The NY Times report below attempts to place an ethical question onto this tragedy, but misses the point.
Americans have been brainwashed into believing they are only as good, successful, and worthy as the things they own. 
Democracy Now's Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzales present the facts with clarity as well as compassion. Their interview with Patrick Purcell of United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 and Savriti D, Director of Rev. Billy's Church of Stop Shopping, discusses the conditions which were created by a corporate giant. Wal-Mart saved money and murdered a man who went to his job one morning but will never go home again.
Wal-Mart Worker Crushed to Death in Early Morning Stampede of Shoppers on Black Friday
A Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, New York died after being trampled to death by a mob of shoppers on Friday, the traditional first day of the holiday shopping season. The 34-year-old worker Jdimytai Damour was killed after a crowd of 2,000 broke down store doors and ran over him shortly before the store"s schedule 5 a.m. opening. Four shoppers were injured in the stampede. Nassau County police were trying to determine what happened during the stampede, but said it was unclear if there would be any criminal charges.
http://www.democracynow.org/2008/12/1/wal_mart_worker_crushed_to_death
A Shopping Guernica Captures the Moment
By PETER S. GOODMAN
Published: November 29, 2008
From the Great Depression, we remember the bread lines. From the oil shocks of the 1970s, we recall lines of cars snaking from gas stations. And from our current moment, we may come to remember scenes like the one at a Long Island Wal-Mart in the dawn after Thanksgiving, when 2,000 frantic shoppers trampled to death an employee who stood between them and the bargains within.
It was a tragedy, yet it did not feel like an accident. All those people were there, lined up in the cold and darkness, because of sophisticated marketing forces that have produced this day now called Black Friday. They were engaging in early-morning shopping as contact sport. American business has long excelled at creating a sense of shortage amid abundance, an anxiety that one must act now or miss out
.
Americans demonstrate acceptable behavior learned during the Reagan-BushCo. years
[…] After 9/11, President Bush dispatched Americans to the malls as a patriotic act. When the economy faltered early this year, the government gave out tax rebate checks and told people to spend. In a sense, those Chinese-made flat-screen televisions sitting inside Wal-Mart have become American comfort food.
And yet the ability to spend is cnstricting rapidly. Credit card limits are getting cut. Millions of Americans now owe the bank more than the value of their homes, making further borrowing impossible. The banks themselves are hunkered down, just hoping to survive.
[…] Wages for most Americans have fallen in real terms over the last eight years. Pensions have been turned into 401(k) plans that have just relinquished half their value to an angry market. Health benefits have been downgraded or eliminated altogether. Working hours are being slashed, and full-time workers are having to settle for jobs through temp agencies.
Indeed, this was the situation for the unfortunate man who found himself working at the Valley Stream Wal-Mart at 5 a.m. Friday, a temp at a company emblematic of low wages and weak benefits, earning his dollars by trying to police an unruly crowd worried about missing out. […]
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/weekinreview/30goodman.html?_r=2&hp
December 2, 2008
Wal-Mart Caused Black Friday Tragedy
July 1, 2008
Push Back Picnic @ Union Sq!
Anarchists and church members, (Stop Shopping, of course!) First Amendment Defenders and yoga practitioners, children and caregivers, skateboarders and students, workers just having lunch and lovers lured towards a romantic rendezvous are ALL requested to reclaim Union Square as the people’s park, a not-for-profit piece of real estate
WE PAY FOR WITH TAX DOLLARS!
First, the word from the anarchists:
Friends and Neighbors,
COME TO THE PUSH BACK PICNIC JULY 2ND, 6:00PM,
BY THE ABE LINCOLN STATUE
As the nation prepares to ce
lebrate it's 232nd Birthday, and the Union Square BID (Business Improvement District) prepares to privatize the LANDMARKED Pavilion building, come join the Community Improvement District (CID), along with your favorite radical heroes of Union Square for an olde tyme hoedown and radical auction action. Make a bid on your favorite national chain store franchise! Dance circles around stodgy, stogie-smoking, sell-out politicians! Marvel as the park pushes back against the greedy takeover artists!Let's push back the privatizers and keep Union Square a place for public gatherings, public rallies, and public play! PUSH BACK THE BID! UNION SQUARE IS NOT FOR SALE! more info: www.unionsquarenotforsale.org
Here’s the word from the good Rev. Billy:
Picnic And PUSH-BACK At The Pit Of Sin!
Wednesday, July 2nd, 5pm-7pm
at Union Square in Manhattan
The Reverend and Savitri are leaving for a while, and they'd like the chance to say goodbye to the Church on Wednesday, July 2nd from 5pm to 7pm...near the Abomination Medley of Squalid Temptation known as the construction site at Union Square. We'll start at 5 pm with our petition gathering and 1st Amendment singing at the NW corner, then retire to the picnic area near the Abraham Lincoln statue at six o'clock.
Exorcisms and possessions of the spirit are always a possibility, but the ordinary fun of a July picnic will offer a safe alternative for those of you who don't have to go "over the top and into the bullets." There are many ways to enjoy and help us resist the theft of our parks by vulture investors. So bring some food and drink, let's remember our remarkable year - and create a blessing for the future!
