Walmart Tragedy - What Does It Take?

I have always known that Black Friday sales was something to stay away from if at all possible. Sure, there are great bargains out there but at what cost? As my son told my youngest daughter who was planning on going to the sales with her cousin, "No way am I going out there and get my arm ripped off trying to buy something. I'll pay the extra money and keep it." I have to agree with him, and if I have it my way, after what happened this last Black Friday, none of my kids will ever go out on that morning again.

Now most people will say, "That's a one in a million chance" when talking about temporary worker Jdimytai Damour's death at a Long Island Walmart last week. But any chance that someone could be killed because of a sale is one chance too many.

Yes, I know that Walmart is now being sued by the family because Walmart's own safety watch determined that Mr. Damour had not been properly trained in handling crowds and that there wasn't enough safety officers around or precautions taken. And yes, Walmart has to be held accountable for some of the responsibility for this tragedy. But they are not the only ones.

What about the shoppers who crashed through the doors, not only knocking Mr. Damour down and trampling on him but also crumpling the metal portion of the door "like an accordion" as was reported. Think about it, people. Those doors are heavy, heavy doors. I know that for a fact since I got my hand caught in one just like it while working at a store. Can you imagine how much of an impact that door had to take in order to crumple like that? And if that much damage was done to the door, imagine what that poor man went through. Not only him, but several other workers who were knocked down while trying to rescue him from the surge of people. This tragedy could just as easily have ended up with more than one death.

What makes this tragedy even worse is knowing that as Mr. Damour lay dying on the floor, shoppers did not stop to help him. Instead, they either walked around, stepped over or stepped on the man in their haste to get a good deal. Saving money was more important to them than helping a fellow human being. Shoppers kept on doing just that....shopping, even as Walmart made an announcement that they would have to close due to a man being trampled to death. Did they stop shopping? Not at first.

I will bet you any amount of money that when this announcement was made and everyone was forced to leave the store that there were at least a handful of people grumbling and complaining about having waited so long for the doors to open and fighting crowds to get their precious merchandise only to not be able to go home with it because they couldn't get checked out. Remarks like, "Well, closing down won't bring him back" or "He'll still be dead, whether I get this television for $795.00 or not" were probably made. Were they giving any consideration to this man's family? Pffft.

It makes me wonder where the compassion and caring for other people that I witnessed growing up has gone to. Times certainly have changed. Back in the olden days, as my children call them, if someone were to fall, there would be many who would help pick them up. Nowadays, they not only walk past but they let a man die.

My question to everyone is this.....what is it going to take to get people to realize that a person's life is worth far more than getting a good bargain? When are we going to go back to the days when we cared about other people - even strangers - in need? What will it take?

My heart is filled with sadness for not only Mr. Damour's family, but the state of this world as well.