blah.
so, one of the most upsetting and gross stories to happen within the past few days is the maintenance worker getting trampled to death on "black friday" at walmart.
so incredibly gross and vomit-inducing because it not only represents vile behavior in the humans doing the trampling to get a SUPER DOOR BUSTER DEAL! but also because it represents walmart, yet again, providing terrible and dangerous working conditions for its employees.
walmart KNEW there would be hordes of people lined up that day who had been waiting for hours. they KNEW those people would be ready to get in the store to grab and compete for a few select items (even though they undoubtedly had more stocked in the back). the scenario of hundreds of greedy people running into the store to be the first to grab a box and be the first in line to be FIRST is nothing new and walmart (and hundreds of other retailers who participate and perpetuate this idea and this crazy notion of black friday) KNOW how this operates.....and so- why didnt they have security?
if not to protect their employees (heaven forbid walmart cares about its workers), to protect their customers! (see: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/29/black.friday.death/index.html )
to me, those people were sick, but walmart bears the responsibility to provide safety measures. they created this situation and to not provide safety measures is irresponsible. walmart later called the death an "unfortunate incident".
i bring this up not only to voice my disgust but to also mention that at dinner yesterday my sister actually sided with walmart and said that it was not walmart's responsibility to have any security measures in place because "you cant blame companies for everything". that said, she also said those people that can't pay their mortgages should be kicked out of their homes (and made homeless) because she shouldnt have to pay for their problems.
i reminded her that perhaps they should have NEVER gotten the loan from the bank and it was just as much the bank's fault for the insanely low interest rates a la the government for sanctioning such insane loans to be made. furthermore, you cannot treat people with such blatant disregard and unkindness. you cannot make millions of people "homeless" because they perhaps didnt understand what they signed because their government, through deregulation, got greedy with lending money and interest rates. she than had the AWESOME idea that people should go into their homes (the people who cannot pay mortgages) and evaluate what "unnecessary," items they have (such as cable and internet) and somehow make those people eliminate such "extravagances".
wtf.
so problematic.
she toes the company line and i asked her why she defends the wealthy ceo's and doesnt question those in power, but blames those at the bottom? she, i reminded her, is at the bottom. god- how are we related?
(and during this heated debate my father and mother jumped in to defend her as they always do).
so incredibly gross and vomit-inducing because it not only represents vile behavior in the humans doing the trampling to get a SUPER DOOR BUSTER DEAL! but also because it represents walmart, yet again, providing terrible and dangerous working conditions for its employees.
walmart KNEW there would be hordes of people lined up that day who had been waiting for hours. they KNEW those people would be ready to get in the store to grab and compete for a few select items (even though they undoubtedly had more stocked in the back). the scenario of hundreds of greedy people running into the store to be the first to grab a box and be the first in line to be FIRST is nothing new and walmart (and hundreds of other retailers who participate and perpetuate this idea and this crazy notion of black friday) KNOW how this operates.....and so- why didnt they have security?
if not to protect their employees (heaven forbid walmart cares about its workers), to protect their customers! (see: http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/11/29/black.friday.death/index.html )
to me, those people were sick, but walmart bears the responsibility to provide safety measures. they created this situation and to not provide safety measures is irresponsible. walmart later called the death an "unfortunate incident".
i bring this up not only to voice my disgust but to also mention that at dinner yesterday my sister actually sided with walmart and said that it was not walmart's responsibility to have any security measures in place because "you cant blame companies for everything". that said, she also said those people that can't pay their mortgages should be kicked out of their homes (and made homeless) because she shouldnt have to pay for their problems.
i reminded her that perhaps they should have NEVER gotten the loan from the bank and it was just as much the bank's fault for the insanely low interest rates a la the government for sanctioning such insane loans to be made. furthermore, you cannot treat people with such blatant disregard and unkindness. you cannot make millions of people "homeless" because they perhaps didnt understand what they signed because their government, through deregulation, got greedy with lending money and interest rates. she than had the AWESOME idea that people should go into their homes (the people who cannot pay mortgages) and evaluate what "unnecessary," items they have (such as cable and internet) and somehow make those people eliminate such "extravagances".
wtf.
so problematic.
she toes the company line and i asked her why she defends the wealthy ceo's and doesnt question those in power, but blames those at the bottom? she, i reminded her, is at the bottom. god- how are we related?
(and during this heated debate my father and mother jumped in to defend her as they always do).