Ny Daily News reports on Walmart death. Read more about how shoppers were rushing to Apple Store, Walmart and Best Buy for online Black Friday deals.
A worker died after being trampled and a woman miscarried when hundreds of shoppers smashed through the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart Friday morning, witnesses said.
The unidentified worker, employed as an overnight stock clerk, tried to hold back the unruly crowds just after the Valley Stream store opened at 5 a.m.
Witnesses said the surging throngs of shoppers knocked the man down. He fell and was stepped on. As he gasped for air, shoppers ran over and around him.
The society has had enough. This Walmart death of a worker shows that a hard working person making $7.00 an hour died so Wal-Mart would reach its sales quota during the holiday season. The crowd literally took the door off it's hinges. Other workers almost suffered the same fate. Hundreds of people stepped over a fellow human being in order to get a play station, or a microwave oven.
An earlier version of this story revealed that several shoppers were also injured, some being led out on stretchers. Here is why this Walmart employee is killed. Some crap gadgets that are going to take up space in a garage for years until the next yard sale?
By the way, another Black Friday shooting at Toys 'R' Us In Palm Desert of California has claimed already two lives. This shopping craze is enough. Maybe in a way, it's good that our economy is tanking. Several of the big box retailers are going down. We used to have retailers who sold high quality merchandise locally both made in America and often made in countries where the workers may have been under-payed compared to us, but not in such sweat box situations.
It's the most depressing thing in the world to me to think about the start of this chain. There was somebody making .17 cents an hour producing some disposable good in brutal conditions, and some person desperate for seasonal employment even at $7.00 an hour is put in charge of guarding the doors from the throngs in a blood frenzy over an artificial sale on a few items that ends at 10AM in the morning (supplies are limited). Johnny NEEDS a new console system, so get there at 3AM or he will hate you forever.
Enough already. There is not anything for sale in Wal-Mart even free that is worth a human life, an employee being trampled and killed in a stampede. We should be ashamed of ourselves as a country for lapsing into such mindless consumerism. Even in a time of economic trouble, too many amongst us would rather mindlessly consume than reflect on what the most important things are in life.
I can guarantee it's not Malibu Barbie. This at least I know.
Here is an update on Walmart Death.
One of the hottest recent discoveries by investigative journalists is the sleazy practice known as "dead peasants’ insurance," which is allegedly used by some of our best known big corporations — such as Wal-Mart and Enron. Officially called Corporate-Owned Life Insurance (COLI), this practice has been going on below the radar since the 1980s, and P&J were turned on to it by our favorite lefty in the bullpen, Dick Walton. P&J agree with Dick Walton when he says, "Just when you thought corporate America could sink no lower, you find that your imagination cannot equal that of these fiends."
Here’s how it works. Big companies with a number of low-paid employees (the practice is also known as "dead janitors’ insurance") buy life insurance on those low-ranking employees — sometimes without their knowledge — to get tax breaks, as well as to collect benefits when a covered employee died. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, "Corporations gain not merely from the tax-free life insurance benefits they receive when current or former employees die, but also can borrow money against these policies. Many companies even deducted the interest on these loans from their taxes." It is legal in some states, but not in others (which have emerged from the ghoulish Dark Ages of squalid business dealings). For some of these companies, death benefits go to pay for executive bonuses and perks.
I added that because I am wondering if Wal-Mart had such a policy on this worker. Just a thought.
Reported by Trifecta's Diary of Daily Kos.
Also, don't miss our story about the upcoming Cyber Monday 2008, ads and deals.
Posted November 28th, 2008 by Armen Hareyan
such crazy world where the low paid worker is victim of greed! I totaly think that not only people who shopped that day are at fault - also Walmart is at fault. Its like you would say that this is not Hitlers' fault to start WW2! This must not happen again!
what our society has come to is that white people are becoming the minority. this guy was trampled buy a bunch of crazed blacks, pure and simple. ship them back and ship them back today.
this is totally messed up, cant believe what this world is comin to when people do things like this, like madonna said we are living in a material world and we are all materials girls or boys, people should focus on what is important love, family and friends not getting the best comp console or the best hair straightners, and these kids these days are all spolit brats, the parents need to take back the control!
eamerextreme
"A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital, where she and the baby were reported to be OK, said police Sgt. Anthony Repalone."
