Thanksgiving is supposed to be a time to reflect on what one is thankful for. Like my family, they may have formed a circle of prayer, expressing thankfulness for things like family, health and life.
Unfortunately, these joyous thoughts for others can be forgotten in just a few hours.
This holiday season in the darkness of the following Friday, turned these loving emotions into feelings of greed and selfishness.
Early Friday morning, Jdimytai Damour simply unlocked the doors of a Long Island Wal-Mart for Black Friday shoppers.
But instead of being able to continue to help the people who began to flow in, he was killed- trampled to death.
The crowd of overly eager shoppers stormed the Wal-Mart store and disregarded the fact that a man- a life, laid on the ground.
CNN showed video of him struggling to save himself, as people continued to trample the man. An eyewitness of the incident said after shoppers were told that a Wal-Mart employee was killed, shoppers still wanted to shop.
While others look to blame Wal-Mart, the finger should be pointed at the shoppers as well. Either you’ve said or heard someone say they’re going out to black Friday to fight over some desired items for family members. Looking at events like this says a lot about the U.S.
Like many stores across the country, the Long Island Wal-Mart line formed at 9 p.m. It’s amazing that people actually wait for hours on end just to buy a cheap DVD player or the new “Tickle Me Elmo.” Each Thanksgiving season newscasters detail reports of fights and injuries at various retailers on Black Friday.
We all think it’s normal. But why is this barbaric behavior acceptable?
Americans are blessed beyond all measures. Standing and rushing store employees like something is the difference between life or death is preposterous. Across the waters, families are fleeing from genocide in Darfur. In countries like Ethiopia there are people who are starving and often have to wait in long lines for food and health care. In times like this standing in lines are important.
Thanksgiving is about being thankful for what we have. It is scary to think in a land of so much opportunity that people would take away a man’s opportunity to simply live.
It is even more frightening when after learning Damour died, unmoved shoppers demanded to be able to shop.
It wasn’t an unfortunate incident during the holiday season that took the life of Jdimytai Damour. It was a preventable one during a compassionate time where people loss their humanity.
A’sia Horne-Smith is a senior broadcast journalism student from DeLand, Fla. She can be reached at famuanopinions@gmail.com.