![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-34412-100x100.png\")
I have to admit, it's a little funny.
But seriously, one bump to the shopping cart, and those sharp/hard corners on the box could do some serious damage to the baby.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1541247-100x100.png\")
Probably not, since it probably wouldn't make it all the way to the bottom of the cart, going in at an angle.
Probably.
If that box were just a little bit bigger, any of the little bit of unease I feel at seeing this picture would disappear.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1524208-100x100.png\")
I've seen this photo make rounds on Facebook for the last few days. I was hoping that it was fake. Guess not?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/css/images/default.gif\")
Fake?
I hope so.
Lots of bars. Confined space. Pavlov, what have you done?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1231020-100x100.png\")
And if something happened to that child in the cart, who gets sued?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1713-100x100.png\")
Most likey, the parents would sue Wal-Mart. They would lose, though, as the parents have clearly not followed the instructions printed on the cart.
Wow, Consumerist, this is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY low. The same crap happens at Zellers, K-Mart, Target, Sears, The Bay, The Stores Formally Known As Eaton's, Woolwoorth's, Simpson's, and Robinson's. Yes, I know this'll get disemvowelled. That doesn't make this post a good one. That site picks on Walmart as if those things don't happen anywhere else.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1523740-100x100.png\")
Going after Walmart customers does have kind of a fish in a barrel quality.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-465792-100x100.png\")
Is the disemvowel feature broken? Must be :)
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-21970-100x100.png\")
I probably came off as too snotty in my response and I apologize. I'm glad you're reading the site and you've had great comments before, I just disagree with you wholeheartedly on this one. I don't really want you to go away.
Hey, no problem, really. :-) I'm not going anywhere, clearly someone who likes Walmart needs to comment here!
Perhaps I was just overreacting--My newborn baby just arrived and it's not just clothed with Walmart stuff, but Walmart was the only major retailer that actually sells a car seat that fits in a compact car...
Well unfortunately, it comes from a website with Walmart in the title. I have no day-to-day interest in that site--it seems too close to class warfare to target a single group all the time--but I can't not give credit to the original site obviously.
Bad parenting for the sake of a good deal is bad wherever it happens. I didn't tag this \"Walmart sucks!\" you'll note.
For the record, I classified this under \"Walmart\" and \"Bad Consumers,\" but Walmart got the first place position as the organizational designation. I'll go back in and change that now (if i can figure out how).
But I disagree with you 100%, it's not low at all. If you don't want to read criticism of bad consumers and bad companies, you are definitely on the wrong blog.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-321187-100x100.png\")
What's low is not Consumerist criticizing a bad consumer; what's low is a site (the linked one) taking classist potshots at people who are deemed stupid and worthless because, OMGOMG, they shop at WalMart instead of at Neiman-Marcus or Macys. You know, the way nice people like us do.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-483565-100x100.png\")
I actually think the people in the pictures on that site are generally pretty interesting, but then the commenters there seem to see them differently than I do.
On this picture, however, I totally agree with Eels in the first post--would have loved it as a kid, but as an adult I see it's a bump away from tragedy. Kind of like having your sled towed down the snowy street by your dad's car.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-537475-100x100.png\")
I don't actually see it as class warfare. The fact that Wal-Mart seems to attract a more...diverse..clinetele doesn't betray the fact that all of these people are often inappropriately dressed or display inappropriate behavior. Yes, this stuff happens in other stores - but come on, Wal-Mart really does seem to attract the most diverse people!
And for the record, it's only class warfare if it's about poor people - that's not the perception with People of Wal-Mart. People of Wal-Mart shows photos of people of all stripes, united by a common bond: They probably shouldn't be wearing what they're wearing, or doing what they're doing. But they're doing it. And we shall laugh. it doesn't matter if they're probably gay, or probably drunk or stoned - they're doing something absolutely hilarious and sometimes extremely disturbing.
I agree.
I don't see \"People Of Walmart\" as classist. There are plenty of other sites like it, Look At This Fucking Hipster, Hot Chicks With Douchebags, Skinny Girl / Big Sandwich, etc.
Write me down as one person who thinks People of Walmart is the funniest thing I have seen in a while.
No, it makes sense to post it under Walmart, it is where it happened. Don't mess with that!
I guess I just don't see how this is at all something critical of Walmart, rather than, quite literally, critical of the people that shop at Walmart. And, I'm hoping, that's not where we're going with this, because I'm betting more than half the people reading this have shopped at Walmart and that none of them would do something this stupid. :-)
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-581631-100x100.png\")
I agree. I shop at walmart as well as most everybody else I know, and we don't look like the photos in this blog. But those people DO shop there, and I've seen a higher concentration of them at Walmart than I've ever seen at any other store (with the possible exception of Kmart), so I don't feel like it's class warfare so much as \"oh my god what makes you think it's okay to do this\". It just happens that Walmart is the one of the best places to hunt for such examples.
