Over the holiday weekend a 34 year-old man died in a senseless tragedy. Jdimytai Damour was trampled to the point of cardiac arrest in the name of a cheap flat-screen TV or a discounted Wii video game system.


Wal-Mart incited this tragedy all on it's own by publicizing greedy deals and hyping the day after Thanksgiving as a "doorbuster" event.

That is a fact.

You can't blame the stampede of customers any more than you can blame Damour for being there, making minimum wage or better as a security guard on black Friday.

We should start to remember this so-called "black Friday" for the dark and sad exhibit it has become. Why not call it what it usually turns out to be at big box retailers across the country: a chaotic and dangerous stampede of people that can lead to injury or death Friday.

The store closed, then opened less than 3 hours after the incident. Meanwhile, you probably heard about similar incidents, stampedes and even shootings at other store opening events across the country.

Police are looking over the store security tapes to see if they can identify the person who knocked down Damour. But what about the hundreds of people behind that suspect, pushing and walking over him? Are they not guilty?

Police wanting a suspect should look no further than the big blue sign on the front of the building where the mayhem took place.

Damour does not have to die in vein. And shopping for holiday gifts should never be dangerous. ...

A solution is simple. If this one important sales day is so precious and beloved, just keep your doors open all night. No stampedes. No 5 a.m. opening. No doors to be busted. No more holiday tragedy.

If Wal-Mart or other retailers want to sell off a limited supply of super-cheap merchandise to grab consumers' attention, hold a dang raffle! Or here's a brilliant idea: make the deals available online.

Busting doors is bad for business.