Shame on the Target shoppers who walked around and over the body. Turn about's fair play. Maybe when they are dead or dying people will do the same to them . . .

Good God, what has happened to our sense of helping each other; we are losing our self as a unified Nation !

Yes, the symptoms of a me-first, me-only society; that's why we've been failing to keep up. A house divided cannot stand.

Don't get me wrong; this shouldn't surprise anyone. It's been going on in our big cities for many years. How many people get shot or stabbed, and no one ever sees anything, because they might have to get involved long enough to make a statement.

It's all about complete selfishness, and that's why the house is divided, and why the 99% are split among themselves, while the very united 1% just laughs.

We get what we deserve in the long run.

I'm not sure that "spiritual malady" is a strong enough explanation, but I agree with you. Sitting here thinking about it, I feel ashamed. I will never participate in the humiliating spectacle every year called Black Friday, as unfortunately, the world has generalized Americans by this and a McDonald's symbol floating over our heads.

When there were a couple of shoppers trying to revive him, is there something ALL people should do - there isn't anything anyone can do other than try to revive him and call 911, both of which had been taken care of. When there is nothing one can do to treat a fainted/unconscious person, it is better to stay clear of the person rather thn crowding around out of curiosity, blocking fresh air. Looks like an over-sensationalized reporting.

So much for the alleged birthday of Jesus.

It's all about Santa Claus now, nothing spiritual about Xmas anymore!

There's a lot of condemning going on with precious little in the way of facts. Was he laying there for hours? Had he been talking to other people and then collapsed or was he sitting on the floor maybe looking like he was asleep? The article mentions two people trying to help him; having been trained in CPR I know that when you have more than two, especially untrained people, extra people just don't help. Most of these comments follow the train of since these people are out early on black Friday, they must be greedy sobs. That just isn't fair; it isn't fair to the shoppers and it really isn't good for the family of this poor guy. This article sounds like some writer trying to gin up news and a bunch of holier-than-thou types piling on. I'll wait for the full story before I start tsk'ing.

How many times does the person who helps only gets sued by the person that they have helped?

If I see someone that needs medical need, I will call the emergency services and wait until trained help arrives. Nothing more and nothing less.

I am confused here. So yes, people were walking around and still shopping, but obviously 911 was called and an ER nurse and a paramedic were working on him. Of course no one should walk over him and that is disgusting, but once again the reporting is seriously awful here. Were they walking around and doing their shopping while the poor man was being worked on and after help was called? If so it beats them crowding around him and blocking EMS from getting through. Do they mean no one stopped for a long time and he laid there with no help? That would be a completely different story.....?

I'll personally reserve judgement on this until I see a real story with some actual facts. If they weren't all in a tight circle around him while he wasn't being worked on that was a good thing....if they just left him there in my view that is a criminal act. But then I have no idea, so I'll see see what come out about this. I will say the cruelty humans perpetuate upon other creatures is horrific, but there are many acts of kindness as well.

Tough choice here!

Option A, offer aid to someone who is in obvious distress.

Option B, ignore him so as to make sure little Johnny gets that X-Box he's been clamoring for on the cheap.

No matter how often I read or hear about stories like this I'm STILL shocked at the antipathy many people exhibit. And the outright greed and, as in the one case of shoppers being robbed at gunpoint after making their purchases (one of whom I think was wounded by their assailants), the willingness people exhibit to actually HARM others so they can have their "toys", it's absolutely un-be-(expletive)-lievable.

And we call ourselves "civilized"???

I agree and it is unbelievable. These people are not dignified to be occupying human bodies. I am afraid with that sort of mood, we all will have to pay for our lack of compassion one way or another. The good people are likely being swallowed by this wave of greed, lack of interest in anything but self-righteouness and greed. How low has the human element gone ? hard to say...but it needs to be re-cycled.....2012 is coming and it may just be the cleansing we desperately need.

Lumps of coal in all their stockings. Merry effing Christmas you pathetic excuses for humanity.

And what if it was one of those people's relatives and they just didn't happen to notice because some friggin' piece of merchandise was so much more important?

How sad this is......................way too sad to even think about. May his family be at peace somehow.

If he was down for only a second and only one person stepped over him; then these comments are appropriate. But, I agree with your greedy SOBS description of shoppers.

Tes, you just made an excuse for the lack of caring in this world. This does not surprise me. The Bible says that in the last days men will be lovers of themselves rather than lovers of God. There will be no natural love. It's heart breaking but true, but thankfully there are still those who are willing to help others. Peace!

I agree with ram and wjrust. A lot of people here passing judgement on little-to-no facts, but then people do like to feel superior. "I would never do that." Sure.

To "Longhair": What you have said is exactly what any human being would be morally responsible to do. But you stay with the person, you talk to them, you make comfortable without moving them at all, and you get a darn blanket to cover them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pathetic what happened to this poor man.

You won't be sued if you do the above. But the point is: DO IT!!

Welcome to capitalism and the consumerism it embraces. I've worked retail jobs in the past and I've never been able to understand the demand for products and the rudeness of shoppers during the holidays. Some people become evil in the pursuit of discounted merchandise...

I see stories such as these and must say that I KNOW this is a problem with society in general. Greed and corruption my friends. Why? Because a deal, a bottom dollar, a thing is highly prized over the dead body over an elderly man. Do many folks remember what the "right thing" is anymore? Hmmm.

Greed is an excepted even expected fact of business in this country and on wall street. It is the culture of " that's the way it is" where know one believes in change that allows this sentiment to breed. As society disintegrates. ; ]

Capitalism unchecked... Un regulated if you will.

Cheers

As long as we continue to have these "Black Friday" kinds of sales, we will continue to see things like this happening.

And if history is an indicator, there will be MORE OF IT, and it will be EVEN WORSE.

