Evidence of murder

[Dis Pater]

These are actual ad scans of the tactics used to whip crowds to a murderous frenzy.

More here. http://www.iblackfriday.com/walmart-black-friday-sales.html
click on < View ad scan for Walmart >

[Realityhack]

1. This has NOTHING to do with the sale price on a TV or the flyer.

It has everything to do with not controlling a crowd that had reportedly the police there overnight.
This is NOT the first time someone has been trampled in a sale like this. Good retailers know how to control such crowds and keep things safe for everyone. Wallmart didn't want to for whatever reason (cost?).

[Incitatus]

3. You got it, cost.

They need the shit sued out of them for so much money that no retailer will even think about allowing these conditions to take place again.

[Midlodemocrat]

25. At what point does the crowd control become personal

responsibility? Seriously? At what point are we going to state that the greed in this country and the keeping up with the Joneses is out of control?

Like I said earlier, If the only way I could afford a flat screen was to battle those crowds, I can't afford a flat screen.

Loss leaders like this are a tried and true marketing tool. Regardless of the quantities, get the consumer into the store at all costs.

Greed caused this. Not the store. Not the corporation. Greed.

[Doremus]

33. Please use your head.

The people in front are being pushed from BEHIND. The people in the back CANNOT see what's happening in front.

If you stop in a stampede you are the next body they are stepping on.


This easily avoidable tragedy is COMPLETELY WalPuke's fault. They should be held criminally negligent, imo.

By the way, if you doubt that, the same store last year had their door BENT from the crush of people. At what point does some dim bulb decide they'd better devise a new system to keep the crowd away from the doors? There is nothing new about trampling hazards of large crowds and this same store had previously sustained damage from just that. Let's use some common sense, please!

[Name removed]

2. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. How is the OP defending WalMart??

:shrug:

[rvablue]

8. I think it's quite obvious that the pairing of the title and the images of the fliers

is snark.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

14. I don't see that at all

I think the OP is simply pointing out what advertising tactics generated such a mad crowd.

I think it's an appropriate and timely post.

And, I bid the OP a welcome to DU.

:toast:

[Name removed]

18. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

20. Actually, the idea of doing

"a quick scan of the other WalMart threads" smacks of someone who might be spending a little too much time inside DU. I take things for what they're worth, as I see them, and I don't personalize.

Thank you for your kind words, but I think you might be a little too close to things here and aren't seeing the forest for the trees.

[proud2BlibKansan]

16. Sorry I didn't get that from the OP

So no, it isn't quite obvious.

[rvablue]

19. Then you should go take a peak at the other WalMart threads today

because the OP has been mocking other DUers for thinking that these "sales" by WalMart and their other business practices bear any responsibility for the death of that poor man.

[proud2BlibKansan]

21. Gee like I have time to do that?

I have spent the day running errands, doing housework and unpacking from a Thanksgiving trip. Oops, guess I should have spent it reading DU instead. :crazy:

[Dis Pater]

9. These are the tactics that should be targeted

low prices, early hours, one day only, unbeatable prices, price matching, while supplies last, one time offer.

They unnecessarily excite people.

[ColbertWatcher]

10. Why do you ignore Wal-Mart's responsibility? n/t

[Dis Pater]

11. Ignore?

It's all right here. Discounting is dangerous.

[ColbertWatcher]

17. Why do you ignore Wal-Mart's responsibility? n/t

[liberalhistorian]

23. It's not necessarily the discounting

that's to blame. Retailers have been doing that since the caveman days. What IS to blame, besides the crazy shoppers who actually stepped over the poor dead man and who became irate and kept shopping when told to leave, is Walmart's lack of extra security, complete lack of crowd control, a "numbers" system other retailers commonly use instead of the "first come first served" model, and similar actions that other retailers commonly take that would have easily prevented this horrible tragedy. And there is no way that they do not know the necessity of these kinds of things, they just don't care. It would cost too much of their almighty precious profits to enact any such standard policies.

