Dying to Shop in America

What's wrong with us? By "us" I mean humans.

Definition of stampede: "a sudden, frenzied rush or headlong flight of a herd of frightened animals."

At a Wal-Mart store on Long Island, New York, a 34 year old Wal-Mart temp was trampled to death in a stampede: "Shoppers started lining up late Thursday night at the Wal-Mart, at the Green Acres Mall on Sunrise Highway in Valley Stream, not far from the Queens border, where DVDs, flat-panel television sets and other entertainment items were discounted to attract crowds on the traditional first day of the Christmas shopping season. Mr. Damour, 34, who was known to his friends as Jimbo, or Jdidread because of his dreadlocks, got his job at Wal-Mart through Labor Now, an agency for temporary workers. He had been trying to hold back a crush of shoppers pressing against the store’s sliding-glass double doors, the authorities said. Just before the store’s scheduled 5 a.m. opening, they said, the doors shattered under the weight of the crowd. Mr. Damour was thrown to the floor and trampled."

Across the country in Southern California two people are dead after shooting each other in a shootout at Toys R' Us: "Two men pulled guns and shot each other to death in a Toys 'R' Us in Palm Desert, Calif., about 11:35 a.m. Friday after the women with them erupted into a bloody brawl, witnesses said."

I'm pretty sure this is not what Jesus had in mind. Seriously though, as Americans watch the unimaginable carnage that took place at the hands of a handful of insane terrorists in India over the last few days, let's not forget that three people died from shopping Friday in this country. Is it really worth it to risk your life for discounts on electronic goods? Insanity abounds.