Walmart than meets the eye??

The story also describes a 28 year old pregnant woman who gets injured.

Some of our hordes are acting like they do in third world countries, or soccer hooligans. For shame but consider, could not Wal-mart, with the obscene wealth that family has, provide a couple of off duty cops, or bouncers, to keep the crowd in check? For shame, again.

Rob,

It also crossed my mind to mention this same “mob mentality” phenomenom did help elect Obama.

Here is something I read a couple weeks ago that says it better than I ever could,

« Obama and the Politics of Crowds »

« The masses greeting the candidate on the trail are a sign of great unease. »

By Foud Ajami oct 30 2008,

…As the late Nobel laureate Elias Canetti observes in his great book, “Crowds and Power” (first published in 1960), the crowd is based on an illusion of equality: Its quest is for that moment when “distinctions are thrown off and all become equal. It is for the sake of this blessed moment, when no one is greater or better than another, that people become a crowd.”

… A leader does not have to say much, or be much. The crowd is left to its most powerful possession — its imagination.

From Elias Canetti again: “But the crowd, as such, disintegrates. It has a presentiment of this and fears it. . . . Only the growth of the crowd prevents those who belong to it from creeping back under their private burdens.“

Sorry I don’t have a URL… I only have this little copy and paste I took from Commonsenseandwonder.com a blog that – unfortunatly – has disapeared from the web a few days ago…

My husband,{I’ve said before he has severe lymphodema} was awake all night and was looking at the Walmart sales circular. He said I think I will go over there and pick up some of these things that are on sale for the kids. I said, “Hell No!” He thought I was overreacting, he never has been shopping on Black Friday. I think it is kind of crazy the way people act. Like Dawn was saying, People’s eyes glaze over and they act possessed. Last year I was shopping for my grandson some hot toy at Toys r Us, and I picked up the last one. This big woman, she didn’t speak english very well, started gibbering at me. I shook my head and started for the register, and said “I’m sorry, I was here first.” She started yelling no at me, and tried to rip it from my hands. When I wouldn’t give it to her she slapped me in the face. Fortunately, the store people saw her and took her away, but who knows what she would have done if they hadn’t? Would she have followed me to the parking lot? She was about 6′ and 250 lbs, compared to my 5’2 and 125 lbs. I think people need to get a grip. If times get much tougher, expect to see more of this, how will it be if we have basic goods shortages? Scary.

Amazing that a toy or TV would be worth someone’s life.

Just ridiculous.

I used to be on the other end of it, working at Best Buy when I was in college.

It’s amazing how stupid some consumers can be.

They’ll lose a finger in the door just to save 5 bucks on a car speaker.

Rob, your statement (when referring to Mob mentality)says:
“If you ask me, that’s what elected Obama.” Then, further down the page I see a dissertation on crowds. If John McCain had drawn larger crowds than Obama, you would be head over heels with joy. Whooping it up about how your candidate was able to inspire the people. But he didn’t and you lost. When is your pity party going to end? Or is hypocrisy a natural trait of the conservative elite?

Regarding the incident where a Wal-Mart employee was trampled to death this past Friday by shoppers in a state of buying frenzy – could make a great a promotional vehicle for all retailers.

I really feel sorry for the man who was killed, but look at it this way. He gave his life for some great bargains that will bring happiness to the multitude of shoppers who purchased these items that will be opened Christmas eve and morning bringing joy to the recipients.

It would certainly be nice if Wal Mart would declare a one day “Damour” shopping spree in memory of Jdimytai Damour, the man who was killed, with all the store’s proceeds going to his family and heirs.

Sporting goods stores such as BIG-5, K-Mart, SportsBarn, etc. promoted their fishing tackle departments with such ads as “ROD RIOTS” and “DOOR BUSTERS” that was and is standard fare in advertising.

Opening my early weekend newspaper my eye caught these ads. While in my PJ’s sipping coffee at the kitchen table I read these ads.

I envisioned barrels and racks of high quality fishing rods marked down to prices less than the cost of manufacture ready to be scooped up for bargain prices.

I also conjured that if I went down to the retailers who were promulgating this form of retail civil disobedience – That I would be either assaulted by fellow sportsman or sportswomen or caught in this maelstrom of dog eat dog, fang to fang purchasing and be subject to arrest by local, state and federal authorities for inciting to riot. Or be charged as an anarchist ready to overthrow our government for a few fishing rods.

Rather to expose myself to the slings and arrows of this outrageous purchasing, I chose to lay in bed and buy such items at garage sales later without the scars of retail battle.

Old Ed of the Delta

I was referring to the phenomena of mob mentality in general, you dullard, not suggesting that these Wal-Mart shoppers who trampled someone to death were Obama supporters.

You are politicizing a tragedy. I understand what you are doing. Don’t fool yourself so much to believe that a reasonably smart 4th grader couldn’t understand what you are writing. You are not very complicated.

You are a callous son of a bitch. You don’t seem t realize that politicizing tragedy is wrong, especially when there is no relation between the two incidents. You are just trying to score cheap political points, because the complicated ones are too hard for you.