#1.15: what you made here is one of those supeficial 'love and care' statement talking about the world, like you know everyone in it (to be lesser than your nobility). Yours is the typical excuse for lack of reasoning and for making compulsive judgement on 'this world'! 'Peace' is a word that your kind will use for making war. But nevermind, the world is just fine

tes says, "there isn't anything anyone can do other than try to revive him and call 911, both of which had been taken care of"

Well, for so many in this country claiming to be such faithful Christians, you could think that at least one person would have stood nearby praying for the man until he'd been revived or removed by EMS. But nope, everybody just kept on shopping. One stranger is never worth anyone's full attention when bargains are to be had.

tes-1779376, I don't think people were standing back and giving this person room to breathe, they just walked around him or over him like he was a piece of discarded trash.

This type of behavior is such a disgrace to mankind. I refuse to go out shopping on black friday because you witness the worse of people. This is not what the holiday's are about, since when did a gift become more important than a human being?.

I just happen to love the holiday's just like this man did, the holiday's have become so commercialized and so far from what the true meaning of them are.

HN - the people who CLAIM to be, and the people who ARE, are two different things. Vicky is absolutely right.

MY 2CENTS$

What history are you claiming is relevant to this?

Has this happen before????????........

I'm out of here - got no job with people lacking ability to follow a statement using reasoning. You need to hope to go to heaven because you make a hell out of whereever you are, with statements coming from places other than a healthy brain

Was he laying there for hours?

wjrust - where is it stated that he was lying there for hours? The article that I read makes no statement about how long he was on the floor. I seriously doubt that he would have been lying on the floor for hours even if shoppers ignored his body. Someone would have called the authorities before hours had passed. I know that I would have alerted 911 and the store managers immediately if I had seen him. I would want someone to do the same for me if I had collapsed.

The only way to stop these insane acts is to eliminate Black Friday. The stores are totally responsible for promoting it and opening earlier and earlier each year. Why can't they spread the same sales and specials throughout the holiday shopping period rather than hyping Black Friday and working everyone into a frenzy? It seems to me that spreading these specials over the period between Thanksgiving and Christmas would increase their sales more than having a Black Friday blowout in the first place. That would mean shoppers would have to keep coming to the stores over several weeks to take advantage of the specials rather than doing it all in only one weekend. Yes, the shoppers who partake in this insanity share the blame, but it's the greedy retail stores who are largely responsible.

tes, I have no idea why your comment was collapsed. I DO see your reasoning: people shouldn't crowd and hover like vultures. Unfortunately though, the only time people DO stop, is on the freeway so they can possibly glimpse something morbid, and in turn, will stampede a human in order to get a TV.

john redcorn - You mean to say that you've NEVER heard of people being trampled at sales events like this in years past?

@Tom-3215672

When was Christ requested to leave this country?

When Thomas Jefferson was President. Any more questions?

Amazing how many otherwise hardcore conservatives here want to trash other shoppers and sue Target. If you're an old guy with years of heart trouble, maybe you don't belong in what is sure to be a pushing match. It's personal responsibility.

I feel bad for his family, but what were they thinking when they piled in the car?

I think it’s not so much a spiritual malady as a fear of the consequences of getting involved. Do something and get arrested of at least sued for practicing medicine without a license. Have some slick lawyer present a case where he speculates what you did to help may have been responsible for his death. I think I might also have elected to not intervene, but I would at least have called 911 for him.

Another example of this overriding fear of consequences of getting involved was that California shooting a couple of months ago where this nut looking to kill his wife at some salon shot a couple of people before entering the salon to kill more people. A legally armed bystander was present and could have shot this fellow before he entered the salon but was paralyzed by the fear of consequences of drawing his weapon and shooting this fellow.

This is the way our laws are written and we must all suffer for it.

This country is going to Hell in an handbasket.

Tes, I follow your reasoning once someone stopped to aid this man. The article stated that prior to that people just walked around and "over" the man. As a civilized country, shouldn't people stop and offer help to someone that has fallen. Even if you don't have the knowledge to aid them you bloody well can scream for someone that can help.

We hear so much about the greed of corporations. Seems there are some people that need to look in a mirror if they want to see greed and they are the ones that walked "over" the man.

Black Friday: The day huge discounts are offered on our sanity and humanity

To all the people saying how evil everone there was - i want to ask what exactly would you have done differntly? 911 was called, Paramedics were working on him - what exactly would you have done other than be a nosey busy-body who does nothing but gets in the way and causes more issues by standing around gawking with your hand over you mouth.

I agree whole heartedly, anyone stepping over the guy, thats pretty low. But 911 was called, paramedics were there - if you are doing anything BUT moving along your actually more of a cause of the problem. I swear, i think most of the people that post here dont read the article and simply read a headline then start saying how awful everyone is - whatever gets you through the day i guess, but if that were your father/son/you - you wouldnt want some nosey lady huddling around you getting in the way when paramedics are trying to work on you/them.

indeed,we were already in the deep of it before obama arrived,but obama proved to be too soft,and now this,its not all his fault,he had some good ideas,but sadly the sharks got him

just wait till we get actual large scale riots over this kind of crud..rather than one big one i think we will be getting smaller ones as the conditions worsens,small ones first,then each one gets a lil bigger till it cant be controlled

This only shows the spiritual malady effecting all of America, from Wall Street all the way down to Target shoppers. Me first, gimme mine, to hell with you and yours.

It's shocking but not unexpected. This is the "me" nation. Nothing matters more that people getting their due. That goes for people from the rich side all the way down to the poor side. What's the saying? "You have Boo-coo, I have tee tee. You MUST give me...."

Good God, what has happened to our sense of helping each other; we are losing our self as a unified Nation !

This is what happens when you expect someone else to take care of you. There is no reason to stop and help. After all someone will take care of him.

Capitalism unchecked... Un regulated if you will.

I don't think any amount of regulation will fix this.

It's certainly one thing to walk by if someone is helping. Of course it's better to walk clear around so as to not interfere. It's another thing to walk by with no one helping and it's a whole 'nother thing to "WALK OVER" the person. Whoever did that needs a good horse whipping. They should have been branded with a "J" on their forehead. (For "jackass".) An "A" would be acceptable also.