No miscarriage..a tragedy indeed, but no need to add more to it. Other wise good report.
I don't think this blogger was trying to misrepresent facts. Earlier news reports said that the man had been killed and the woman miscarried. The miscarriage report was later retracted.
Need I point out that the baby didn't make it? My sister works at a walmart and she's been getting regular updates on the situation. We've spent a lot of time being appalled that people could act this way.
People have no idea of how pissed i am that this has happened. He died essentialy for Walmart! Man I used to work for mcdonalds when I was a kid and just thinking about me giving my life up for that company makes me more pissed than I have ever been before.
Seriously man!!! It is NOT WalMarts fault that the crowd were savages. The man wouldnt have died if the crowd didnt FORCE the doors open. How is it WalMart as a wholes fault We had police at our Wal-Mart, its the ignorance of the store for not having better crowd control, plus the ignorance of the people.
This is sad. Holiday shopping isn't even all that serious. The same crap that's in Walmart today will still be there next week. This makes no sense. An innocent person died because of customers acting as if their lives depended on holiday shopping. This shouldn't have even happened.
I totally agree with you, I can not believe this happen it is so sad. I really feel for this person and his family that he left behind. Stupid material stuff it is not even worth it all.
Another fantastic reason not to shop @ WalMart. I am thoroughly disgusted by this incident.
I can't believe people would seriously trample over a man just to get a few dollars of "hot" items. Those "hot" items are only good for a few months then people don't want them anymore.. For real, Although this saddens me, it also makes me mad. People now a days complain about how the economy is so bad, well guess what! The reason an innocent man was killed was so people could purchase presents that were made in China! So shame on all of those people who couldn't stop to simply help someone off the floor!
Your commentary is incredibly inappropriate. This is a tragedy. There are social critiques to be made here, but not now. At least wait until the bodies are cold before you blame capitalism, Wal-Mart, consumerism, and little Johnny.
The way this crowd acted was barbarian. Your socialist commentary on the way this crowd acted was juvenile.
i agree with this poster. how could you blame this on wal-mart? it was not wal-mart that killed this poor man.
they should pull the video feed and charge every single one of those people with manslaughter at the very least.
I really feel now more than ever that we as a nation need to step back and reevaluate what is truly of value in our lives. I believe the rulers of our fake economy are in no way concerned of our well being. It seems every aspect of life that affect everyone is profiting someone at our spiritual expense. I have and will NEVER shop at these chain sores for the fact that I value life over material things. I would rather pay more for quality and justice. We all are at fault for this man's death if we just carry on the patterns that caused it. I don't even know why people celebrate Christmas in such a materialistic way. I'm happy I get to live a good life. I wish you all happiness and peace.
Walmart does not care in our area. This just goes to show you that they are all about the money. Every time my wife comes out of there she is pissed about something in the place.
My answer to her quit going in the damn place!!!!!!!!!
Sorry your WalMart doesnt care, but don't give the whole corporation a bad name because of your stores stupidity. There are stores out there that even take the time to learn customers first names. But maybe thats because I am in a smaller town.
Do not blame Wal-mart. Personally, I don't care for the chain either. However, it is not the chain's fault. It is the fault of the materialist barbarians that trampled that poor person to death. These, incidentally, are the same people that will be complaining next week of everything being made in China. It will never end. Ever.
I really feel now more than ever that we as a nation need to step back and reevaluate what is truly of value in our lives. I believe the rulers of our fake economy are in no way concerned of our well being. It seems every aspect of life that affect everyone is profiting someone at our spiritual expense. I have and will NEVER shop at these chain sores for the fact that I value life over material things. I would rather pay more for quality and justice. We all are at fault for this man's death if we just carry on the patterns that caused it. I don't even know why people celebrate Christmas in such a materialistic way. I'm happy I get to live a good life. I wish you all happiness and peace.
I cant believe out of all the people stampeding through the doors not one NOT ONE person stoped and tried to help this guy up. what the hell is wrong with people, fuckin burn em fuckin burn em!!!!!!!!!!!
What a senseless death! What have we come to as a society. I am so sorry for this family, my prayers go out to them. I just hope that an attorney steps up and helps this family file a lawsuit against Walmart. They need to take responsibility for their failure to hire police officers or guards for this out of control crowd. They should have been properly prepared for the crowd.