I’ve been to the Valley Stream Mall on Black Friday three times and shopped there many more times in the past five years. The crowds at the main mall building where Pennys, Macys, Sears, etc are at are about 90% black and pretty civilized. Like all malls, they have a few characters running around, but on the whole it is a nice safe place. I have never seen the crowd waiting for the doors to be opened push and shove. There are always plenty of “excuse me’s”, “sorry’s”, and “no problem’s”. Wall Mart, on the other hand, is isolated across the parking lot next to Liquidators. I went into the Wall Mart store once and inventory was all over the floors along with food sold there. The place smelled bad and the crowd was about the same demographics but much more rude. I never went back. Liquidators, right next door, competes in pricing but the store is cleaner and the crowd is more polite. There is a Home Depot close to Wall Mart that is also very clean and well run. The Home Depot not to far away in Freeport is filthy, fairly unsafe, and the crowd, which is about 50% white, is on par with the Wall Mart crowd. This is a management problem and people will do what you expect of them.

Gotta say that at the Walmart near me the situation was much more orderly… the store is open 24 hours a day, and people trickled in in dribs and drabs, so no real riot at the doors.. they did have huge piles of stuff in the aisles, but I, myself, saw no people acting like animals… maybe the other stores should follow suit and be open at midnight the night before to allow a bit more crowd control.. what could they expect if all the folks wanted to get in at 5 a.m. at the same time.. I went at 1: a.m. to get my item, a $188 craft paper cutting machine, $90 less than the previous prices… I sat in a little wheelie chair (as I have a broken foot) right next to the pile, so that when released I would be sure to get one as the pile wasn’t too large.. Well, the staff decided at about 3:30 a.m. that my item was not a 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. ‘doorbuster’, so I picked mine up, and two more for customers who asked me to help while they waited on other lines, and went to the register to pay.. I purchased my stuff by 4 a.m. with nary a hassle… and after putting it in my car trunk, went back into the store to view the whole phenomenon as I’d never been to one of these sales before.. People did ‘clotch in groups’ waiting for the five a.m. permission to take stuff.. but I saw no overtly uncivilized behavior.. lines were humongous for the ocmputers and other electronics, they gave out numbered tags ahead to each purchaser in line for the item, and when the tickets ran out, that was it… There WAS a fight in the store, which I did not see, but saw five big guys racing for the area with the computer line, so some disturbance must have gone on.. maybe someone cut in line, maybe they were pulling on the same box of the last thing.. tempers flare when you don’t have much money to buy stuff or want a present for a loved one for Christmas.. I guess these guys think of it as life or death or something…

Sorry that guy was killed. Such behavior is outrageous.. I can’t imagine not ONE person stopped to help him and in their frenzy for acquiring material goods just ran over him…. they will probably never find the perpetrator who caused the final blow.. but this smacks of the same callousness of the group of ten who raped the girl in Northern CA in the last month.. someone said ‘crowd mentality took over’ as if to excuse it… NO EXCUSE… we are individuals and all responsible to ourselves for what we do… I can’t believe in either or both situations someone was not an individual enough to think of the life at risk, instead of buying their darned TV or laptop… But someone said the area is a lot of really poor and uncivilized people… guess it’s better to shop in a better area, AND at a 24 hour Walmart… I did shopping online for deals also, a lot safer and more convenient.. and NO riots!

And, oh yeah, the item I came in for? I left the store at 7:30 a.m. and there were still 9 of them on the pallet… so no need to kill anyone over them…

I think supply and demand also affects this.. if the store had enough stock to satisfy demands, there would NOT be such a frenzy…. but they want you in there, and whip people into a frenzy by some stores saying, “limited quantities’… I saw a Best Buy ad that said, ‘guaranteed to have 10 in stock”.. so what kind of competition does THAT encourage… ? A killer mentality.

Shop online, it’s safer.. but my experience was not bad… when the fight broke out I was at the other end of the store, and it seemed to be over quickly.. no bad behavior in my neighborhood of the Walmart landscape. The sale was fine… except for the two or more guys or whatever fighting… can’t believe the lady above who said some woman slapped her when she got the last of an item.. what did the woman think slapping would do? Make her give it up to her who was slapping? Some people have oatmeal for brains! Just very sad, but after all , there are a lot of psychiatrists practicing in the world, must tell us something.

From SuzyQ

The story also describes a 28 year old pregnant woman who gets injured.

Yeah, sorry, I mixed the story up a bit. I’m correcting.

It is more than a little disgusting to see people whipped up into a frenzy over discounted consumer electronics.

Ollie,

You really need to learn a thing or two about stereotypes.

McCain wasn’t my candidate. I didn’t support him in the primaries, and I didn’t vote for him for President. That he got the GOP nomination speaks volumes to me about how much trouble the Republican party is in. So no, I wouldn’t be happy if he got large crowds.

The mob mentality I speak of is people acting in groups based on whims and fancies. Given the superficial nature of Obama’s hope ‘n change campaign, I think this is an apt comparison.

You can disagree, of course, but you’re wrong.

You are a callous son of a bitch. You don’t seem t realize that politicizing tragedy is wrong, especially when there is no relation between the two incidents.

Call me names if you want, but nowhere did I suggest that anyone involved in this trampling was of any particular political bent. You read that in, and I’ll not take responsibility for your flights of fancy.