It's no wonder that people don't help anyone anymore, we have no connection to each other anymore. We divide everyone into categories that ends up leaving us along and everyone else as a "them". You're rich, I'm poor. You're fat and I take care of myself. You're Christian and I'm atheist. You're black and I'm white. You're Republican and I'm Democrat. You don't deserve my help and I deserve you're stuff.

Welcome to the mendacious, mean-spirited world of American capitalism...where profits and toys come before people.

Heck of a job, USA.

This reminds me of the little girl in China who was run over and no one stopped to help, and another truck came and ran over her. Are we turning into China? So very sad...... :(

For those of you saying its Capitalism causing this. I beg to differ. This is a condition of the heart. We, as a country, have never been like this before and this country was founded on capitalism. Its a condition of the heart and its called "its all about me".

That just isn't fair; it isn't fair to the shoppers...

Are you kidding me? Who cares about the shoppers, someone just died, and few if any of your precious shoppers bothered to even stop...

Kitty Genovese

Anyone remember?

That's when I first learned that I was probably on my own in this country.

Condolences to this gentleman's friends and family...and to our country and what we've become.

This article contradicts itself in several places. The article states the man died at the hospital, but tries to paint a picture of people stepping over a corpse on the floor. It also tries to imply that no one was helping him, even though later on, it states CPR was administered. I know there's a lot of animosity regarding Black Friday shopping, but this is a pathetic attempt to get attention and responses. It is sad, but this man would have had a heart attack no matter where he was.

Where is the good Samaritan side of people?” Vance’s co-worker and friend Sue Compton told WSAZ. “How could you not notice someone was in trouble? I just don't understand if people didn't help what their reason was, other than greed because of a sale

Turns out that even the 99% are greedy. Human nature is ugly

Wilberta @ 1.6,

So much for the alleged birthday of Jesus.

It's all about Santa Claus now, nothing spiritual about Xmas anymore!

As it should be. Jesus may or may not have been born on Dec 25th but Christmas was never based on that. Christmas, and may other religious Christian holidays, was created when Constantine ordered that Rome change from Paganism to Christianity.

When the council that was creating the Religion was divvying up the various parts of the Bible and holidays and such they adopted nearly all of the Pagan holidays and renamed/repurposed them. Christmas is really about celebrating the birth of Sol, in the original Pagan.

We do not need to have religion to have morals, we do not need to fear god to act like Humans. This is a lie instilled in the religious to ensure that they never leave the religion and that their future generations continue to practice that faith.

This incident was not caused by loss of religion, it was caused by greed and materialism; the very foundations of Capitalism.

I agree with what you are saying Ibickfor. A man collapsed at a store where I was shopping about a month ago, just a regular grocery shopping day. There were people already attending to the man, and if all the other shoppers in the area would gather around, they would just be getting in the way, embarrassing the man. Would anyone want to be a spectacle and the center of attention at one of their worse moments? This was not a form of entertainment, so move along and stay out of the way. YES, shoppers walked around him. Not that people didn't care, the people, maybe family members, and whoever was closet to the man when he collapsed were already attending to the man, and there was nothing more anyone could do at the time, unless they were medical professionals, except gawk and get in the way of the EMT's who were on the way. It's really sickening how the media always sensationalizes things for shock value. Headline is "...AS Man Dies At Target" NO, he died at the HOSPITAL.

All you people who ignored this helpless man...

I hope you live long and prosperous lives with all your wealth converted to cash and other items to keep in your home. Then while you are on your deathbed but still in control of all your senses, may your home be invaded and all your wealth stolen from you while you helplessly watch.

Your greed left this man to die needlessly so spend your life collecting all you could wish for. See how much good it does you at the end.

It is crazy and sad to see that people would rather shop than to help someone in dire need. Black Friday or not - what happened to Humanity? Most of victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die because there is nobody around to help them. In this case, there were hundreds of people. All they needed to do is to dial 911, and 911 operator would walk them through the steps of hands-only CPR. Push hard - push fast, and who knows, maybe the man would have a greater chance of surviving. It is also weird to see the entity as proactive as Target to stand-by. Target's pharmacists nationwide are trained to perform CPR; it is strange that the ball was dropped.

wow. i can't believe people are blaming this on capitalism! just something else to blame instead of taking personal responsibility. it's the people who are flawed (and yes, i include myself).

It's the mob's dilution of personal responsibility, combined with snap-judgment rationalizations ...and possibly, another contributing factor is the shortened attention spans of the customers.

"I didn't do it, I don't know that stranger, I'm too busy and rushed for time, shocked and feel sorry for the guy, I don't want the hassle of dealing with it, someone like another family member of that guy maybe in this store might take it wrong and blame me if I help him, let someone else check that guy out, that's the job of the store's staff or security personnel, so I can't be bothered, it's their job and the job of that guy's friends and family members to take care of him ...wow look at those low prices on those HD TV's over there, I gotta have it but those crowds are fighting for the last last ones ...I better rush in and get one, NOW!."

How many times does the person who helps only gets sued by the person that they have helped?

Hardly ever. There are Good Samaritan laws that prevent that kind of thing.

longhair you wont get sued for helping that is a myth, the good samaritan law protects people that are trying to help another in an emergency situation.

We have lost our soul.

This year I participated in my first... and last... Black Friday event where I saw
people pushing, bumping, and shoving, each other just to get some kind of bargain. I think the
color "black" that they chose to describe the event describes it perfectly!

Longhair is one of today's wonderful kind-hearts that wouldn't offer help if it was his dying mother. The "sue" scare tactic is nothing more than a lot of people's excuse for not getting involved in helping others.

This is not the first I've heard or read about people walking over another person that needed help.
I also read where cars have run over someone lying in the road, instead of stopping to help them.

This world is turning into nothing but a bunch of selfish, mean-spirited haters, who insist they are the only important thing on the earth. And let me guess when it all started.....Dr. Spock. (I'm sure I will be chastised for this thought).
The abandonment of punishment, and the ever growing attitude that our children are ever-so special, better than anyone else, and should be allowed to be "individuals with their own thinking and live as they please", has produced a new world of cold-hearted, self-serving individuals. No one teaches right from wrong, compassion or even common courtesy anymore.

