New York Times economics reporter Peter Goodman certainly can't be accused of dry writing. Goodman constantly draws attention to his economics stories (often well-positioned by editors) with sharp criticism of capitalism, and he reached a new level of leftist abstraction in his Sunday Week in Review piece on the early-morning shopping stampede at a Long Island Wal-Mart that resulted in the trampling death of an employee, "A Shopping Guernica Captures the Moment."
From the high-brow yet histrionic headline (here's some background on the German bombing of the Spanish city of Guernica) to the inflated prose, it's good, chewy bias in Goodman's favored Marxist professor mode (as prominently displayed in his December 2007 story headlined "The Free Market: A False Idol After All?").
Goodman is eager to paint the Wal-Mart rampagers as some species of victim -- if not of capitalism directly, then the marketing that is selling capitalism to the people in this time of crisis.
From the Great Depression, we remember the bread lines. From the oil shocks of the 1970s, we recall lines of cars snaking from gas stations. And from our current moment, we may come to remember scenes like the one at a Long Island Wal-Mart in the dawn after Thanksgiving, when 2,000 frantic shoppers trampled to death an employee who stood between them and the bargains within.
It was a tragedy, yet it did not feel like an accident. All those people were there, lined up in the cold and darkness, because of sophisticated marketing forces that have produced this day now called Black Friday. They were engaging in early-morning shopping as contact sport. American business has long excelled at creating a sense of shortage amid abundance, an anxiety that one must act now or miss out.
....
For decades, Americans have been effectively programmed to shop. China, Japan and other foreign powers have provided the wherewithal to purchase their goods by buying staggering quantities of American debt. Financial institutions have scattered credit card offers as if they were takeout menus and turned our houses into A.T.M.'s. Hollywood and Madison Avenue have excelled at persuading us that the holiday season is a time to spend lavishly or risk being found insufficiently appreciative of our loved ones.
After some hyperbole about working hours "being slashed" and health benefits being "downgraded or eliminated altogether," Goodman concluded:
In a sense, the American economy has become a kind of piñata -- lots of treats in there, but no guarantee that you will get any, making people prone to frenzy and sending some home bruised.
It seemed fitting then, in a tragic way, that the holiday season began with violence fueled by desperation; with a mob making a frantic reach for things they wanted badly, knowing they might go home empty-handed.
—Clay Waters is the director of Times Watch, an MRC project tracking the New York Times.
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Comments Policy
Goodman is a monster and mentally ill (at least)
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 15:22 ET by c5thenHow about violence fueled by greed and narcissism? These were people in Nassau County on Long Island. They were desperate to save $40 bucks.
To use this person's death as a means to foward his own ideology is disgusting! Goodman is just as bad as those ignorant and dispicable people who were so self-absorbed in getting their 40% discount that they couldn't bother to stop and help a fellow human being who they were steping on to get a special 'gift' to show someone how much they 'care for them' while celebrating the birth of the Prince of Peace. Satan must be laughing heartily.
"As you have done to the least of these, so you have done to me."
Hey, I got the wrong "CHANGE"!
Alan Keyes / Sarah Palin - 2012
Already said
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 17:21 ET by m1xramWas going to comment but you already covered it, the guy is insane. He would prefer Russian bread lines (or empty stores) and Chinese sweat shops, bad for the people and the workers.
And to confirm his insanity we have the comments below detailing how he completely ignores the crowds behavior.
He should not be writing for the NYT but have his own doctor at Bellevue who says, "Tell me more about that Mr Goodman."
Sophisticated marketing,
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 15:24 ET by EdhenrySophisticated marketing, consumerism, fear of no love, anything but personal responsibility.
Correction
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 15:28 ET by IgnatzJFahrquarScratch "frantic shoppers" and replace with "animals". Harsh, but true; this is where the wealth will be spread.
"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain
Yes, we would be much
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 15:36 ET by motherbeltYes, we would be much better off in a society where soldiers kept order outside the stores, and a certain number of shopper were let in at a time and led in procession around the aisles to do their shopping, with limits on what they could buy.
While no one would ever make light of or excuse what happened in L.I., to claim that it is a failure of the free market is just unbelievable!
