We'll always have Lou Reed. Eat it!

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And no one gets trampled to death in the Hampstons or Fire Island?

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The comments are practically magic, though. Take this genius insight from "dondimav."

The tragic event al Wal-Mart was unnecessary. I was there about 10-15 ft from the crime scene when it took place. Firstly, the pregnant woman shouldn't had been there been pregnant and in that freezing cold. It is simple common sense. And regarding the employee who got ran over and lost his life, I would blame the Wal-Mart staff for lack of proper planning and administration of a black friday event. While he was of the floor trying to control the crowd, there was four others employees standing on the top of three vending machines taking photos of the crowd from behing him. WHY didn't they went down and help him get the job done? People out there just can't blame the crowd, the store plays a big role in this also because other store like best buy and circuit city were in the same situation and they were able to control the crowd.

Yes, because Wal*Mart should have to hire the National Guard to keep people from killing each other to save 20% on knick-knacks. Nice perspective, guy! Meanwhile, it's not like this idiot who was "10-15 ft. from the crime scene" did anything about it.

It's always someone else's fault in this country, isn't it?

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Silently watching this all happen is excusable, because Wal*Mart should have had armed guards walking everybody in one at a time at gunpoint. That's the only context under which we can exercise basic human decency and self-control, apparently.

You know, maybe Orwell was right and the future really is a boot stamping on a human face forever and ever and maybe that isn't such a bad thing. It's like the human race is crying out for hungry dogs, cameras, and armed men to bring us under control. Security society is what we deserve - it even seems to be what we crave.

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Most normal people would not stop in that mad, frenzied crowd to help someone who has fallen. The amygdala takes over completely; it's like running from a fire.

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Yes. The big corporations and big government must take care of us. Our fragile amygdalas absolve us from responsibility for our actions absent our caretaker.

You're saying the same thing as me, just from a different perspective. You embrace the sheep model of human culture, I'm saddened by it.

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I don't perceive negligence. Every last one of these retail companies establishes crowd control plans and documents procedures for managing these events. The failure to prevent this death was due to the overwhelming and extreme nature of the crowd activity, not a failure to prepare.

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If I give a crackhead more crack after I know he just killed the family down the street w/an axe to get crack, wouldn't I hold part of the blame?

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That sounds real nice, but how do you know they have an effective plan and that said plan was actually followed?

The investigation and depositions (If there's a lawsuit.) will establish that.

Yes, it sounds like the people acted like animals, but it also sounds as if Wal-Mart could have prevented this.

Why does it take massive punitive damages for companies to act decently?

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I really don't know about that.

I remember working black Friday at a major electronics retailer years ago when I was in college. There were special setups for queues, people out front, etc. It was a well-constructed plan designed to minimize risk while everything went down. And you know what? I STILL saw a few arrests that day.

Wal*Mart will be able to demonstrate the establishment of significant measures to prevent this behavior. Whether or not they're sufficient to deflect charges of negligence will be up to the courts, I guess.

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Lieutenant Fleming said that the store "could have done more" to prevent the melee.

"I've heard other people call this an accident, but it's not," he said. "This certainly was foreseeable."

[www.nytimes.com]

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End times, people.

[www.nydailynews.com]

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"You've had your fill from me, Slive!"

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Nobody told them we stopped killing Indians.

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