I don't understand this senseless mentality. When I grew up, we helped each other. And that wasn't that long ago. I feel sorry for us. And I feel sorry for the generations to come. It's only going to get worse.

My condolences to the family of this well-loved individual. All he wanted was to provide some smiles this holiday, by decorating a building. All he got was an example of today's lack of humanity.

So, this is what trickle down economics is all about. The theory is what happens to wealthy people will trickle down to the masses. Since it turns out that the wealthiest of this country are shallow, greedy bastards, this must be the result: we're now all shallow, greedy bastards. Shame on us.

Frenzied, hysterical, out-of-control "shoppers" shoving, pushing, pepper-spraying, hitting, etc., other frenzied, hyserical, out-of-control "shoppers" to grab that xbox "while supplies last." That doesn't leave Target, Walmart, Best Buy, etc., and all the corporatist cronies off the hook for their greed in setting up these situations.

But the time comes when the share of the blame lies at the feet of mom and dad (or mom, or dad, or "uncle" or whoever the children are living with this week). Little Tommie and Susie doesn't need an xbox, or an mp3 or a zzz or whatever. It doesn't matter if "all the other kids have them." Buy them a ball and tell them to go out to play.

Oh, and no eight-year-olds need their own cellphones. Don't tell me it's for "safety" or "convenience." It's because parents are lazy.

Hey Longhair... A law has been passed now for over three years in which it states... "under the good samaritan law anyone rendering aid or assistance to someone in need "shall not be held liable" for the welfare of said person....provided the person rendering aid had no malice or intent to do harm. And in the event that EMS services were not present. (help your fellow man dude...It's the right thing to do)

@Sean-336944

Have you ever been at one of the major Black Friday events, such as this one at target? Seriously, it is very very high stress. While I'm glad your doctor didn't give you restrictions, I would still blame you if you got on a roller coaster and keeled over, thereby slowing down those in line, hoping for their own adrenaline fix. Some things are just common sense. They said the guy went to get a few things to finish off his decorations. Here is a hint, you don't need to get your decorations in the middle of freaking Black Friday madness. Use your brain, and I won't have to do CPR on your sad-ass.

"Where is the good Samaritan side of people?” Vance’s co-worker and friend Sue Compton told WSAZ. “How could you not notice someone was in trouble? I just don't understand if people didn't help what their reason was, other than greed because of a sale."

Good Samaritan?

HAH!!!!

Get out of my way, I need to SHOP TIL I DROP! IT'S BLACK FRIDAY, MORALITY BE DAMNED!

Whoever wishes to foresee the future must consult the past; for human events ever resemble those of preceding times. – Niccolo Machiavelli

This should not come as a surprise. With the recent events we've seen unfold with this irrational promotion of "Black Friday", it's a feeding frenzy for the mindless throngs who have been absorbed into the fabric of sheer unadulterated materialism. It's a wonder one of these animals didn't kick the poor man because he was in THEIR WAY!

People shooting shoppers in the parking lot. Shoppers pepper-spraying other shoppers because they tried to cut in line or were closer to a cherished sale item. Mobs knocking store doors down because they didn't open exactly on time. All in the name of a fabricated commercialized event designed to give the illusion of a benefit for the consumer. To save a few dollars that will most likely be spent wastefully anyway.

Our economic collapse pales in comparison to the social, moral, ethical, spiritual and cultural decay we are suffering as a society. Actually as a civilization. This is not a recent development, it's been occurring for decades. Our leaderless society has embraced the American Dream for all the wrong reasons. It has been bastardized into "Keeping up with the Joneses",,,at all costs. Political correctness has convoluted and distorted our common sense and perception of right and wrong.

There is no rational reason why someone could not have at least stood by and diverted the pathetic remnants of humanity who showed no concern or sympathy for a human being in distress. Even animals will show more empathy. We even have a "Good Samaratin Law" that absolves you of any liability if you try to help. Children bullying others to the point of driving them to suicide. Parents enabling children to fight over a failed childhood romance. Teachers belittling special-needs students. Religions failing in their guidance. Leaders exhibiting what can best be described as criminal and salacious behavior. But more appallingly, society yawns and shrugs in submission.

If our leaders refuse to hold themselves to a higher standard, then the American people must stand up and demand it. If we fail to do so, history has warned us of our fate. We need only look to the empires of the past to see the clear correlation between the loss of moral leadership and the decline of civilization. The Roman, Ottoman, Mongol, Aztec and countless other empires all followed this same trajectory.

The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me? But... the Good Samaritan reversed the question: If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?~Martin Luther King Jr.

All together now,Greed is Good.

dark sarcasm

Then there are the symptoms of the "Give me YOURS" Democrats/liberals.

Crap, he coulda got a clock radio or a deep fryer for a buck.....??? Oh I forgot a CD by Slim Whitman for a dime....

Great Point Aggie!!!!

Pretty hard to understand. There are way too many facts missing, but it seems rather believable given the mindset of these people who engage in this insane kind of shopping. They certainly must become a little numb after countless hours waiting outside, mob mentality, and the obsessive materialism that gripped them to be there in the first place. The imminent or apparent death of a fellow human being is something that is really hard to ignore. Can SHOPPING really make people as callus as the article suggests? I know criminals flock to these events for their own evil agendas but I had a little more faith, (albeit blind and baseless faith), in the shoppers themselves.

kiki-2629687, think about it. Who came up with the concept of Black Friday? How did this grow into such a huge event? Who hired professional psychologists to make sure this crazy scam would actually succeed beyond their wildest dreams? Think about how and why this works so well.

1 - Spend a fortune in advertising a select few popular products at a fraction of their cost.

2 - Open your retail outlet at a ridiculous hour on a first come, first serve basis.

3- Offer many other unadvertised items at huge discounts as well.

4 - Mark up those unadvertised items 110% and offer them at 50% off that price.

Capitalism at it's finest because:

1- Research shows that we all have a dark side.

2 - Further research tells the capitalists how best to appeal to that dark side.

