Well, here we go, another focus for the All-American Blame Game.
For those of you who have not yet heard, a WalMart store in Indianapolis is under investigation after a 5 foot mirror fell on a three-year-old boy, killing him. Here is a copy of the story below:
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INDIANAPOLIS (July 23) - A mirror at a store fell on a 3-year-old boy, killing him, officials said.
Christopher Antonio was apparently playing near the 5-foot-tall floor-mounted mirror in the children's section of a Wal-Mart when it fell Saturday.
The toddler was likely killed by the blunt force of the crash, said Marion County Sheriff's Lt. Michael DeHart.
"The mother was approximately 5 feet away from the child when she heard a loud crash," DeHart said. The boy's 5-year-old sister was also at the store, deputies said.
His mother and another shopper pulled the mirror off the boy, DeHart said.
Wal-Mart was cooperating with investigators, said Jolanda Stewart, spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
"Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and the matter is under investigation," she said.
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And now the fight starts. Some people say it was "clearly" the mother's fault for not watching her child. The fact that she "heard" the crash leads people to reasonably assume that she was not watching her three-year-old. Others say that's what shopping carts are for.
I have even read as people blame the little boy - as if all three-year-olds know better than to ever leave their mothers' sides to go look at something else. And let's remember - this mirror had to have fallen with some force to kill the child on impact like that. Even if this child had pulled it - how much force could a three-year-old actually generate?
And, of course, there is WalMart. Was the mirror stocked correctly, should it have been in the children's section?
People make me sick. Every one who sits there blaming the mother should be ashamed of yourself for being stupid. First of all, it took two people to lift that mirror off the child, so we don't know for sure if she could have stopped the mirror from falling. And, even *if* the investigation concludes that the mother could have or should have been able to stop this tragedy - did she really deserve to have her child die as a consequence?
And, for those of you who are spouting off "WalMart is evil - sue them for this" - you should be ashamed of yourselves for being stupid. Whatever happened to "I'm sorry - what can I do to help you through this tragedy?" No, instead it's "Your child died? Sue every one!" Honeslty, I'm surprised the manufacturers of this mirror haven't yet been added to the list of lawsuit recipients. Who's fault was it? Oh, it must have been the child for bumping the mirror, or the mother for not standing up her child's butt, or the stocker for not making sure the mirror was secure, or WalMart itself for selling the mirror in the first place.
That is ridiculous. This was absolutely tragic. But instead of extending sympathies to who *they* belong - instead every one seems more inclined to point the fingers at every one else. People think something is wrong with society and want to blame Bush, Lack of Homeland Security, Social Security, Illegal immigrants, gay marriage, sex on TV, the media - hello? What's wrong with society today is obvious - the people that make up that society.
--------Update: 10:07 PM, July 26, 2006----------
Now, I have not yet been able to confirm this; however, allegedly the security cameras from that day confirm that the child was running and playing in the children's department. Supposedly, this camera shows the child pulling toys off the shelves, yanking on clothing and pulling some off the racks, and kicking the mirror. While I am most definitely not saying the boy killed himself, I would like to point out at if this is true, the mother was not seen stopping the boy or even seen in the camera with her child. Again, I am not saying it was solely the mother's fault - but this would confirm my belief that this was a no-fault accident - that there were bad choices made all around. I got this information from a message board on AOL News, but again, I haven't been able to confirm or verify it yet.
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