Thank you, America, for making me ill...
Eating a snack at my computer, reading the news after a day of teaching, I
became slightly ill when I read this news:
Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
Is this another sign of the continuing decline of the United States?
Has the combination of a downward-spiraling economy and continuing
fascination with consumerism driven people further into the mad abyss?
Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past
emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead, said Halcyon
Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."
Only a few stopped.
On a side note, this ties into the idea of 'social corrosion'. I've always
had an interest in sociology, so when I ran across a book about social
intelligence and human relationships today, I thought it an opportune
time to begin reading more on the subject. I began reading this:
Social Intelligence - The Revolutionary New Science of Human Relationships
As early as the prologue, the author addresses the the idea of 'social
corrosion', giving this example:
"In a German city a motorcyclist gets thrown onto the roadway
in a collision. He lies on the pavement, unmoving. Pedestrians walk right
by, and drivers gaze at him while they wait for the light to change. But
no one stops to help. Finally, after fifteen long minutes, a passenger in
a car that is stopped for the light rolls down a window and asks the
motorcyclist is he's been hurt, offering to call for help on a cell phone.
When the accident is telecast by the station that has staged the accident,
there is a sense of scandal: in Germany, everyone who has a driver's license
has been trained in emergency first aid, precisely for moments like this.
As a German emergency room physician comments, 'People just walk away when
they see others in danger. The don't seem to care.'"
In fact, I've been witness to such a thing:
My LJ - September 13, 2006
And another instance commented in the same journal by hairlessgerbil.
And despite the reassurances by kellzilla in that post, my ability
to stay positive about humanity becomes more difficult.
And by the way, I'm fully aware that a Wal-Mart-like incident could take place
in any country (see example in Germany), but I point the finger at America
this time with full intent. You don't get off the hook this time just because
this could happen anywhere. Not at all. You disappoint me further. And I
say that as an American myself.
-Shawn
became slightly ill when I read this news:
Worker dies at Long Island Wal-Mart after being trampled in Black Friday stampede
Is this another sign of the continuing decline of the United States?
Has the combination of a downward-spiraling economy and continuing
fascination with consumerism driven people further into the mad abyss?
Before police shut down the store, eager shoppers streamed past
emergency crews as they worked furiously to save the store clerk's life.
"They were working on him, but you could see he was dead, said Halcyon
Alexander, 29. "People were still coming through."
Only a few stopped.
On a side note, this ties into the idea of 'social corrosion'. I've always
had an interest in sociology, so when I ran across a book about social
intelligence and human relationships today, I thought it an opportune
time to begin reading more on the subject. I began reading this:
Social Intelligence - The Revolutionary New Science of Human Relationships
As early as the prologue, the author addresses the the idea of 'social
corrosion', giving this example:
"In a German city a motorcyclist gets thrown onto the roadway
in a collision. He lies on the pavement, unmoving. Pedestrians walk right
by, and drivers gaze at him while they wait for the light to change. But
no one stops to help. Finally, after fifteen long minutes, a passenger in
a car that is stopped for the light rolls down a window and asks the
motorcyclist is he's been hurt, offering to call for help on a cell phone.
When the accident is telecast by the station that has staged the accident,
there is a sense of scandal: in Germany, everyone who has a driver's license
has been trained in emergency first aid, precisely for moments like this.
As a German emergency room physician comments, 'People just walk away when
they see others in danger. The don't seem to care.'"
In fact, I've been witness to such a thing:
My LJ - September 13, 2006
And another instance commented in the same journal by hairlessgerbil.
And despite the reassurances by kellzilla in that post, my ability
to stay positive about humanity becomes more difficult.
And by the way, I'm fully aware that a Wal-Mart-like incident could take place
in any country (see example in Germany), but I point the finger at America
this time with full intent. You don't get off the hook this time just because
this could happen anywhere. Not at all. You disappoint me further. And I
say that as an American myself.
-Shawn