3 - The term Black Friday is an inside joke among greedy capitalists. It appeals to the dark side of humanity. The black side. Many of us will huddle in blankets for hours to get a bargain. We will foolishly camp in lines several blocks long in search of a "bargain". We will even trample one another, mace each other and sometimes shoot another human being that threatens to interfere with our mighty quest for that bargain.

Such is the black side of many fools that allow the even blacker souls of greedy capitalists willing to deliberately draw that ugly darkness out in front of God and everybody else. All for a few trinkets given only to the first ten or twelve while ripping off all the rest.

Most of you people, frankly, are as bad or worse than those you write about. There are very few facts in the article which set the scene for us in a way that helps. I don't know what happened in that store, but I do know that most of the posters on this story are imputing to it what they think is right or wrong, good or bad. How about we let some facts come out before we condemn all shoppers?

This is nothing new, btw. Someone asked who remembered Kitty Genovese. I'm not sure if that was her name but 40 years or so ago a woman was raped and beaten, stabbed and died, while dozens of people heard or saw the crime. No one called the cops. She begged for help, none came. There are psychological reasons why people don't get involved, but it's not worth going into here since most posters don't really care about facts and reason and instead want to tout their own impressive moral superiority.

And this is not about capitalism, nor is it about conservatives. Those arguments truly are delusional, and the people making them are likely more of the problem than what they claim capitalism or conservatives are...but, again, this is about those posters and not, really, this poor man who died. It's narcissism and envy and pride that these posters display. Too bad. But, hey, what would we be without most people playing the part of self-righteous and sanctimonious poseurs.

He died at the hospital , for those of you who couldn't be bothered to read the article.

With the amount of people who cram themselves into these stores on Gray Thursday night...it is a miracle that people only stepped over and around him. People could have fallen over and on top of him with several people get crushed or trampled including the guy with the heart problem.

Here is a weird thing about America.....when someone is in distress, we look the other way and do not get involved because to get involved could have us being a witness in a court trial that goes on for months. On the other hand....we will waste our only day off work every week and spend hundreds of dollars protesting how other people live their own lives. We love to get up in the business of people who aren't doing anything to minimize our own quality of life, but we do nothing to help someone in need.

In short....people suck and their actions around the holidays are very fitting since *Christmas* is a poorly reconstructed version of the Roman pagan festival of Saturnalia....an orgy of gluttony and lust. If you read The Bible, you would know that it is a sin to worship false gods and you would know that Jesus was born in mid-late September.

Aggie-345886

Then there are the symptoms of the "Give me YOURS" Democrats/liberals.

Actually, it's the disease of the Republicans/conservatives and their tea baggers. They, and they alone, are the reason why this latest "Black Friday" turned into a fiasco of people grabbing money and stuff, especially the corporatists, CEO's and major shareholders of communist-supporting corporations like Walmart, Target, Best Buy, et. al., from others. The day will come when the corporatists, Republicans, conservatives, et. al., will pay the price for betraying America. True patriotic Americans will never forget the motto of the tea baggers: "Let him die!" Liberals support capitalism and free enterprise; conservatives support corporatism and communism.

I'm not surprised by this at all. I've had experience with little old ladies that use shopping carts as weapons. I stopped shopping on Black Friday years ago after one ran me over and I walked with a limp for 6 months. No sale is good enough for me to go through that again. The stupid old bag swore to the store manager that she never saw me although she admitted that she had wanted the item that was in my hands. Guess she saw it. By coincidence it was the last one.

BTW it has nothing to do with politics. Not everyone in the US is driven by politics. Some people don't even know who their representatives are. They never bother to go vote either. Politics, like other people, is something they just don't care about. This is just old fashioned greed and selfishness pure and simple.

Years ago I saw in the news a man threw a Bichon Frese, a cute lapdog, out the window of a moving car on the freeway and got ran over and killed.......boy, the whole country was upset over this and even people at work at this cruel, terrible injustice. But the nation's like, "Eh, this is an old man....let's get our Good Deals!!!" And this is the same nation that saw it's president take his eyes off of Bin Laden and lie us into a "war of choice" against another nation that was no threat to us. What? About 5000 solders killed and Two Trillion Dollars wasted (coulda went to infrastructure and schools, etc) and the USA says "Let's go Shopping!!!"

Shop til you drop? America seems like a very sad country. The world has passed you by.

Rich-281385, Her name was indeed Kitty Genovese, and in NYC on March 13, 1964, she was brutally murdered. She was 28 years old.

Glad to know that someone else remembered her...not just me.

I'm sure her family aches a little more each time a story of similar content hits the news.

Sorry Jerry but that's a complete load of Bull@!$%#. The only people to blame for this @!$%# is the people themselves. Or are you saying that people are so weak minded that they are unable to make their own choices? That's really sad.

Gneisenau

Sorry Jerry but that's a complete load of Bull@!$%#. The only people to blame for this @!$%# is the people themselves. Or are you saying that people are so weak minded that they are unable to make their own choices? That's really sad.

Yup, that's exactly what I'm saying. And it is sad.

I think it’s not so much a spiritual malady as a fear of the consequences of getting involved. Do something and get arrested of at least sued for practicing medicine without a license. Have some slick lawyer present a case where he speculates what you did to help may have been responsible for his death. I think I might also have elected to not intervene, but I would at least have called 911 for him.

You don't know what you are talking about and are spreading misinformation. Please, look up Good Samaritan Laws. Come on, people.

This story is just sad.

... We suck

Speak for yourself Darrel B

I wish there was video so these piles of walking trash can be ID'd and live out their lives in shame and relentless ridicule. What complete scum.

You know I read these articles all the time and I have to tell you, I go all over the US and not once when a person has been in distress have I ever seen them lack for help--from NYC to LA, people always stop to help. Sometime by the dozens.

So I'd like to see some of this mystery behavior that I read about every year at this time. You know if a person collapses in a crowd, the back of crowd might not necessarily know what's going on. They may surge forward and step over a person rather than on them because they are being pushed from behind by others that do not know what is happening.