I definitely have days where nothing piques my interest for a story, but this was a no-brainer for me. We don't often focus on the \"bad consumer\" angle for obvious reasons--hell, probably 15% of our readers hate on our OPs all the time anyway, even when they're not at fault, and it's not our mission to encourage that mindset. But the \"holiday shopping season\" always brings out the worst behavior in shoppers, and I felt this photo highlighted that in one perfectly awful image.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1512420-100x100.png\")
Well then, start a site for those stores.
I don't intend to start a negative site for any stores, nor do I intend to visit People of Walmart. I do, however, come to Consumerist for decent reporting and stories, and this, quite frankly, doesn't cut it. The Consumerist is either completely out of stories (The editors must have known about this site for months, if not years) and are therefore desperate, or this is simply an editor having a bad day.
While the picture is sad, but funny, posting anything from that site is just flamebait waiting to happen.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-690585-100x100.png\")
Ben and the Consumeristas do a terrific job with lots of valuable insight for those of us in the consumer class, however, what I think is just is valuable is that they have a sense of humor. Too many journalists, bloggers, and pundits out there are so full of themselves and over-aggrandize everything they do, that I'm turned off from ever reading their content. I find the skewed sense of humor displayed by the Consumerist team to be a refreshing change of pace, a breath of fresh air in a world of stale blowhards. I personally hope they never stop posting stories like these as a counterbalance to the more serious content that is a hallmark of the site.
I agree, and I think this photo is right in line with that sentiment. The fact is, that photo is pretty funny, and it's a sad state of affairs when you have a parent who does that to his or her child. Who doesn't think that person should get a little ridicule?
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-25844-100x100.png\")
I can understand your disgruntlement with the story, and it's fine that you disagree with the poster. But I really am tired of the old \"you must be out of stories to post\" argument... seriously, as a long-time follower of this site, I've seen eight hours between posts, then two or three posts, then none for a while, then a whole bunch. It's a tired, overused, newbie comment. Consumerist posts stories that they think are interesting to their readers, as they come in, mostly from tipsters. They don't go looking for stories just because \"t mst b a slw nws dy.\"
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-345859-100x100.png\")
Totally agree. It's one thing to say that about the newspaper, because they have pages to fill, or about the Today show, because they have 27 hours a day to fill, but no one's going to fire anybody if the Consumerist only has 17 posts a day rather than 18. Consumerist posts range from funny and stupid, to serious and useful. And sometimes they're funny and useful. People should get used to it.
I'm sorry you work at Walmart but don't take it out on all of us.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-332258-100x100.png\")
Ah, the naive slumber of the damned. Look at him, Smithers.
In pace requiescat
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1301600-100x100.png\")
Instead of using their cell phone to snap a picture they should have used it to call the police / Dept. of Child Welfare (or whatever they got down there).
ANd you believe they'd dp what, other than tell the parent/s/guardian, \"stop acting like an idiot.\" Is the child harmed, no. It's in a potentially harmful situation. Now realize getting out of bed in the morning is a potentially harmful situation. You sure you want the government to have that kind of power?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-17616-100x100.png\")
You don't know they didn't. People can do more than one thing, after all.
Maybe they did. But this is photographic evidence.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-352646-100x100.png\")
The site is all about the people who are shopping at Walmart. And they are some of the most hilarious outfits I have ever seen. Seeing their tweets tells me something funny is happening. They are always good for a laugh.
As for this particular photo, yeah, some shopper is one fender-bender away from having an injured baby on their hands.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1184475-100x100.png\")
I'm surprised no one stopped this fool from cruising around the store like that.
Shoppers were too preoccupied with securing their own deals/crap to even notice the baby.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-942005-100x100.png\")
I'm more surprised another BF shopper didn't \"bump\" the cart to make the shopper turn their head and maybe tend to the child and get a item that was out of stock.
Why would anyone stop Darwin here?
Do they even believe Darwin?
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1004377-100x100.png\")
Too late for a Darwin award, given the offspring in the cart. Nor are the people responsible for this gross negligence and stupidity at much, if any, risk of being removed from the gene pool if an accident occurs.
Were it teens doing Jackass inspired stunts inside and pushing the buggy then, yes, perfect candidates for a Darwin Award. This is simply scary, and sad.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-16563-100x100.png\")
Darwin Awards refer to successfully carrying your genes forward. A difficult task if your infant progeny needs to be squeezed into a flask using a sponge and squeegee.
(Both of which are, handily enough, available the next isle over)
Why did you have to post a link to PeopleOfWalMart.com???
Every time I go to that site I can't stop hitting \"next page\"... \"next page\"... \"next page\"...
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-808630-100x100.png\")
It's the kind of thing that my husband and I used to look at and wonder why THAT idiot got to have kids when we were still childless and battling infertility issues.
