Dear Editor,

My family and I spent last week visiting Spain. The hotel had two English speaking TV channels both were news networks. The non-stop coverage on the Terrorist siege in Mumbai, India and the student takeover of the airport in Bangkok, Thailand was interrupted by a small blurb about a security worker being trampled to death by Black Friday shoppers on Long Island. I Googled the event and viewed a video of an eyewitness account. The woman, in the tape complained, "shopping was supposed to be fun." Her friend had been camping out on line since 3:00am. The friend was shopping for "the bargains" and she would drive him home. She said there was a dispute with people cutting the line, a woman who was pushed went into labor, and a man was trampled to death. She felt it was the store's responsibility to have better security to prevent this kind tragedy. How could this be only the store's responsibility to ensure that Human beings act like Human beings instead of a mindless herd of buffalo?

What kind of world is this?! Something is so very wrong that on the day after Thanksgiving people are so obsessed with buying something that they could break down doors to a retail establishment and crush another human to death!!! What was Thanksgiving about? Only the day before these people waiting on line should have been enjoying their families, eating turkey and counting their blessings. This is the start of the season of Peace on Earth and Good Will toward men!!!

Stores operate in the red all year and wait until nearly the last month of the year to entice shoppers into the stores to move into the black on their balance sheets. A craft store was even open on Thanksgiving Day. What item could be so important it needed to be bought that day? Store employees should be able to be home with their families and friends on Thanksgiving. Shoppers need to do their part, too. They should stay home. If shoppers stayed home on actual holidays it wouldn't be profitable to be open. Retailers would then find ways to change the Black Friday mentality of doing business.

Our politicians are going to propose legislations to require stores to have better security for "Super Sale

Days". Is that really the answermore security will inevitability mean higher costs for the stores? The consumers will ultimately pay higher prices for it.

Retailers are not the only ones responsible for this tragedy. They must change the way they do business. They need to find ways to actually be successful before the end of the year. Shoppers need to behave like people not barging hunting animals!! We all learned in kindergarten not to cut the line. People need to reevaluate their priorities. Is life so shallow that someone needs to camp out in front of a store at 3:00am in the morning? What is important? Patricia Cahaney Amityville