I'm sorry but this just is not human nature. I once saw a man in NYC collapse and grab a pole for bus stop. 7 people were with him in a matter of a few seconds. I saw a man in LA collapse in the middle of the street. 15 people stopped in cars in a matter of minutes offering help.

I have to be honest. I just don't ever see this. People always stop to help if they are first on the scene. I've see regular people wade into the most gruesome traffic accidents to try to just talk to someone until help arrives.

I take this article with a HUGE grain of salt. It makes a good story but I doubt we're being told what really happened.

I take this article with a HUGE grain of salt. It makes a good story but I doubt we're being told what really happened.

You know, I think you are probably right. Like you, I've never seen this in the behavior of my neighbors, and I've lived all over the US.

But I don't know that it's against human nature, because I saw it in an Arab Muslim country I lived in. That was the day I decided to come home.

I wish there was video of this too. Maybe then we could see the sensationalism in this so-called journalism we've been handed. The article goes out of its way to contradict itself and yet few of you are even questioning the holes in this reporting.

Sadder still is those who've used this story to push a political or social agenda. I feel that these people are acting more piggish than the shopper who supposedly let a man die in the isle of a store.

Longhair
Did they repeal the Good Samaratain Law?

All you people that have "never seen this kind of behavior", must live with blinders on. I traveled the highways into every state imaginable with my job, and believe me, I've seen more selfishness than I'd care to admit exists in this country.
Some of you need to step away from the Bill Cosby shows.

These people are NOT in sync with their inner true selves. When people are truly happy they have no desire to cause other people harm. These people are not acting upon their own heart desires, they are allowing themselves to be controlled by the almighty dollar. This is the collective consciousness of our American society that is being perpetuated by our political system. This is the result of having been literally indoctrinated to conform to societies standards, instead of thier own true selves. It is a dis-ease.

People need to learn how to take their power back (which is not being taught) for our society to heal and truly prosper. Unfortunately, it is going to take time for our society to evolve. Those that understand will be living examples for others to follow their own path out of their own free will.

You are spot on. There is no such thing as good people and bad people. Each of us carry both good and bad with us from the day we're born til the day we die.

Some of us work hard everyday to allow the good to shine as we bury the bad deep beneath the surface of our being. Others may be fickle. Kind one day and mean as hell the next. All of us have people like that in our lives. Then we have our political leaders, movie stars, business executives and charismatic friends that may pretend to have their dark side under control in public as they lose total control behind closed doors. Then there is the "Bad Apple". Perhaps he has been beaten like a dog and simply doesn't care anymore. Perhaps he has a personality disorder. He is proud of the bad and ashamed of the good. He displays the bad for all to see as he carefully hides the good lest it be accidentally exposed and mistaken for weakness.

Good God, If I see someone trip, I ask them if they are ok. This is a blessing since caring for people became my lifelong profession as a therapist. Not everyone is so blessed. Many people are struggling just to keep their own "heads above water"and have neither the skills or resources to care for anything else. This is why I can't be too hard on the strangers who either didn't notice or seem to care. Perhaps we all need to take this incident as an object lesson. The only thing that really matters is what can not be restored once lost and that is life itself.

I am reserving judgement because I cannot believe half of what the headlines say anymore.

The so-called media will print anything, half-baked or not, in order to grab headlines.

What a sorry bunch of hacks.

Here is a video for those who have not seen this type of behavior in the USA on Black Friday. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dIBL4tYQPI&feature=share

After viewing it I wish I hadn't.

How can you be so upset about this behavior, but still type in xmas. Shouldn't it be Christ-x... don't get it ya'all. We should be setting examples for our younger generation that Christ was born this day; celebrate it all year long. How about taking what excess we may have and share it with another??? Wowie what a selfish and greedy society we live in today.

'Tis the season . . . Fa la la la lolly . . .

You can run with the dogs tonight, in Suburbia.

?

@dano

*heard

The difference is that the 1%-ers are doing this to millions of other people, not just to one person.

Who's to say the 1%ers weren't at the bargains. It's all about the pursuit to them.

This is the reason why the 1% ers get away with it because noone believes anyone cares. If there were Occupy people in the crowd they would have helped.

Why are you throwing politics into such a tragedy? WTF does the media or the libs have to do with it?

Makes no sense.

Because all things are political, and always have been.

It just stands out more in these times....They all cheered for a man to die at the GOP debates,

The politics if today have exacerbated the atmosphere of me, me, me and only what I care about.

......not my fellow American.

Duane mentions "the Obama divide & conquer Plan"--ummm, Duane? Even the Republicans in Congress admit that Obama has very carefully tried to lead from the middle and so is getting very little done. Even the Republicans in Congress admit that his health care plan is very little different from the Republican plan put into place in Massachusetts by Mitt Romney (and Romney is catching heck for it now--though it was precisely the same plan that Republicans put forth in opposition to "Hillarycare").

It is the Republicans who are so divisive that they are attacking one another.

This is called "projection," when you take something that your own side is doing and pretend (in the face of a lot of evidence to the contrary) that the other side is the culprit. You can do it if you like, but it is one reason that Republicans have lost a lot of ground with centrist voters, without whom they cannot win.

In any case, "monkey see, monkey do" is not something that a person does when s/he is completely independent and only out for him/herself. That's what people do when they are lockstep following someone else's lead. Have a great day.

It didn't take long to make this a political issue. If a tree falls in the forest and noone is there to hear it do we have the liberals or conservatives. Everything isn't about politics.... SPIDER got it started and the FOOLS followed. It goes to show there are stupid liberals and stupid conservatives.

It is everyone's individual responsibility to be humane. If there was a body or person having a hard time I would stop. Getting a half off xbox is not worth the sacrifice of your humanity or what is left of it, considering the people at that Target.

Humanity was sold out in favor of consumerism and keeping up with the Joneses. Being virtuous is now quaint, if not plain funny, to people. Values, morals, virtue are all passe. Those are for people who can't afford brand name clothes, the latest technology, etc, etc. Ironically, the people who buy into that thinking the most, are also the people that are always unhappy and can never figure out why.

But I agree with you, it's tiresome and I'm not sure things will ever change.