How is it the WalMArts fault?? Get a life
I think you mean 'Long Island' not 'Lon Island'
Just a thought.
And yes, shit like this is why the planet is going to pot.
I am a walmart associate at a minnesota store. I feel incredibly bad that such a thing like this happened, BUT IT'S NOT wal-mart's as a corperations fault. It is up to each individual store how they handle their blitz (black friday to everyone else) day. We at our store are open 24 hours a day, so people were allowed to come in whenever and maps were handed out to customer as to the location of the sale items. However, I am unaware if this particular store was a 24 hour store or not, but either way, IT WAS THE UNRULY CROWDS FAULT and this isn't the only place that had incidents. My big beef with this article is that it says crap about walmart's greed in wanting to meet it's sales quota. I'm sorry, walmart doesn't need black friday to meet any quota. Again, this death and miscarriage is a horrible thing, but just because it happened at a walmart doesn't make it walmarts fault. I do indeed feel for the victim's familys and friends. But place blame where blame is due, the unruly and unforgiving crowds that prize stupid material things over human life.
i am also a walmart associate in texas and trust me they dont care. they put the work on one person to take care of one or more depts. when they know its going to be a busy day. i saw a lady in the toy dept who had to take care of that section by herself and no one volenteered to help not even manegment came to get someone to help her. my dept was slow so i went and helped. walmart knows its going to be a busy day but instead of getting more workers they just make due with what they got and make the associates work harder. i mean this incident is a good example of how walmart makes constant fuck ups. they knew it was going to be busy they knew there was lots of people outside and they sent ONE person to open a door that was already being broken down. but again walmart doesnt care. it is all about the money they make. if you dont beleive me think about this why didnt walmart shut down after the person died?
WOW REALLY do you even have a heart in your chest..Who's fault is it then? If walmart as whole would've planned this event out better than this wouldn't have happened...it happens every year...don't you think that they'd finally change something...or does a man's death finally sent a spark in walmarts head saying hey we're dumb we should change the format for black friday.
How is it always WalMarts fault. Blame the savages that killed him. Its peoples greed that is to blame. It just so happened to happen at a WalMArt, it could have happened anywhere.
what have people come to. no respect for life but just tv,gadgets and games and other non meaning things. walmart should have not put their in employees in that sitaution..when they saw the crowd being ignorant as they were. they should have had the employees step out the way. i blame the walmart and the crowd. people just dont care anymore. pointless for black friday now!!
this is so depressing to read. people are so materialistic now. people are crazy. it amazes me how heartless and material-driven people are now and all for what? to save a few bucks?
Walmart Is the downfall of North America.. Importing 90% of their goods from oversea. Forcing a reduction in wages throught the grocery and department store industy and manufartury sector. With the closing of manufacturing companies because thay can not compete against the asian sweet shops that Walmart import the goods from. I Would rather pay more for an North American made product and ensure a future for this continent on an economic level. We will be a third world country if we don't shop local and stop the decay af the retail sector this this giant taking over the world.
PEOPLE are the downfall of America, stop pointing your finger at the easiest scapegoat. I work and buy at Wal-Mart. It puts a roof over my head and feeds my two year old. Get off your high horse.
