December 2003 Archives

The story of the woman trampled trying to get into a WalMart couldn't happen anywhere but America.

Let's look at the ingredients here:

Why are people lined up outside a Wal-Mart at six in the morning? This is disturbing. It happens every year, earlier and earlier. Is this healthy? Does this make sense to anyone?

What were they stampeding for? A $30 VCR-DVD combo player. A valuable consumer good priced below any reasonable level by the biggest company in the world, who can afford to absorb it.

While the victim, Patricia Vanlester, hasn't filed a claim yet, she is retaining a lawyer, and has publicly said that Wal-Mart should have anticipated the situation. It's their fault for having the sale.

Wal-Mart responded with a little research of their own: Patricia Vanlester has filed 16 injury claims over the past twenty-five years against employers and places she shopped, including 10 against Wal-Mart alone! She legally changed her last name five times during that period, as well. Her sister recently filed a claim against Wal-Mart, for which Vanlester acted as the witness. This woman is a serial victim, and knows how to work the system.

What if Wal-Mart's allegations are untrue? Once it's out there in the news, it's going to be generally accepted as fact.

Boy, we're living the American dream here, huh? Out-of-control consumerism, rock-bottom pricing tactics, personal injury, litigation, and PR spin -- truly the principles upon which our country was founded!