Thanks for your service (from one tired 91B) to another. Keep the faith brother.

Not one person can change it.....that is why we need to stand TOGETHER and change it.

CombatMedic69 - First off, thank you for your Service, and your continued service as a Deputy Sheriff. I imagine you've seen it all and I can truly understand why you are tired.. I sure would like to help in bringing humanity back.. I try not to give up hope in man's basic goodness.. however, it's getting harder and harder. I know tradedy doesn't surprise you. How do you keep doing your job? I for one am glad you do!! Take good care of your and yours...

I remember this from one of my sociology classes. It's called "abdication of responsibility." When there are a lot of people around, everyone assumes someone else will take care of it. You're far more likely to get help if it's just you and a couple other people nearby.

Absolutely right AG.

Sean, You are missing the point. Combat Medic is a genuinely caring human being who is frustrated with mans inhumanity to man. Guns and Pepper spray are "tools of the law enforcement trade" and are to be used only under very special circumstances. It is our inhumane society which necessitates the use of such force. My husband served with distinction for twenty five years and never once fired his weapon, ( although it was unholstered several times) in the line of duty. He never had the need to use pepper or any other instrument besides his intelligence, and ability to calm down agitated people. You need to look in the mirror and ask yourself why you are so angry.

Human.................

This is disturbing on so many levels. I also remember being shocked when reading the story recently of how people in China passed by a little girl who had been hit by a car, thinking that this would never happen in America. Well, I guess I was wrong. I don't leave my house on Black Friday. I refuse to get caught up in all of the materialism and seeing people at their absolute worst. May Walter Vance rest in peace. He has to be in a better place!

Excuse me but there were people helping the dying man. Did you not read the story?

And 2, that guy was old. It was his time. This cannot compare to a young little girl.

Actually your statement is a common misconception. You are giving those animals who kept shopping way too much credit - most are not capable of the thought process you describe "If I help and he dies I might get sued." They are just pathetic low life selfish animals. In addition, West Virginia has a codified "good samaritan law," (SECTION 8.01-225) as do most states, that protect people who help others from liability.

Most state's have a good Samaritan law and what that has to do with stepping over someone's body I don't know. If I think someone's condition is beyond my training I can always call for help...and I certainly wouldn't step over their body.

People can make all the excuses they want - but the simple fact is, there isn't an excuse for stepping over someone without asking if anyone has called for help, without seeing if the person is ok, etc.

No.

Anyone who would let the fear of being sued prevent them from helping someone who had collapsed is a royal piece of worthless you-know-what.

It's a poor and completely factually incorrect excuse, good samaritan laws prevent people acting in good faith from lawsuits. As long as you act reasonably you are protected, eg CPR is safe and appropriate, attempting a tracheostomy with a boxcutter and a pen because you saw it on ER once is not.

WHO CARES?

You have to be able to look at yourself in the mirror. If you are really that much of a coward, there just simply is no hope for you as a human being.

By some wild stretch you might get sued instead of thanked, so you'll let someone die at your feet?

There are no words for that.

There was no misinformation being posted, it was previously stated that they were state bills, that they differed slightly and one person even referenced paragraphs of their bill. For the purposes of a discussion here they are all vaguely similar, yes some require you to act but expect nothing more than a 911 call and wait for their arrival, none mandate actual first aid administration. There are also some differences in the level of protection for laypeople versus trained responders eg nurse, doctor or paramedics bystanders.

For someone who seems to be very upset with someone making assumptions about your action and knowledge this paragraph seemed awfully judgemental "You all keep talking about Good Sam laws, but very few of you probably understand them, or could speak knowingly about the details of the laws in your own jurisdiction. Very few people do."

@Lee Blake: You make a good point about Good Samaritan laws. However, even with the most encompassing and all-protective Good Sam laws, there is always some scumsucking reptile in an Armani suit who is short on billable hours who is going to try to sue you anyway. You (or your own expensive attorney) still have to show up in court to defend yourself and avoid a default judgment, even from completely groundless lawsuits. Therefore, many people will try to avoid even the appearance of "wrongdoing", and you get what you saw in that Target on Black Friday.

This is but one of the many reasons why "Loser Pays" legislation should be enacted today when it comes to civil lawsuits.

Then you need to pay attention.

"There was no misinformation being posted, it was previously stated that they were state bills, that they differed slightly and one person even referenced paragraphs of their bill. For the purposes of a discussion here they are all vaguely similar, yes some require you to act but expect nothing more than a 911 call and wait for their arrival, none mandate actual first aid administration. There are also some differences in the level of protection for laypeople versus trained responders eg nurse, doctor or paramedics bystanders."

Only 3 of us mentioned good samaritan laws before your post, one referenced particular paragraphs suggesting knowledge of details, one referenced interstate variability suggesting knowledge of details and I deliberately was talking about the intent of the laws only rather than the detail because of the variability. Rather than belittling earlier contributors you could have just joined in the discussion.

AussieRob, YOU are waaaay too sensitive, or got out of the wrong side of the bed, or had a bad day at work! I didn't misconstrue Best Destiny's comments as belittling or condescending. And I'm sure many others did not, either.

I appreciate when someone who has more knowledge that I in a certain area and takes the time to share their knowledge with me. Only insecure people would feel belittled or somehow threatened by that. Perhaps it's time for you to work on some self-esteem issues.

That's not my mantra or my friends'! We have charity meetings and have fost-adopted, etc. Please don't judge all the people in one whitewashed swoop. It's not fair to the good people of the world, which, believe it or not, there are quite a few of.

HShaver I said I find it appalling! But the people at that Target store sure didn't.

It is not only Americans that act this way I have seen very similar things happen in Canada and elsewhere, make no mistake it is becoming a trend that is very disturbing.

Human.................

Sure, this will be fodder for people who are already anti-American bigots, but it's no reason to hate the US any more than other countries. I won't hate China just because a baby there was run over by a car twice before anyone tried to help. I won't hate Egypt just because women were assaulted in the middle of Tahrir Square during the protests. What I do hate is how people all over the world are losing sight of an essential component of basic human decency- giving a rat's rear about someone other than themselves and being unafraid to bring out the best in themselves and others.

