[Vision2020] Vision2020 Digest, Vol 29, Issue 265

Fri Nov 28 13:14:08 PST 2008

You're right, Keely, this is awful.  Even the nastiest mosh pits or concerts I've been to have a code of making sure the people that go down get helped up right away. Thanks for sharing this important reflection of the direction humanity sometimes seems to be taking lately.  Don

Examples like this have something to say for consumerism in America.  Which used to be practically a swear word until mind bending advertising took full effect.

Found at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumers

"Typically when business people and economists talk of consumers they are talking about person as consumer, an aggregated commodity item with little individuality other than that expressed in the buy/not-buy decision."

and here:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumption_(economics)

Traditionally, consumption was seen as rather unimportant compared to production, and the political and economic issues surrounding it. With the development of a consumer society, increasing consumer power in the market place, the growth in marketing, advertising, sophisticated consumers, ethical consumption etc, it is recognised as central to modern life. Sociology of consumption has moved well beyond Veblen's early work on 'conspicuous' consumption. Current theories investigate the role of economic and cultural factors in constraining consumption (Bourdieu), as development of an approach that sees consumers as 'victims' of producers and their social situation.

> Message: 1> Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 12:16:35 -0800> From: keely emerinemix <kjajmix1 at msn.com>> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart Worker Dies After Shoppers Knock> Him Down> To: Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com>, <vision2020 at moscow.com>> Message-ID: <COL110-W5617713858A06650A8DF2082040 at phx.gbl>> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"> > > This is just really awful -- you have to wonder if any of the shoppers in this stampeding herd stopped to help him up or anything. Equally troubling is the fact that most of them, even knowing what happened, continued to shop.> > What does this say about our culture? Nothing good, and nothing that even remotely hearkens back to the celebration of Jesus' birth. > > Keely> http://keely-prevailingwinds.blogspot.com/> > > > > > To: vision2020 at moscow.com> > From: thansen at moscow.com> > Date: Fri, 28 Nov 2008 18:47:53 +0000> > Subject: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart Worker Dies After Shoppers Knock Him Down> > > > >From ABC News at:> > > > http://www.abcnews.go.com/print?id=6353623> > > > -----------------------------------------------------> > > > Wal-Mart Worker Dies After Shoppers Knock Him Down> > Wal-Mart worker dies after being knocked down by throng of shoppers at NY > > store> > By COLLEEN LONG> > > > ---------> > > > http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/abc_wal_mart_violence_081128_mn.jpg> > Police say a Wal-Mart worker has died after being trampled by a throng of > > unruly shoppers shortly after the Long Island store opened Friday.> > > > ---------> > > > A worker was killed in the crush Friday after a throng of shoppers eager > > for post-Thanksgiving bargains burst through the doors at a suburban Wal-> > Mart, authorities said.> > > > At least four other people were injured, and the store in Valley Stream on > > Long Island was closed.> > > > Wal-Mart Stores Inc. in Bentonville, Ark., called the incident a "tragic > > situation" and said the employee came from a temporary agency and was > > doing maintenance work at the store.> > > > "He was bum-rushed by 200 people," co-worker Jimmy Overby, 43, told the > > Daily News. "They took the doors off the hinges. He was trampled and > > killed in front of me. They took me down too. ... I literally had to fight > > people off my back."> > > > Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital > > where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m. The man's name was not > > released and the cause of death was not immediately known.> > > > A police statement said shortly after the store's 5 a.m. opening time, > > shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the > > ground."> > > > A metal portion of the door was crumpled like an accordion.> > > > Shoppers around the country lined up early outside stores in the annual > > bargain hunting ritual known as Black Friday. Many stores open early and > > stay open late, and some of the most dramatic bargains are available in > > limited quantities.> > > > Among the bargains offered by Wal-Mart for Friday were Samsung 50-inch > > high definition Plasma TVs for less than $800.> > > > Witnesses told the Daily News that before the store was closed, eager > > shoppers streamed past emergency crews as they worked furiously to save > > the worker's life.> > > > "They were working on him, but you could see he was dead," said Halcyon > > Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."> > > > A 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation, and > > she and the unborn baby were both reported to be OK, said Sgt. Anthony > > Repalone, a Nassau County police spokesman. Four or five other people > > suffered minor injuries, he said.> > > > Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman at National Retail Federation, said the group > > knew of no other incident where a retail employee has died working on the > > day after Thanksgiving.> > > > Wal-Mart is working closely with police, company spokesman Dan Fogleman > > said.> > > > "The safety and security of our customers and associates is our top > > priority," Fogleman said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them and > > their families at this difficult time."> > > > -----------------------------------------------------> > > > Seasons Greetings, Moscow.> > > > Tom Hansen> > Moscow, Idaho> > > > "For a lapse Lutheran born-again Buddhist pan-Humanist Universalist > > Unitarian Wiccan Agnostic like myself there's really no reason ever to go > > to work."> > > > - Roy Zimmerman> > > > > > ---------------------------------------------> > This message was sent by First Step Internet.> > http://www.fsr.com/> > > > > > =======================================================> > List services made available by First Step Internet, > > serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. > > http://www.fsr.net > > mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com> > =======================================================> > _________________________________________________________________> Color coding for safety: Windows Live Hotmail alerts you to suspicious email.> http://windowslive.com/Explore/Hotmail?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_hotmail_acq_safety_112008 > -------------- next part --------------> An HTML attachment was scrubbed...> URL: http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20081128/2ea6cebe/attachment-0001.html > > ------------------------------> >
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