Comments on Here Lies Patrick: What the Walmart Tragedy Reveals

they need to STOP the insanity!!!!!! those greedy ...

2009-01-06T23:29:00.000-08:00

they need to STOP the insanity!!!!!! those greedy people should be ashamed of themselves

My consumer fancies are books and the internet (su...

2009-01-01T13:54:00.000-08:00

My consumer fancies are books and the internet (surfing). I can get lost in a library or book store or on the internet. I could live just fine without TV or even shopping (except for books). Signed, GrammaB

Wonderfully written - and every point absolutely r...

2008-12-09T16:12:42.305-08:00

Wonderfully written - and every point absolutely right.

Thank you for showing a picture of the human being...

2008-12-02T20:04:28.243-08:00

Thank you for showing a picture of the human being who was sacrificed to the god of materialism.
You have it so right when you say that nothing will satisfy. People are empty inside because they have no relationship with the God who created them. Only He is the answer and only He can fill that empty space in your soul that you try to fill with things.

Great post Patrick.Sadly though you did not even a...

2008-12-02T14:37:39.633-08:00

Great post Patrick.

Sadly though you did not even address the issue of how people were actually angry at the fact that their shopping was stalled. Since they had to close the store down, due to the DEATH of a FELLOW HUMAN BEING.

People actually got mad that their day was thrown off.

I must of missed something I didn't realize the sales on black Friday were so good that they amounted to a personal savings worth more than a human life.

This story has obviously struck a chord with all o...

2008-12-01T23:00:51.288-08:00

This story has obviously struck a chord with all of us and I hope people all over the country are having a discussion and not just rushing to judge the shoppers.

We need to get at the root of why 2000 people would stand outside all night for a good deal on consumer products.

and his father will have to bury him.Wrong. Order....

2008-12-01T17:18:51.816-08:00

and his father will have to bury him.

Wrong. Order.

Hello Patrick Thanks for this post, I am dumbstruc...

2008-12-01T16:54:02.650-08:00

Hello Patrick Thanks for this post, I am dumbstruck I heard the piece on Amy Goodman's Democracy Now and trimmed out the audio which includes witnesses comments to this tragedy. Along with the audio I link to several posts including yours.
I posted it here;
http://bit.ly/Death_X_WalMart
Thank you, I feel so sad for the temporary worker who was in no way protected from his senseless death.
He was of Haitian decent.

wow-great post. I found you through a Twitter post...

2008-12-01T15:41:22.265-08:00

wow-great post. I found you through a Twitter post, and will be bookmarking your site. Thanks for some great insight into a sad story.

Excellent post Patrick, and so utterly true!We hol...

2008-12-01T12:26:59.853-08:00

Excellent post Patrick, and so utterly true!

We hold the feeling that buying "X" will make us happier. And the behavior reinforcer there is that for a very brief time, it feels like it does. You get the rush of the new purchase, the pleasure of using it at first. Even though it, as all things, it ultimately disappoints, that's the burst of initial pleasure that moves us on the the next purchase, and then the next.

One thing my practice has brought me, is, even though I can't stop from having the feelings that buying the new Macbook will make me satisfied, I can at least be AWARE that I'm having those feelings. Guess it's a start.

Just so impressed with your insight on this one man. You nailed it.
Kitty

"In America, it seems that our religion is consume...

2008-12-01T06:44:28.172-08:00

"In America, it seems that our religion is consumerism, our pilgrimage Black Friday, and our temple Walmart."

O u c h.

The truth is painful.

Thank you for giving face and name to the worker was trampled. He mattered; I'm so sorry for his family's loss and his premature death. It's shameful.

As a follower of Christ, I'd have to disagree with your premise that nothing can make that dissatisfaction go away, but even as I say that, I realize most of the time, Christians don't live that very convincingly.

Anyway...glad to have found your blog; these thoughts will haunt me for a while....

P, you've got it right on the money. If you'll par...

2008-12-01T06:43:12.888-08:00

P, you've got it right on the money. If you'll pardon the pun.

What's more disheartening is the way we try to weasel our way out of the way of truth - that rather than owning up to the fact that many of us in the same situation would have done the same thing we make excuses. Crowd mentality is good when it's good and sick when it's sick. As you suggest, it is a pilgrimage. A rite of passage, almost.

Like the Wedding Industrial Complex. To speak out against it (as in, do we really need any more plastic stuff imported from China, people?) is anathema.

The only way through on this one, I think, is through. And it's going to take a lot more level-headed discussions like this one to get through.