I've got a kid now, but still...it's so sad that some people can be so reckless. And you can bet if their kid gets injured they'll be looking for everyone else to blame.
I completely agree. My husband and I are just starting through infertility treatments and its the same feeling every time we see one of these \"parents\". Seriously, they can have children but we have to go through years of invasive and painful treatments costing us tens of thousands of dollars to have any hope of a baby?!?!?!
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-19745-100x100.png\")
The first 5 minutes of Idocracy explains why these people have litters of hell-spawn and you cannot.
A future darwin award winner and their demonspawn...
You don't qualify for darwin award if you have offspring.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1523356-100x100.png\")
You qualify if your over 16 (or 18?), and cant have kids anymore. If you already have kids, then they can send the story to the Darwin awards as long as the person can not have kids anymore.
It almost deserves an extra-Darwin Award award. I mean, the real one is so ephemeral, so hypothetical. THIS one is literal:
Before: you see the result of your gene-spreading
After: you see the result of your gene-spreading - squeezed in between the gaps of a wire gauge of a shopping cart!
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1523452-100x100.png\")
He's fine, look, it's all ventillated. The kid's asleep, what're you going to do, wake him up so he screams the rest of the time you're in Walmart?
Or, I guess, get another cart...
I was first at Frys with my group of 3, and people behind us started creeping up and got in front of us. My group was like whatevers, and when the doors opened, they literally stopped, turned back, and said, \"Hey, you were first, you get the first walk of fame\".
Single thing that made my day that Friday at Frys, before realizing the damn deals were really starting on Saturday and Sunday.
I am happy to know even on the day of great deals, there is humanity in the world.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-86246-100x100.png\")
This is criminal.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-636349-100x100.png\")
how thoughtful to place a blanket under his little body.
Keeps the blood and guts from dripping onto the floor if he gets crushed.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-439076-100x100.png\")
only cause it was on sale.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-540576-100x100.png\")
I would also imagine this person had there child waiting online with them from some pre-dawn hour. All the while this baby should have been inside in a crib sleeping.
Wife and I were online by 2:30am on Black Friday (Its more of a goof for us then anything else) and we saw \"parents\" with children in strollers and carriages. It was disgusting really.
Gotta get the kids accustomed to the tradition as soon as possible.
Unfortunately, that is not a real shocker coming from the aisles of Wal-Mart.
I'm sure that's exactly what that baby has been looking forward to his whole short existance - \"great, being crushed to death by a big wheel knockoff while browsing the frozen food aisle...wait, what?! No Eggo waffles?!\"
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-131723-100x100.png\")
\"No Eggo Waffles...I must be in hell already!\"
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1523124-100x100.png\")
It looks like the parents are just trying to get their kid acclimated to metal bars and a small sleeping space at an early age.
![\"user-pic\"](\"http://consumerist.com/assets_c/userpics/userpic-376869-100x100.png\")
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, it looks like so much fun to me. A little rolling fort. As a kid I would have totally loved this.
On the other hand, that is a minibike in that box, which probably weighs a lot, and if bumped would seriously injure the child. So...not so much fun.
HA! Reminds me of the other day when my husband and I were leaving Walmart (yes, I love LEAVING that store too..) and this loud, boat-of-a-car pulled up in the handicap spot, with a lame \"sound system\" rattling the windows of their POS, and the woman puffing away on a cigarette...with the windows all up...and a toddler in the back seat...it made us laugh..followed by outrage..really?? is this our world? really?
That is horrible, but I saw something just as bad today at another retailer. As I was waiting to check out this Black Friday morn, in the next check stand over, a mom with a newborn was trying to comfort her baby while waiting to unload her cart. Instead of placing the infant back into the safety of its carrier, she held the baby to her chest, facing forward, then proceed to lean over and unload the large items from the bottom of her cart. The newborn's head flung forward and the baby proceeded to cry as this was done multiple times. Then, after she finished, sticks her dirty finger in the baby's mouth to sooth it. Shopping carts are very dirty. Why are some people so clueless? Were the bargains worth the possible brain damage, or spinal injury? Some people sound not be able to reproduce.
![\"user-pic\"](\"/mt-static/support/assets_c/userpics/userpic-1528927-100x100.png\")
Unfortunately I succumbed this year and went to the 4am Black Friday opening at my local Target. There was a good and bad story to this... The Bad was that even though we were there early, nothing that we purchased was on sale. The Good was the strange part. The other customers were exceptionally polite. I thought I was in a episode of the Twilight Zone; people were excusing themselves if they bumped into you, someone let my wife and I go ahead of them and people were smiling.
Now... I seriously doubt we would have seen the same thing in WalMart. Hell... that place in a nightmare on a good day
Awright, which one of you took pictures of me and the youngest while we were out on Black Friday?!!