Attention Walmart Shoppers

On this past Black Friday the worst of America's consumer culture showed itself at a Walmart on Long Island when a shoppers' stampede killed an employee opening the doors in the early morning.

Desperate for bargains, overly savings-hungry and frenzied Americans ran over and stomped over the unlucky worker. Turns out that temporary worker Jdimytai Damour, age 34, was just one of about a dozen people taken down by the stampede at a Valley Stream, N.Y., store the day after Thanksgiving as about 2,000 people rushed through the doors at 5 a.m. Some had waited since 9 p.m. the previous evening. That is how desperate people are these days to save some money. In other parts of the world, people may become so desperate that they kill for food, but here in America people apparently will kill just to save some money. Will things get even worse as our economy crumples still more?

Some want to blame Walmart, others focus on the incredible inhuman behavior of the shoppers.

For example, the union that represents retail workers in the United States has accused Walmart of "blatant irresponsibility" by not preventing the worker's death. Bruce Both, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1500 said: "This incident was avoidable. Where were the safety barriers? Where was security? How did store management not see dangerous numbers of customers barreling down on the store in such an unsafe manner?" Of course, Walmart claims they took precautions, but the sad facts of this event clearly show that the company did not perform well.

Meanwhile, the local police have been trying to examine surveillance videos in an effort to identify specific individuals that might be charged with the crime. But the odds are not good that they will succeed.

This awful death gives a whole new meaning to Black Friday. Shame on America's culture of consumption. Are any of the hundreds of shoppers that played a role in killing this worker thinking about what they did, or feeling guilty enough to step forward and taking responsibility? Not likely.