Greed was the culprit, not the free market.
Democrats have already warned Republicans not to use the attack in Mumbai to stoke fear here. Maybe Liberals should be warned not to use this tragedy as a tool to stoke hatred of the free market.
"Democrats have already
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 16:12 ET by IgnatzJFahrquar"Democrats have already warned Republicans not to use the attack in
Mumbai to stoke fear here."
Yes, we should all stick our heads in the sand and pretend it never happened and will never happen again here. With the resurrection of Madeline Notsobright in the guise of Hillary as our next Sec. State and B Hussein's "let's grab a prayer rug and coffee" attitude with terrorist states all will be right with the world.
"All generalizations are false, including this one.” Mark Twain
If only the Government
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 15:38 ET by DCC1If only the Government handed out all of the items that these people wanted for free, and we had a more "fair" system so that every kid can get the good stuff and not just the evil RICH kids, we could save 1 life a year!!!
Brilliant!!!
Islamofacists want change too
pinata
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 16:02 ET by katainkentmaybe the author of the article meant the Picasso painting, not the bombing... I dont see the correlation of the bombing of a cultural centerpiece and the storming of a walmart.
I have a particular hardspot for American consumerism. Ever since I was cognizant of what commercials were, I think. But I think the NYT is pointing its finger the wrong direction. 'Free market' enterprise didn't blindfold and spin up these people, put a bat in their hand and set them on this path. Human greed existed before the first coin was ever minted.
"If you think you're finished shopping for Christmas, why not start on next year"
oh please
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 16:00 ET by candanceThose people weren't desperate, they were greedy.
I'm a typical white person.
But PT tells us greed is good?
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 20:46 ET by general companyI wonder by what margine Obama won this area, because there is no doubt he won it. Would be shocked if he didnt.
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Greed is good
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 21:11 ET by PopularTechPeople usually confuse corruption and fraud with Greed. Greed is simply defined as someone’s subjective feelings about another’s actions. But Greed has nothing to do with trampling someone else to death.
Greed (1/3) (Video) (12min) (John Stossel, ABC News)
Greed (2/3) (Video) (13min) (John Stossel, ABC News)
Greed (3/3) (Video) (14min) (John Stossel, ABC News)
Greed is good (John Stossel, Townhall)
The Virtue of Greed (Walter E. Williams, Ph.D. Professor of Economics)
Censored Global Warming Videos
22 min ?
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 21:14 ET by general companyA little slow for you
But Greed has nothing to do with trampling someone else.
So these people were NOT being greedy? I am relieved
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
Understanding Time
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 21:25 ET by PopularTechI responded to your post 1 minute after I saw it which was 21 minutes after you posted it.
Define "Greedy"
Now that you are relieved you can watch the videos.
Censored Global Warming Videos
Greed
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 21:36 ET by general companyGreed: is the selfish desire for the pursuit of money, wealth, power, food, or other possessions, especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is generally considered a vice, and is one of the seven deadly sins in Catholicism.
Guess your right, it doesnt seem to mention anything about trampling folks in a Wallmart?
"Television is a freak show" Bernie Goldberg
I like Stossel
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 22:15 ET by katainkentI have actually visited some of those mansions (at least the ones in Newport RI). They are quite a sight to see.
Would the word avarice work better for you? Maybe self-interest? Its an argument of semantics.
greed - (wal-mart) self-interest outweighed people's ethical (and moral) responsibility to stop and help.
greed - (video) a word used in the demonization of businesses for acting in their self interest.
"If you think you're finished shopping for Christmas, why not start on next year"
Of course this has nothing
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 16:19 ET by Clear thinkerOf course this has nothing to do with how liberalism has brought down the ideal of respect quite few notches.
The Best Video By A Conservative
Making Fun of AGW http://giovanniworld.wordpress.com/
He makes it sound like they
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 17:32 ET by GrannyGrump42He makes it sound like they were desperate to get food for their starving children, not eager to get a discount on a Wii or a flat-screen TV.