The ONLY good thing to come out of this at all is that it does finally put a crack in Walmart's bullshit publicity spinning that always seems to net it good publicity no matter what in the hell it does. They do this by not reporting a lot of altercations and problems that happen in their stores, so that there's no reports on them. They simply cannot spin this one away, however. I hope the family of that poor man sues the shit out of them and wins bigtime.

Here in South Dakota, in a Rapid City Walmart, a teenage girl was assaulted by a man trying to get her Xbox that she was standing in line with, and there were other similar problems in that store yesterday. However, the man was simply escorted out of the store by a Walpuke employee; the police weren't called and management made no report. The girl's family sought treatment for her at a hospital, however, and reported it to the police, who are now "looking into it." Had she not done so, no one beyond those present and Walpuke employees and management would have known about it. How much ya wanna bet that that manager is now getting raked over the coals bigtime by the Walpuke Powers That Be for allowing such "negative" publicity? And how often does that happen in Walpuke stores but no one other than those involved actually know about it?

[rvablue]

12. I would agree with you but why then were you

mocking this exact same thought in another thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=4553618&mesg_id=4553959

[Dis Pater]

13. You truly feel that reducing prices is harmful?

[rvablue]

15. No, I don't think reducing prices is harmful

I think slashing prices by half or more, sending out flyers to millions of people advertising those prices and then only having 5 of them in stock at each store is harmful.

Because after a couple of years, consumers figure this out, camp out and line up outside, each one thinking if they run, push or shove they will get the item at the good price.

This is what is harmful.....and it is the fault of the retailer in inciting this behavior.

On your first day here on DU, you were obsessed with starting stupid fights regarding where the two Obama girls were going to attend school with open-ended, snarky and flamebait posts.

Now you've moved on to doing the same with the WalMart issue.

[Dis Pater]

24. Hopefully I'm not out of line noticing that you seem to have an obsession.

[libnnc]

30. um, you would be the one with the "obsession" bub.

you're still here?

[Dis Pater]

32. Are you following me?

creepy.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. You need to spend some time reading DU rules

That is a violation.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

27. Ahhhhhhhhh

It is?

That makes great sense. The idea of "stalking" a poster from one thread to another just struck me as sort of creepy.

I see that a post has been deleted, above.

Nice to know my instincts are still working properly.

Thank you for the information.

[proud2BlibKansan]

28. . . .

"Do not "stalk" another member from one discussion thread to another. Do not follow someone into another thread to try to continue a disagreement you had elsewhere. Do not talk negatively about an individual in a thread where they are not participating. Do not post messages with the purpose of "calling out" another member or picking a fight with another member."

[onenote]

4. self delete

[libnnc]

5. keep it up

:dunce::dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce: :dunce:

[dysfunctional press]

7. ...

:eyes:

[pitohui]

26. oh get help i received some ads like that

it did not incite me to murder, hell, it didn't even incite me to get out of bed

if you don't like people getting a bargain and don't like people playing a game to get a good deal, why shit on it for everybody else?

if there is "evidence of murder," it would be such things as no cops being hired to help control the crowd, no extra security team, inadequate training of security team and so on -- and it still wouldn't be murder, it would be manslaughter

all they wanted to do was create something fun to do on black friday and make some money, hardly the crime of murder in my book, sorry

[Obamanaut]

29. This is not the first time there has been a sale on Friday immediately

following Thanksgiving. Nor was it the first time that stores had early morning sales with a small quantity of 'door busters' to draw in the crowds. Nor was it the first time that the crowds became unruly. If people can't remember from one November to the next, then bad luck got 'em.

It is the same with people in show business who complain about their lack of privacy. It is not a new phenomenon. It has been going on since show business began, and if the newer 'celebrities' haven't noticed it previously as it happened to others, then bad luck got 'em.

The easiest way to avoid this sort of misery is not to get in a crowd of 500 people who are all trying to get one of the available three __________(insert product here).

[Forkboy]

31. LOL

[libnnc]

34. Evidence of dipshit-itis.

He disrupted poorly.

[Catherine Vincent]

35. I knew you were a troll!