Wal-Mart, sheriff’s office sued in death

The family of the trampled Wal-Mart worker has sued the company and will almost certainly win a large sum of money. While money is simply a ridiculous quid pro quo in such a situation, I hope the family gets as much money as possible.

Still, whatever the sum, it will be a drop in the bucket of Wal-Mart’s profits. Since the behemoth retailer can absorb the a hit financially, the American public needs to compound the company’s pain by boycotting the store.

This is only the latest example of Wal-Mart’s modus operandi that warrants boycott or all out abstinence from the store.  We need to promote a boycott of Wal-Mart that truly makes the company rethink its policies. Not just its safety policy – though that is one of the most important issues – but all of its policies need to change. 

Of course, I think we all know that that is simply not a possibility for this company. Wal-Mart’s leaders are obligated by law to maximize profits by exploiting cheap Chinese labor and ignoring fair trade ideals. The result: the corporation paradox – treated as human, acts as sociopath.

The company must fall and so must all other big box stores that exploit slave wage labor.

Don’t let the Wal-Mart worker die in vain

Peter Goodman wrote an excellent piece in the New York Times today, summing up the multiple, compounding tragedies of Black Friday.

The killing of the Wal-Mart worker represents the most striking and terrible image of a consumeristic culture gone awry. 

I don’t want to politicize the death of this man. For his sake, our immediate efforts should be focused on forcing those involved to take responsibility.

But the broader picture has become tragically more clear after this event. The reality is our economic strength hinges on the masses buying junk, often junk they can’t afford. As Goodman states, even the nations political leader for the last eight years (still?), George W. Bush, made shopping an act of patriotism.

But it is not enough for a few people to pat each other on the back in the blogosphere as we commiserate this sorry state. This discussion needs to spread and spill over into mainstream culture. MSM isn’t going to say it. Even if nytimes.com published that article, the issue will quickly disappear and instead we will see stories about how bad consumer spending and consumer confidence has gotten. These stories implicitly argue that if the economy is going to get better, people need to start buying.

In short, we need to bypass MSM and get to the people who have never thought about these issues before. They aren’t dumb, they have just never been exposed to the ideas. The economy can be strong again, but how about strong in a new way.

Get out there and talk to your friends and neighbors. Spread it virally, both on and offline.

Wal-Mart employee killed, standard for humanity lowered

A man was killed today by rabid shoppers.

While this may sound like a goofy Onion headline, it’s not. It’s true. And it’s dead serious.

As our economy teeters on the precipice, I hesitate to rail against consumerism. Sadly, it may be the most important factor in the recovery of the economy. Sure credit has seized up, but the fundamentals of our national economy are only strong when everyone needs that new iPhone, that new sofa, or a new flat screen TV.

But a 34 year old man died today. He died because of very simple economics; we, as consumers, seek the best deal. And, since Black Friday is the bargain shoppers day of reckoning, a kind of Rapturous moment for the retail faithful, the surge of bargain zealotry pulses like a barbiturate through the shopping mall-bound throngs.

They trampled him. They crushed him beneath their feet in search of a good deal on a flat screen TV or some other new-fangled electronic must-have.

I can’t rant anymore about the underlying cultural values that would allow such an event to take place. But I can call for justice. Those who allowed this particular incident to take place, and those who were the actors in the incident, should be held accountable.

First, the people who trampled him. They were there. They walked over this man. They temporarily suspended their right to call themselves human. Their action is absurd. They deserve to be arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Second, Wal-Mart. In practical terms, the store exhibited gross negligence in preparing for the onslaught of customers. It’s not as if they didn’t know it was coming. They encourage it. Half the time, they call the press to come see it, and the press obliges gleefully. These are publicity stunts.

The spokesman for Wal-Mart said the company’s employees had the man’s family in their thoughts after the tragedy. Why didn’t they have a simple plan so this couldn’t happen? Sure, it’s a fluke, an accident. But rallying a group into a bargain-shopping frenzy and then not preparing for the animalistic tendencies in everyone, is simply negligent. They deserve to prosecuted in a criminal court, or sued in a civil court. The behemoth retailer  is a corporation and thus has many of the rights of individuals. If that’s true, they also have an individual’s responsibility. 

We need to start a campaign that calls for justice for this employee and his family. If Americans want to hold themselves up as a beacon of freedom and hope, “the shining city on the hill,” that can spread our greatness globally, then we need to live up to our own hype. Right now, we look sub-human.

Anyone who wants to post on this blog can. Simply comment with your log in name and I will post you as a writer on the blog. We need all the voices we can to legitimize our campaign for justice.