Typical MSM hyperbole. Remember when AIDS was touted as "the Plague"? To no avail would cooler heads point out that the Black Death swept across Europe and in six months took out 1/3 of the population. AIDS was the modern equivalent of syphilis -- a venereal disease that would show no symptoms for a while, though it was communicable, then arise and kill you. But who needs perspective? Perspective doesn't sell papers. Nothing would do but to keen and compare AIDS to the freaking Plague.
When you're too comfortable, every discomfort becomes an unbearable tragedy, it seems.
Black Friday has new menaing.
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 19:33 ET by jackie3His projecting of the Great Depression into a Wal-mart shopping frenzy is off the mark. There was no line of desperation to get food. Just pathetic shoppers who were more concerned about getting a wii than the man standing under the door as they walked over it.
The problem isn’t desperation. It’s the void of values on a human scale. Under any other circumstances if a door fell on a worker in front of a store there would be a crowd of people trying to get the heavy door off.
The day before Black Friday there was a horrible car accident in front of my house. The man was seriously hurt after his car collided with a bog rig. His foot nearly amputated. People came out of nowhere to help this stranger who lay in shock on a cold highway. Cars pulled off to the side. Another man started directing traffic away from the scene. The victim was confused and in shock. A grown man placed his knees behind the victim to prop him up and held his hand while I assessed for life threatening injuries.
Human compassion is not dead in the world today. As to what occurred in that store is beyond the norm. Beyond comprehension and beyond human compassion. People know right from wrong. The lack of accountability for their own actions is mind boggling.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
It is the intelligence and compassion
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 01:16 ET by ahusserof a mob in a frenzy. I am sure there are tomes of info about human beings being turned into mindless drones when a mob turns frantic. Sad but very human. Not uncommon at large gatherings such as soccer matches and rock concerts.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
Hmmm, wonder what pearl of
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 20:01 ET by RR GOPHmmm, wonder what pearl of Marxist wisdom this guy has as to why eleven people were trampled to death at a Who concert in Cincinatti in 1979?
Quite a quandary I would think...denounce rebellious rock n roll as an instrument of The Capitalist Establishment?
One of the 24% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 89% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
pure and simple...
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 22:14 ET by MightyMouth...next time walmart will have theater style roped off area, line goes around the building. "knowing they might go home empty-handed."
Right, I am sure they trampled a man for food because their familes were destitute! Just one more nail in the coffin of a country that was truly great!
"There are two types of people in this country; those who provide freedom and those who enjoy it." MM says...
Not only the NYT
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 22:50 ET by afuelnutcase writer but a union radio message chimed in with full force attack on Wal-Mart for their percieved irresponsibility and failure to protect the workers and public. More proof of our social decay and lack of personal responsibility. More to come.
No Representation in NorCal
this is distasteful
Mon, 12/01/2008 - 23:56 ET by pmohbuckas bad as this is ... how can a shopping stampede in which a fatality occurred be comparable to the intentional aerial bombing of civilians? ... and then toss in the proverbial jab at the "american way" (business).
its seems that at every corner, there is a pundit crawling all over a dead american trying to find another reason to bash this country. it may be time for the families of these victims to start looking for the writers that use their loved one's death as nothing more than a tool to push an agenda ... an anti-american agenda at that.
Not only does
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 01:22 ET by ahusserhe lack perspective ( a very liberal trait) but is hyperbolic (another liberal trait, you know Bush=Hitler etc). Twisting logic into a pretzel to make a strained point. All the socialist a-holes now feel it is safe to come out of the closet.
Change: When the winds of change blow hard enough, the most trivial of things can become deadly projectiles. From a Poster
Question
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 08:15 ET by BobAnthonyIs this Peter Goodman related in any way to Pacifica's Commie fascist hippie "journalist" Amy Goodman, hostess of the wrongly named Democracy Now?
For the record, I am NOT RECOGNIZING BARRACK HUSSEIN OBAMA ODINGA AS
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES! I would like to become part of a
secession front!
bob-anthony
Tue, 12/02/2008 - 20:16 ET by livingfreeYou are the first one to mention Odinga. Funny how nobody ever mentions him and how the exaulted one campaigned for him.
I'm with you. Who knew! Americans are stupid after all.
And the world laughs. Depressing.