In a column that will be on our editorial page on Thursday, Thomas L. Friedman of the New York Times raises questions about Pakistan's tame reaction to last week's carnage in India. "Who in the Muslim world, who in Pakistan, is ready to take to the streets to protest the mass murders of real people, not cartoon characters, right next door in Mumbai?"

It's a provocative piece.

But maybe we should raise similar questions about America's tame reaction to the "Black Friday" killing of Jdimytai Damour, a Wal-Mart employee in Long Island, N.Y. who was trampled by over-eager shoppers.

What a sad commentary on our nation's proccupation with "stuff." 

Leonard Pitts Jr. of the Miami Herald delves into this in a column that will be on our opinion page. He's the first of our regular columnists to take on this issue. (To see his column, click here.)

Pitts writes, "Four people, including a pregnant woman, were injured. And Damour was killed as people stomped over him, looking for good prices on DVDs, winter coats and PlayStations. Nor was the mob sobered by his death. As authorities sought to clear the store, some defiantly kept shopping; others complained that they had been on line since the night before.

"And here, it seems appropriate to observe the obvious irony: Black Friday is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, Christmas being the holiday when, Christians believe, hope was born into the world in the form of a baby who became a man who preached a gospel of service to, and compassion for, our fellow human beings."

So much for that.

What Pitts doesn't mention is that the 34-year-old Jdimytai Damour was no small man. He was 6 feet, 5 inches tall and weighed 270 pounds.
He died of asphyxiation. But his official cause of death should be . . .  what? The Christmas rush?

- Pau Gullixson