- Sign the petition to keep our park public!
- Article About Pushing Back In The Villager
- Save Union Square 2008 Website
Sign the petition here: http://www.revbilly.com/petition/
June 29, 2008
Coney Island Revisited
YES to revitalizing Coney’s
world famous amusement zone!
NO to 26 New High Rises of up to
30 stories each in the current Amusement District!
NO to Retail, Malls or “Entertainment Retail” in
the Amusement District!
NO to shrinkage of the Amusement District from
61 acres to 9 acres!
YES to preserving Amusement Zoning in
the Amusement District!!
YES to keeping
the People's Playground-
providing accessible Amusements
for ALL to enjoy!!
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Attention: Rachel Belsky
110 William Street
Email rbelsky@nycedc.com, Telephone: (212) 312–3718, Fax: (212)
Visit the Save
Learn the truth! Don’t be fooled by the city’s spin on their revised rezoning plan!
If you are a resident of New York City, write, email, or phone Mayor Bloomberg, City Council President Christine Quinn, and your City Council Member.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall
Phone 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
Fax (212) 788-2460
E-MAIL;
Here' the word from Rev. Billy' blog:
Thanks to the Coney Island lovers who came to the June 24 Scoping Meeting and cheered, cajoled, whooped, testified and sang to SAVE CONEY ISLAND! Bring back the Community's Plan!
If you couldn't attend the meeting submit your comments in writing, via postal or electronic mail to:
New York City Economic Development Corporation
Attention: Rachel Belsky, Vice-President
110 William Street
New York, New York 10038
rbelsky(at)nycedc.com
http://www.revbilly.com/
Freaks-A-Loo-Yah!
Here's a little photo collection, courtesy of my cell phone of the spectacular Coney Island Mermaid Parade, 2008. As anticipated, it was a perfect day and a truly splendid time was had by all:
Pirate Guy! Don't be afraid, his bike leaves no carbon footprint!
Water-spraying Seahorse kept the crowd cool[er?]
Something in the skys kept me from getting a good picture of Queen Savitri D and her escort, King Neptune, a/k/a Rev. Billy. They were also constantly surrounded by "official handlers."
Now that was weird!
Greenpeace Boy!
June 23, 2008
Save Our Coney Island!
Queen Savitri D will fast for three days in her finny queenly costume in the window at the Coney Island Side-show, that emporium of freaks, urging citizens to attend the scoping meeting that will decide the FATE of FUN at Coney Island.
The fate of Coney Island will be decided [hopefully with your participation]! Hurry, citizen of the World Above! Our fate depends upon you!
http://www.revbilly.com/
June 20, 2008
Stop Shopping, Start Saving Our Homes!
If it weren't for Rev. Billy and the gang, I'd very likely be a drooling basket
case in a city full of scum. Thanks to them, the Church of Stop Shopping and the Not Buying it Band, I have been redeemed and blessed by the glorious light of the First Amendment! Now they're joining other New Yorkers in one of the most under appreciated events in the five boroughs, the Mermaid Parade. If you haven't been there, you must do this before it's gone, like New Orleans or America's breadbasket states and family farms. For those unable to transcend space & time, the MermaidCam will have to suffice.
In praise of solidarity, Peace-a-loo-ya!
Saving Coney Island
Queen Mermaid Savitri Will Hunger Strike After Parade
Our church leaders Savitri D and Reverend Billy are the Mermaid Queen and King Neptune of this year's Mermaid Parade - June 21.
In the role of Queen Mermaid, Savitri insists that "the mermaid will refuse to go back to the sea until Coney Island is saved." She will fast for three days in her finny queenly costume in the window at the Coney Island Side-show, that emporium of freaks, urging citizens to attend the scoping meeting that will decide t
he FATE of FUN at Coney Island:
Tuesday, June 24 6:00 PM
Lincoln High School, 2800 Ocean Parkway, Brooklyn, NY
The Queen has agreed to talk with the world via MermaidCam, check revbilly.com/mermaid for when that goes live Sunday morning!
http://www.revbilly.com/
May 2, 2008
Join Rev. Billy to Save Union Square Park
For more on the Union Square take-over, see previous post, April 13, 2008, Are We Losing Union Square?
Dear Lovers of Union Square Park and Freedom in Our City,
By now some of you may have heard of impending changes on the north side of Union Square Park. This effort by the Local Business Improvement District (union square partnership) was sold to the people as a desperately needed "refurbishment" of the Playgrounds and Green Market but it’s little more than a land grab. Geoffrey Croft, president of NYC Park Advocates says, “The city is taking away thousands of square feet of potential play space in an area with the lowest amount of play space in the city and one of the highest concentration of restaurants." Society chef Danny Myer is the chairman of the Union Square Partnership and the future proprietor and profiteer of the fancy cafe planned for the pavilion. It’s construction will include tearing down 14 trees. Construction began on the restarant/pavilion two weeks ago but was halted by a judge that injunction has been upheld but work continues on the playground. Union Square is a nationally recognized site of free speech, and many of the most important moments in our city's history took place there, the pavilion itself was designed for public assemblies. The community needs to make a strong stand against the privatization of this and other parks and public spaces.