Relax. It's a vegetable.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/11/28/national/main4637170.shtml?tag=re1.channel

(CBS/AP) A worker died after being trampled by a throng of unruly shoppers when a suburban Wal-Mart opened for the holiday sales rush Friday, authorities said.

At least three other people were injured.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., in Bentonville, Ark., would not confirm the reports of a stampede but said a "medical emergency" had caused the company to close the store, which is in Valley Stream on Long Island.

Nassau County police said the 34-year-old worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at about 6 a.m., an hour after the store opened. The cause of death was not immediately known.

A police statement said shortly after 5 a.m., a throng of shoppers "physically broke down the doors, knocking (the worker) to the ground." Police also said a 28-year-old pregnant woman was taken to a hospital for observation and three other shoppers suffered minor injuries and were also taken to hospitals.

Portland police officer visiting relatives for the holidays, goes shopping on Black Friday....

The act of pepper spraying is now deeply embedded in our nation's consciousness. See "http://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/the-pepper-spraying-cop-meme"

People on foot and in swarms of cars are clogging the streets, slowing both commerce and many commutes. Citizens have been trampled to death, shot and pepper sprayed.

And this is just Day 1 of the occupation.

Christmas has become a health and safety hazard. Enough is enough. I demand police take action to shut it down.

I recall a similar trampling death at a Wal-Mart a couple years ago. Perhaps the retail industry needs to rethink the whole idea of "doorbusters" in the interest of public safety. I'd suggest that all publicly advertised (i.e., newspapers/TV/radio) temporary discounts should have to be valid for a minimum of, say, three days, with rainchecks available for everyone who comes in and asks during that period. Saturation advertising of a product you only have 10 of is socially irresponsible at best and a legally actionable menace to public safety at worst.

The store remained open and those not affected by the pepper spray continued shopping.

Whew! And here I thought the story would end badly.

Saw this story there, too. About how the No Basketball Association situation is affecting Portland: http://m.cbsnews.com/fullstory.rbml?feed_id=0&catid=57331152&videofeed=36

This is not surprising unfortunately. I went to Wal-Mart around 12:30 this morning just for the heck of it, to see what all the fuss was about. Walked in, saw that Wal-Mart "security" was trying to coral the mass of sheeple in lines that wrapped half-way through the store and got the hell out of there. It's not worth standing in line to save $5 on a memory card. If only people would put half as much effort into understanding who they are electing to represent us in Congress and Portlandia, maybe we wouldn't be hip deep in the crap that our "representatives" have gotten us in.

What's totally screwed up in the head is that there's a "we" in the first place - I sure as hell am nothing like this person.