Frequent readers if this blog will note that I rarely veer off toward the sentimental.  However, this Thanksgiving weekend, two pieces of news made me stop in my tracks; one had an unfortunate familiarity to it and the other was absolutely appalling.

As the world knows, Muslim terrorists wreaked havoc in Mumbai, India.  Their wanton slaughter ought to be incomprehensible to any thinking person in the world.  That anyone can engage in such cold-blooded murder, claiming to be acting in the name of God is simply beyond understanding.  The actions of the past weekend ought to serve as a reminder – or wake-up call, as the case may be – that animals who act in such a manner are not to be negotiated with or thought of as “misunderstood,” “unfortunate” or even “underdogs,” regardless of with whom they have their beef.

Second, and somewhat less reported and definitely more appalling, was the death of Jdimytai Damour, a Wal-Mart temporary employee who was crushed to death at the store’s Green Acres Mall location on Long Island.  Customers, apparently tired of waiting for the store to open, became a teeming, seething mob, intent on beginning their holiday shopping come hell or high water.  The result was a literal stampede and the tragic death of the 34 year old.

While not premeditated like the animals who murdered, the stampede was no accident; it absolutely could have been avoided.

True, the two instances are hardly comparable, but their themes are certainly similar: people stop behaving like people and become animals.  In one instance, such animalistic behavior is the result of theological indoctrination and in the other, consumer desperation.  One has an all-too-familiar ring to it, the other is shocking and foreign for a developed nation.

What ought to be appalling to all, however, is what my anecdotal research has shown: when asked which is more likely to occur again, people unanimously point to the India slaughter.  It seems that such behavior is now viewed as less out-of-the-ordinary, almost expected.

Hopefully, the coming months will see a return to a sense of sanity at home and around the world.