WE HAVE HAD A SMALL RETAIL GIFT SHOP FOR 23 YEARS AND IT HAS GOTTEN INCREASINGLY SAD. OPENING ON THANKSGIVING AND PEOPLE LINING UP @ 3 AM TO GET A BUNCH OF JUNK MADE IN CHINA. WE REFUSE TO OPEN UNTIL 10AM OUR USUAL TIME, THE DAY AFTER THANKSGIVING. WE ONLY HAD 10 CUSTOMERS TODAY....EVERYONE WAS OUT BUYING JUNK @ WALMART MADE IN CHINA THAT NO ONE REALLY WANTS. IN 23 YEARS, WE PROBABLY HAVE ONLY HAD 20 RETURNS. WE HAVE ALL PRICE RANGES, AND PEOPLE LIKE GIFTS THAT HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHT...NOT A GIFT CARD. EVEN IF IT SAVES ME MONEY, I REFUSE TO LINE UP LIKE A BUNCH OF GREEDY PIGS AND BUY JUNK. AMERICA HAS SUNK TO A NEW LOW....IT IS SAD BEYOND BELIEF. AMERICA, DON'T YOU REALIZE WHEN YOU BUY ALL THIS JUNK THAT FOREIGNERS MAKE, IT TAKES JOBS AWAY FROM AMERICANS! IF THE UNIONS HAD NOT GOTTEN GREEDY, WE COULD AFFORD TO BUY AMERICAN MADE PRODUCTS. WAKE UP AND REFUSE TO BUY ALL OFD THIS JUNK AND WASTING YOUR LIVES BUYING JUNK FROM PLACES LIKE WAL-MART THAT DON'T LAST LONG ENOUGH TO PAY FOR IT.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH TRYING TO GET A GOOD DEAL, BUT JUST LIKE YOUR SMALL, HOME TOWN RETAILERS, WE HAVE THINGS ON SALE, BUT ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
This has been coming on for years. We opened a small gift shop in a small southern town 23 years ago and we have seen an ever increasing earlier and earlier time for shopping after thanksgiving...even on Thanksgiving. What is worth standing in line before 3 am on the day after Thanksgiving? Junk made in China that will not even last a year if your lucky? Then, the day after Christmas, hundreds standing in line to return the junk they didn't want?
We have honestly had less than 30 returns in 23 years...usually because it was a duplicate and they exchanged it.
America, enough is enoug. Why do you think we have no jobs or manufacturing here anymore. Everybody runs to Wal-mart of big box retailers to buy chinese junk.....no one makes anything here anymore...no jobs...no businesses....The unions outpriced everything from toasters to autos. If you have a foreign car....shame on you...but I had 2 chevy products and they were junk. Their workers make around 70.00 hr and RN's with college make 25.00! There is something wrong with this picture. If you have to pay employees more than a product is worth....than duh, no one can afford it and the company will go out of business.
I have an old, American made GE waffle iron that is literally 32 years old and still working. Bought a name brand dvd player...think it is a Sanyo....less than 6 months of use...broken...It is all junk.
To think this man lost his life for a bunch of junk by a greedy bunch of pigs makes me sick.
Shop your local, small businesses. Keep you money in your town, not in the malls or or big box retailers or internet. If you don't, there will not be any local one left next year.
We had 10 customers today....opened @ 10am....People need to stay home on thanksgiving and enjoy family and look for special things for their loved ones. We had sales today, and believe me we could have used the money, but I refuse to have a sale paper for a cheap item and cause people to line up and get up, when they can buy it later. It goes to show you when you have a generation of people raised without God in any of public life. The government kicked God out and he is sadly looking on.
I'm sorry that your local store may not have had the same customer load, but it's not ANY big chains fault. We have a Super Center Wal-mart in our small town but yet most or our small town local stores are just fine. People will shop where they will. I goto where I know i will get quality and that's at ANY place. And don't bring GOD into this. I'm sorry, it's not the government fault dealing with issues of god. Everything happens for a reason, how do we know this wasn't god's plan all along? How do we know this wasn't GOD saying that WE as a people need to check ourselves and our greedy nature? And that this just happen to have taken place at a walmart. Would you be blaming GOD if this happened at a TARGET?? I highly doubt it. So stick to the subject at hand, a senseless death at the hands of a greedy, unruly and unrelenting crowd.
I try and give local shops my business, local auto guy, small grocery store. It is just so hard to afford them sometimes and even some of the small gift places around here have crap made in China too!
What is made in America anymore! Things used to be made well and lasted. Now things break after a few years. In the last 5 years I have had to fix my Kenmore dryer twice and the washer once!
I can say that it doesn't suprise me. People are becoming increasigly hostle. We now live in a country were if you do not have what is popular you are nothing. One thing I think these families need to learn is that things will not replace love. Nothing you can buy can make a child feel happy, loved or secure. The children in our country need to know that love does not cost a thing. I watch as parents excuse and make no effort to teach manners and respect for others and personal property. The adults act as if they will burst into flames if the children in the family do not have designer clothes and the most popular gadgets. I have instilled in my own that if a gift costs a dollar you are to be greatful, if you are offered best wishes and no gift to remember the person is offering you love and that is priceless.
