Consumerist
A 70-year old Wal-Mart worker beat a 81-year-old fellow employee with a pricegun inside a Florida Wal-Mart.
Dennis O'Brien and John Esposito began arguing Sunday and O'Brien swung at Esposito with the tool in his right hand. Authorities say Esposito suffered a swollen left eye and cuts on his nose and mouth. Esposito said both he and O'Brien worked at Wal-Mart. He would not discuss the nature of their argument. The report says O'Brien told a sheriff's deputy he acted in self-defense, but security tape showed O'Brien raising his hand first, striking Esposito in the face and then pushing him to the ground. Officials booked O'Brien into the Palm Beach County Jail on aggravated battery charges.Since they were both employees it couldn't have been about a receipt check, so I'm really at a loss as to what they could be arguing over.
Elderly Man Attacks Man with Pricing Gun at Wal-Mart [AP] (Thanks to Justin!)
Comments
Since it is Florida, the headline shoulda been 'Young Wal-Mart man attacks middle aged Wal-Mart man'.
I've seen those price guns that Wal-Mart uses (they call them Tazons), you could do some pretty hefty damage with one thanks to the heavy battery inside.
Was Ann-Margaret or Sophia Loren around?
Oh man, this is just so wrong...
What kind of country is it when the elderly are forced to work?
@mastmaker: That is funnier than anything I was going to post. Good job sir.
Lower prices. Always.
OR ELSE!
"I've got the lower prices!"
"No I do!"
"No, I HAVE them"
*SMACK* *SMACK*
The Wal-Mart mentality gone too far.
It's one thing to continue working as an older person in a job you love, but this story is just sad on numerous levels.
@mduser: It's Telzon... that's the brand name for them. The new ones are technically "Geminis" (again, brand name), but still get called Telzons.
@Angryrider:
"Oh man, this is just so wrong...
What kind of country is it when the elderly are forced to work?"
"No Country for Old Men"
"Don't price me man!"
@Angryrider:
A country that doesn't take half my paycheck, that's what.
//Yes, I am putting money into my 401k.
//Some old people feel useless if they don't work.
I think it's wrong to make old people fight in an arena just for our amusement.
I bet esposito was sleeping with o'brien's woman.
@Angryrider: a country with a negative savings rate?
@A.W.E.S.O.M.-O: Amusement? This is a little-known policy according to which only the winner is allowed to clock his hours.
Tomorrow, two women from housewares will be battling with shivs made from plastic hangers for a benefits package.
As Morrissey sings in the Smiths' song "Barbarism Begins at home"
Unruly boys
who will not grow up
must be taken in hand
Unruly girls
who will not settle down
they must be taken in hand
A crack on the head
is what you get for not asking
and a crack on the head
is what you get for asking
During Christmas at a "upscale" Wal-Mart in Texas I witnessed a young heavily tatooed hispanic man helping a short line of people (myself included) looking up stock levels at other locations when some old white guy (60 plus) came over snatched out of his hand and starting yelling at the young man about taking the thing out of his department. There was a minor tussle while the young guy says he is trying to help these people and the machine wasn't being used by the old guy's department. Basically a little turf war was happening. The old guy just took it and walked off with the 3 or 4 customers standing there. The young guy shrugged and said sorry...and the group just dissipated is stunned silience.
I know the finding someone to actually help is generally hard to believe, but this is a high profile pilot/concept store so it was staffed, but still had an asshat working there. I am guessing that the little machinces are limited by department and a sound ass-kicking is the official policy for moving them across departmental line.
@discounteggroll: I think you meant: "Don't Telzon me bro!"
@KyleOrton: Ah, that's smart. That way you can weed out the people who don't really want to work there and morale must be very high as a result.
Hey people disagree. Even old people. I don't see why it has to be blown out of proportion here, guys.
Maybe one's a Green Bay fan and the other a Bears Fan. People fight sometimes, despite our wishes that they don't. It's not a headline story, sorry.
@CaptRavis: What classifies an "upscale" Wal-Mart? That's like saying you went to a "sophisticated" greased pig chase.
@mastmaker: 1st post and you are the winner.
I hate to admit this, but the title made think of Cartman yelling "OLD DUDE FIGHT!!!" a la South Park's Jimmy and Timmy's re-enactment of the fight from the awesomeness that is They Live.
@Bay State Darren:
"Attention WalMart shoppers: Geriatric fight - aisle 13. Aisle 13 - geriatric fight."
Probably going out for a smoke and the greeter asked for a receipt
@ediebeale: :) Didn't catch that...
"FILL YOUR HANDS!"
"Back off, Dude...I'll mark you down where you stand!"
I expected some "pew-pew-ing" :(!
@ediebeale:
[www.usatoday.com]
Apparently they have flowers in the bathrooms, free store-wide wifi, hardwood flooring, no guns for sale, an espresso bar, and $500 bottles of wine.
@hi: Don't discount me man!
or
Feel the Price Drop!!
@ediebeale
As I said it is a 'concept' store in wealthy neighborhood.
Generally filled with maids, nannys and lawnscapers.
___
Go across the street to Target and check out some of the best looking soccer moms plastic surgery can buy. (No less than 10 different plastic surgery centers in a one mile radius)
Thanks for the link to USA Today
@LUV2CattleCall
The Price Wars have begun.
@rwakelan: Oops, you're right, my bad.
God I hate living in palm beach county.
I can't believe that nobody's asked how much the employee was supposed to be priced at yet!
Fight Club 1958
That's what you get for dealing with Comcast.
That's what you get for dealing with Comcast
@Sucko-T: Thank you, that was an excellent laugh :D
I have it on good authority that they were having an Oreo eating contest. Esposito hogged all of the milk, so O'Brien clocked him with the price gun.
Nice pic, Justin! Way to capture the moment!
@Sucko-T:
I think you meant to say,
"Begun, the Price Wars have."
Love,
Yoda
@mastmaker:
No more calls we have a winner.
Why is an 81 year old working? Why isn't he retired?
Oh yeah...it's Florida. Home of the over-worked, under-pensioned, senior poor people.
There's also young poor people.
And lots of middle-aged poor people.
@CaptRavis: Yeah, I dunno, it'd take a lot more than nice bathrooms and no guns to make me classify a Wal-Mart as classy. I guess everything's relative.
@Angryrider: The kind where "We're Spending Our Grandchildren's Inheritance" bumper stickers were once all the rage. If America had managed to win a resource war in the last few decades, then things might not be so messed up that people older than John McCain are in Wal-Mart. So it goes. The 2010s will be a pip.
@Angryrider: Who said they were forced to work?
If you retire at 65, you might be pretty bored in a couple of years. A lot of elderly get jobs like this just to have something to do. Especially if they have one of those old-fashioned WORK ETHICS where they feel like accomplishing something with their time.
I realize that kind of attitude is long out of style tho.
This is what I've been telling you! We NEED stricter price gun control!
Price Guns don't kill people. Geriatrics kill people.
@unklegwar: I agree. Not that I'm thinking of retiring, but without a job, I'd probably drive my wife crazy being home all day.
As a firearm instructor once said:
Don't pull a gun, unless you are willing to pay the price.
Thank you, I'm here all week.
And you guys just happened to have a picture of a blood-spattering price gun lying around?
Ready for anything, aren't you? That Flickr pool must be good!