Posted by
John Crutchfield on Thursday, December 04, 2008 7:58:07 AM
By now everyone must have heard of the worker who was trampled to death by a mob of shoppers who stormed the entrance to a Long Island Wal-Mart as the doors opened on Black Friday. There has since been much commentary on whether or not Wal-Mart was liable for the injuries the worker and customers sustained in the incident.
One caller to a local radio talk show I listen to was an attorney. He explained how any business, inviting customers to their location to engage in activity from which it benefits, assumes the responsibility for the customer's safety. Ths is an old law based on principles that arrived here with our earliest settlers according to the legal scholar. Without a doubt, businesses are responsible for the safety of their workers.
Another caller claimed that Wal-Mart wasn't guilty of any wrongdoing and wanted to know what ever happened to personal responsibility? That would have been fine, if he'd stopped right there, but he went on to say: "Wal-Mart is guilty of putting the little guy out of business, but they aren't guilty in this case." "Putting the little guy out of business" has become the buzz phrase among Wal-Mart haters everywhere, but let's face facts. They didn't do it alone.
When it comes to competition, Wal-Mart is guilty of nothing more than offering consumers an alternative shopping experience within a free market economy. For this, Wally World has become a villian in the eyes of those blinded by resentment.
Wal-Mart offers consumers a choice. They can buy something for thirty dollars that might cost fifty at some mom and pop store. American consumers are smart enough to understand that it makes no sense to pay more for the same or similar goods and wisely choose the thriftier option. If the caller and the multitudes of like minded, principled consumers are so concerned about mom and pop, they certainly can pony up the extra $20 and shop there. But they don't. That's the dirty little secret. Ultimately, the consumer is responsible for mom amd pop's demise by choosing to shop the competition.
No doubt, many of those making the most noise about how unfair it is for Wal-Mart to dominate the marketplace are the first to storm the front door in search of a bargain. Wal-Mart is responsible for underestimating the danger posed by an ill tempered mob driven by unchecked greed. That greed cost Jdimytai Damour his life. There is no excuse for that and there's plenty of guilt to go around. Wal-Mart and consumers alike share the burden of responsibility for this tragedy.