Spring Break
This Thanksgiving saw humanity at its worst
Aaron Igdalsky
Issue date: 12/2/08 Section: Commentary
As many Americans slept off their post-Thanksgiving stomachaches in the wee hours of the morning last Friday, Nov. 28, Jdimytai Damour was at his temporary job at the Wal-Mart in Valley Stream, Long Island. He was preparing to open the doors for the Black Friday sale just before 5am when suddenly, a mob of an estimated 2,000 people chanting "push the doors in" barreled through the front doors of the store, literally stampeding over Damour in their wake. When all was said and done, Damour was dead, and four others had to be hospitalized, including an eight-months pregnant woman.
Without a doubt, the most disturbing part of what happened at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart was what occurred after the stampede. When police officers arrived at the scene and attempted to administer CPR to Damour, they too were trampled over by customers trying to get their hands on some sale items before they ran out of stock. When police told customers to leave the store because an employee had been killed, many customers refused, saying that they had been waiting outside for hours, and that they wanted to continue their shopping.
I'd heard of mobs in China trampling over workers for cooking oil, and stampedes at religious pilgrimages in the Middle East. But in the United States? Never. Call me na've or crazy or nostalgic, but I didn't think Americans, in 2008, could ever stoop to such levels of mob violence. Boy, was I wrong. The fact that people could be so selfish and so greedy as to literally kill a man to save a few bucks on a camera or TV made my jaw drop. Thanksgiving, when we are all supposed to give thanks for what we have, had not even been in the books for five hours when Jdimytai Damour was savagely crushed and left dead. If that isn't disgusting, I'm not sure what is.
Trying to rationalize and understand what happened, I rehashed the facts in my head and told myself "okay. So maybe a few people at the front of the crowd got a little out of hand. But afterwards, everyone would pitch in and do everything they could to help the injured, right?" Nope, wrong again. It seems that all those folks in Valley Stream wanted were their discounted TV and cameras. If that meant slaughtering a man trying to earn a living, so be it.
Without a doubt, the most disturbing part of what happened at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart was what occurred after the stampede. When police officers arrived at the scene and attempted to administer CPR to Damour, they too were trampled over by customers trying to get their hands on some sale items before they ran out of stock. When police told customers to leave the store because an employee had been killed, many customers refused, saying that they had been waiting outside for hours, and that they wanted to continue their shopping.
I'd heard of mobs in China trampling over workers for cooking oil, and stampedes at religious pilgrimages in the Middle East. But in the United States? Never. Call me na've or crazy or nostalgic, but I didn't think Americans, in 2008, could ever stoop to such levels of mob violence. Boy, was I wrong. The fact that people could be so selfish and so greedy as to literally kill a man to save a few bucks on a camera or TV made my jaw drop. Thanksgiving, when we are all supposed to give thanks for what we have, had not even been in the books for five hours when Jdimytai Damour was savagely crushed and left dead. If that isn't disgusting, I'm not sure what is.
Trying to rationalize and understand what happened, I rehashed the facts in my head and told myself "okay. So maybe a few people at the front of the crowd got a little out of hand. But afterwards, everyone would pitch in and do everything they could to help the injured, right?" Nope, wrong again. It seems that all those folks in Valley Stream wanted were their discounted TV and cameras. If that meant slaughtering a man trying to earn a living, so be it.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Stephen
posted 12/02/08 @ 11:43 PM EST
Incredible. Not just the story itself, but the "suggestions" made in the aftermath. "Tighter security." "Where were the cops?" "Stock more stuff." That last one was the most unbelievable of all. (Continued…)
Post a Comment