Thank you all for not sticking to the subject of a senseless, unneccessary death and turning it into a "we hate walmart" slam session. American made or not, local small business or not, this think happened and it's sad. Sad also is the shooting that took place at a California toys r us. Are you going to slam them as well??? Why don't you slam target?? In my neck of the woods there are target's about every 10miles, hell, two in the same city. Blah blah blah. My point is, if this horrible tragedy had happened at ANY other store, would you also be slamming them this hard?? Stick to the fact that it is the consumer's GREED for senseless material things that brought this man to his unfortunate death. Why aren't we blaming whoever came up with "black friday"??? You all are just looking for the easy finger point and that happens to be walmart because everyone wants to find some reason to slam them. Grow up and and grow a brain.
And as far as good ol american made goods, what little girl doesn't have a barbie, ever look where that was made???
ANYWAYS, I feel for that poor man's family and I am ashamed of AMERICAN'S greed that lead to his death. And I don't blame Wal-mart as a whole, but just that ONE store.
Wal-Mart should have shut down the store, and not sold a thing to any of the heartless people in it!!
I like how everyone blames WalMart. Has anyone said anythign about the shooting in Toys R Us?? NO Wal-Mart,BAD!! You ignorant people don't even know what you are talking about. Get a clue!!!
This is how low we've come along as a society. It makes me feel so angry that I wish they would find the people who trampled him and then trample them with high heels.
This happening is a terrible thing. As a society, we should all be ashamed that we have come to this. I feel terrible for this poor man and his family. However, there is a second tragedy here that we should also be ashamed of. I am speaking of the fact that we accept such poor quality of work from each other. I am referring to the actual writing of the above article. Any editor who can read should have rejected the article and told "Trifecta's Diary" to resubmit it when he or she learns the rules of grammar and word-usage. I don't understand how we have come to the point that someone can make a living writing news articles when they don't even know how to write in the first place. Trifecta's Diary and the Daily Kos should both be embarrassed, I know that I am embarrassed for them.
OSHA requires employeers to provide a employees a place free of recognized hazards, that are likely to cause injury or death. They did not do that. Its a shame that a big company like Walmart dosent care. Purely my opinion. Shame on you Walmart.
OSHA requires an employer to furnish its employees, employement and a place of employement free from recognized hazards that are causing or are likely to cause death or serious physical harm to that employee.
Walmat failed to protect its employee. You would think that a large company like Walmart would have had a better handle on this. Right !
I don't blame Walmart. People are going crazy these days. So many just don't care for others anymore. We see so much that others have and want it. That just cant always happen, face it! Times are tough for people.
The greed in people is sick, Just to purchase a item. The people responsible for this should be put on trail for murder.This is just what people have changed the world into. you who performed this Hannis act needed it performed on you, I have already returned my item I went to get. YOU MAKE ME SICK and you need the same done to you. And the people that respond as if this is to tough. You condone the actions and think that your items are worth it,you to make me sick I am ashamed to live here. I know its only going to get worse. The politics that i sat back and watched in the past few weeks, Whats to come ? we all will see. Where are the true Americans. who stands up for right and wrong?
First i cannot believe people are out there buying pointless items as bad as the economy is, and second where was the police. I feel that Wal-mart knew that it would be a rush of people waiting to get a few dollars off of items, and that Wal-mart knew the size of the crowd. Apparently someone is in the store looking out and saw all of the people outside the store looking in waiting, WHY didn't someone call the cops for crowd control? That don't make no sense that man had to lose his life because someone wasn't RESPONSIBLE! I if i had to place blame somewhere it would be the customers and Wal-mart,when it comes down to it, when you look at it, it looks like GREED to me. Isn't that one of the seven sins?
Too bad our country has so many crazed blacks in it. The founding fathers must be turning over in their graves.
I was so disgusted after hearing about this man's death that I will no longer shop at Wal-Mart. Why weren't there any security guards or even other employees working at the door? How could Wal-Mart execs think that one guy could control 2000 people!? I find it disturbing that this crowd cared more about getting good deals than another person's life. I just don't understand how you could walk over a person lying on the ground. And to make matters more upsetting, many customers complained when they were asked to leave after the incident. A MAN IS DEAD for goodness sakes! How could you even think about shopping after that?
Wow, really sad - I really
Wow, really sad - I really feel for this persons family. Any at-work death is a tragedy but this seems so pointless. What as society come to?