Sorry Kassie - while this is terrible you must travel overseas to a 3rd world country (or even some eastern European 2nd world) to see that even in this horrific incident America has been the "watermark" of morals...even now, to venture out at the wrong time of day in many countries will result in a horrific "black Friday" event regardless of the day...

You are the role model for millions

The human race has been going to hell since its inception.

Nothing new there...

Please stop spreading hatred. Thanks.

flyingspagmonster...that's unneccessary. I am not a christian. I did not go out shopping yesterday but I do christmas shopping.

This has nothing to do with religion but a lot to with greed and self interest. Bargains are more important that helping out a person is distress, says more about human nature than religion.

...Yeah... no, several of my friends are Pagan, and all of them went Christmas shopping yesterday, Can we not pin everything on the Christians, that makes you just as hypocritical as the ones you are trying to bash, but that's okay 'cause the new "cool" thing is to bash Christians, right?

Also, I don't believe that "people stepped around him" Like several have said, some one called 911 and some one was administering CPR. I'm guessing there were people shouting "STAND BACK" too, I'm so sorry for this persons family, and I bet the poor guy was terrified, but I'm sure this story was sensationalized.

There's always that idiot who wants to blame anything negative on Christianity.

I wonder which tenet of Christianity the idiot who posted #16 thinks they were following?

flyingspagmonster, I know atheists, Jews, and other peoples who shop for Christmas for their Christian friends. Christians do NOT have a corner on the market for Christmas shopping! You should try to expand your circle of friends a bit more. LOL

Sean, apparently you are NOT a Christian so it's VERY doubtful you know much, if anything, about the Christian faith. I'll never understand, either, why people who are non-believers believe they can mock believers. No one here insisted that you become Christian. However, you had to attack Christians and their faith. One doesn't need to be Christian to have morals and/or values -- like respecting others and being kind to them. Obviously, though, you fall into the category of a mean spirited non-Christian. Bless your dear heart anyway.

The man was from West Virginia and the store was in Charleston.

Reread the post it says W.VA. pretty sure about Logan county also.Besides main point is this wonderful holiday is not what it used to be. Over the top commercialisation has made it in to a competition not a celebration we have greed to thank for that all praise to the almighty buck bow three times to your broker you 1% hope you rot in H***.

KAthryn, and? The abbreviation for West Virginia is.....? The abbreviation for Virginia is?

Here's a hint, it's not WA.

"Witnesses told the NBC News affiliate in Charleston, W. Wa., " It looks like they corrected the rest, but missed that one since I read it originally. I noticed because I live in WA, and thought "I've never heard of that place."

And I think those errors go hand in hand with the story really. It's careless. Just like the people who couldn't take a minute to make sure he was ok, or to ask if someone else had called for help, or called for help themselves.

People constantly shrug their shoulders and lower the bar. Yes, I make typos and when I do I feel embarrassed. But I think it's far worse when you're writing for public consumption and being paid to do it as your job. You can hardly find an article in the news that isn't full of typos and poor grammar. And it's because people just shrug. They don't demand better.

This is a really sad story about a man who died during the holidays and was literally walked over by others. And the news outlet can't even be bothered to get the details right.

Yes, but apparently they aren't to be found at Target.

That's funny, but there were at least TWO. I would be happy with THOSE two than a thousand people who didn't know what they were doing. Two can communicate, cooperate and get it done. It's odd that I am curious about this story because I HATE shopping and I'm a female who hates the female stereotyping commercials. I think Target is ok, until my daughter becomes more aware, then I don't know, Kohl's? I just like target because I can get bread and a dust buster or kid clothes all in one place. Man I hate shopping. Those BFri shoppers are crazy.

There is absolutely no good valid reason to ignore or walk by an individual in need and justification for this misguided action is again an example of how concealled selfishness and greed is. It resides in all of us and it's knowing the difference between right and wrong. I see this as wrong, covering it up with excuses, why-nots is shameful.

These people are NOT in sync with inner selves. When people are truly happy they have no desire to cause other people harm. These people are not acting upon their own heart desires, they are allowing themselves to be controlled by the almighty dollar. This is the collective consciousness of our American society that is being perpetuated by our political system. This is the result of having been literally indoctrinated to conform to societies standards, instead thier own. It is a dis-ease.

People need to learn how to take their own power back (which is not being taught) in order for our society to truly heal and truly prosper and unfortuanately for them that is going to take a great deal time.

Let me rephrase my last paragraph. People need to learn how to take their very own power back (which is not being taught) for our society to heal and truly prosper. Unfortunately, it is going to take time for our society to evolve. Those that understand will be living examples for others to follow their own path out of their own free will.

I was at the store that night and this article so over exaggerates the story. The TRUTH is the man was helped promptly and taken care of as best as circumstances would allow. No one trampled over the man as the story would suggests to the audience. Media just loves to play off of that classic theme from English class, "Man's Inhumanity Towards Man". If this article wanted to expose truth, it would have commented on how some Black Friday shoppers stopped their pursuit of great deals (a selfish pursuit in some people's mind) and helped a complete stranger. Don't believe everything you read.

@ Shawn - Fun sponge........ ;)

Shawn this is the state of American journalism. Thanks for speaking up.

We never deserved God's blessings, but he gave us blessings anyways. I really don't think he cares whether he is on worldly things like money. We still are blessed. We are alive and can choose to act as we please, with consequences, of course, for bad actions. The apathy we hear of happening at Target is in different countries besides the USA. I have seen Around the World in 80 Ways. On one episode, an Indian man got hurt, and two men just put him to the side of the road and left. For sure they were better than the 99% that drove by but the apathy is inexcusable still.

Who said these people didn't believe in God? I've seen MANY so-called Christians who don't live anything close to a Christian life...

I don't believe in god and I would not walk over a body anywhere. Stop making stupid statements about non-believers; like any other group-some are good some are bad.

There is always dark when there is light. Whether people supress it or not is up to them.