Walmart Under Attack as Terrorists Siege Mumbai (Part 1)

On November 26^th, 2008 terrorists laid siege on Mumbai, India. They successfully overtook several public and private buildings, including The Taj Mahal & Oberoi Hotels, Café Leopold, a Railway Station, and a Jewish Cultural Center; they also started shooting at a hospital! Thoroughly executed attacks displayed signs of lengthy preparation and planning; although their lack of a specific target seemed to point to the fact that even the terrorists didn’t know what they were shooting at and why.  Their motives ambiguous, pundits continue to hypothesize exactly which terrorist group they were taking orders and operating from.

Before the terrorist attacks are even over, it is widely being discussed by politicians and news media how to make India more safe and terrorist proof. Answers tend to focus on how to increase security through more military police stationed throughout the city, increased checkpoints, metal detectors, and surveillance by naval ships that would patrol the waters near the coast.

As buildings continued to burn in Mumbai, on November 28, 2008, the largest shopping day of the year, “Black Friday,” was taking place in the United States. Supposedly it earned this name because it was the day of the year when retailers' books moved out of the red, which traditionally is used by accountants to indicate loss, and into the black, which indicates profit. On this fateful day in Long Island, New York, Walmart shoppers, in their hunger for the cheapest goods, rushed the door at 5 AM just as an employee was trying to unlock it. The shoppers took the employee’s life from under their feet. The employee was trampled to death as coworkers trying to rescue him were fitfully shoved and stampeded as well. Black Friday is destined now to take on even more meanings.  The title for this essay could have been “Consumerism Kills Again,” or “Terrorism Needs Consumerism to Live.”

The incident illuminates the predator consciousness that consumerism breeds.  Through the hording of goods and resources, it quickly causes abundance to vanish and people to act from places of deficit and scarcity. If everyone knew that there would be either enough laptops for everyone to have one or that they could still live a beautiful wonderful life without one, then there wouldn’t have been a mad rush for the door, regardless of the cost.

Some could argue the shoppers were actually terrorists. Believe it, they terrorized that unfortunate worker, and also, undoubtedly scared nearly to death some helpless cashiers working at the check-out counters. Others would say they aren’t terrorists because there must be a systematic application of coercion, meaning they have a plan to get their way no matter what, even if it means they have to create pain and suffering to others.  Terrorists want us to live in—you got it—terror.

In either regard, however, terrorists are consumers. They consume and feed off of fear; whether that is the fear others have of them, or a fear that is generated from economic, social, and political systems which assure the rise of some select few over others. An intricate web of consumerism must be unraveled as we strive to present methods of how to deal with terrorism more effectively.

The mobilization which killed the Walmart employee may have been motivated by a fear that items on sale would sell out if they didn’t hurry. In the process, they ended up acting as predatory animals with a pack mentality, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and killing the Walmart employee. Similarly, we could say that the fear which motivated the September 11^th, 2001 terrorist attacks upon New York, or, the attacks on November 26^th in Mumbai is rooted in not being able to participate in the world economy, being neo-colonized, dominated and controlled.

In other words, even terrorists are terrorized—deathly scared of not getting what they want. If someone can’t afford to buy it, or if it’s not something that can be bought, then they may resort to even taking hostages as bargaining chips.

During Thanksgiving dinner, it was hard for me to concentrate and not have my mind constantly wandering back to the situation in Mumbai, especially, since I have family and friends who live in what is now the third highest populated city in the world. As I sat comfortably, with football on a wide screen television and dessert just moments away, my connection and need to understand the importance of this incident did not sway.

What is currently transpiring in India is an unbelievable moment for the world’s largest democracy to act in a way that is spiritually advanced and mature. Instead of arming the nation more, what if they did the opposite of what the world community expects and anticipates? The answer does not have to be increased militarization. The answer could be meeting the hatred with love and compassion. The answer could be found by asking why did this happen? What drove them to do this and how do we change those conditions?

This is what the U.S. government failed to do in those essential days after September 11^th, 2001. Instead of asking, “Why,” they asked, “Where are they?”  The question was a perfect transition, permitting U.S. military forces to hastily set-off, hunt down and vengefully attempt to kill. The same response could be utilized now, as terrorism strikes the heart of Mumbai; or, it could be the opposite.

This is a timely test for the spirituality of India. A history of non-violence has defined Her existence for thousands of years. Climaxing with the policies and code of King Ashoka (270 – 232 BC), who after taking personal responsibility for the slaughter of thousands of people through the greedy expansion of empire boundaries, had an epiphany on the battlefield and decided he would no longer allow innocent people to suffer from the ravages of war. The reign of his empire is defined through his spiritual awakening, and the resulting peace which he brought to all who lived within his territories.

His spiritual leadership along with many others has injected non-violence into the forefront of Indian beliefs. Millenniums of spiritual practice, discipline and prayer have brought to us Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. Her roots are planted in the idea of compassion, nonviolence and acceptance. The moment to test the pulse of Her people is now.

The terrorist attacks on Mumbai are a defining moment, and have the opportunity to be, as Obama’s election as president of the U.S., a man with a Muslim father from Kenya and a white mother from the Midwestern United States, a powerful symbol and shift of universal human consciousness. If India acts in a way that is congruent with Her history of nonviolence, she could begin to shift the paradigm around the world. She could easily begin to develop new strategies for keeping people safe that are not rooted in increased militarism. She could launch, not a shock and awe military assault, but a non-military tribunal of hearings of truth and reconciliation for people who were aversely affected from the attacks. She could vow to fight back with what M.K. Gandhi called, “Satyagraha (truth-force).”  This is how they expelled British Colonialism from the land, or what some Indians refer to as British Terrorism, without lifting a finger to violently fight back.

Because of India’s history, She is in a unique position to succeed at banishing terrorism without using a gun, tank, or bomb. She could bring out the humanity of those who died and those who killed them.

Conversely, as a reaction to the death of the Walmart employee, the U.S. could begin to station military police at Walmart locations on “Black Fridays,” and other major shopping holidays. It seems to be the likely reaction for next year’s shopping season. But it doesn’t have to be the only reaction, and especially wouldn’t be if we could find a way back into Pandora’s box. What we need today are new ways to deal with terrorism that are non-military responses.

Terrorists and shoppers will in many cases do anything to achieve the highest good. They are working towards achieving a goal, and often will not stop at anything until they get it.  The shoppers think that buying the newest toy for their child or family member is the highest good.  So imbibed with conviction they may even rip the last toy on the shelf out of another child’s hands so that they can buy it and give it to their child.

Consumerism is synonymous with exploitation. Although not directly seen, someone is exploited so that another can buy goods at cheap market rates. That worker at Walmart was surely exploited. He was exploited by peoples’ greed and lack of patience which caused them to not even see him or his reason for being there. Their eyes directed their feet straight to the sales, where they could locate video games, toy guns, t-shirts and camping gear. Their focus on what they were going to buy blinded them to the humanity of the one who was simply trying to open the door and let them in.

Let us not make the same mistake again. Let us unite as a world community behind India in these unfortunate times, and encourage Her to consider utilizing old, proven methods and ways to deal with terrorism, as surely the new ways are not working.