The other day I saw an episode of Showtime’s popular show “BS”. This particular episode took a closer look at all the fuss from certain folks in our society that have a deep hatred for Wal-Mart. While this show has its share of tongue in cheek humor, it does a pretty good job bringing attention to the pure crap behind many of the topics that we as a society deem important.
What really got me with this particular episode was a part where a young couple who were anti-Wal-mart activists who sold t-shirts expressing their point of view. The one shirt that really got me fired up featured a depiction of a smiley face dressed in a baseball cap with a few missing teeth. The other image was of a big smiley face surrounded by a bunch of smaller smiley faces. One of the creators of this shirt said that this was supposed to be a “Mamma with her many kids in tow”. The headline of this shirt said something to the effect that these are what your typical Wal-mart shoppers look like. Penn Jillette (one of the hosts of this show) apparently had enough as he launched into a full rant of expletives over this couple.
This reminded me of situation a few years ago my wife and I experienced in the Denver, CO area.
We were out looking for apartments and stumbled across one that was really caught our attention. From the ad in our apartment guide it was only a few years old and most important, it was within a short walking distance from Wal-mart. After turning a couple of short corners we pulled into the “Welcome home” parking spot of this apartment complex and walked right into the main office where we were met by a very friendly representative. After seeing some of the pictures of the units in the lobby, we decided to actually see a few of the available units. With kids in tow we loaded onto the golf cart that had shinny gold rims (I can still see them in my mind) and took off. As the representative was telling us about the area, the tone of his voice slowly turned bitter as he talked about how he despised the fact that a Wal-mart was nearby. He said that he did not like the store because “…that is the place where all the undesirables shop” (You know how you ‘thought’ you heard somebody say something but you just was not 100% sure? For me that is when I give my wife a look that tells her that if he said what I think he said, I’m ’bout to go off—She has saved me from several misunderstandings 
) . Unfortunately, my ears were not deceiving me because this same individual who earlier was inviting us to his church had just insulted my wife and I without knowing it. The vibe that I was getting from the property was telling me that many of the folks that lived in the complex was White (the high rent also suggested this) while the surrounding area was a mixture of lower class Hispanics, Whites and some Blacks. Needless to say we did not need to see any more available units.
I think what really annoys me to no end is how many within the anti-Wal-mart crowd have no problem insulting the folks they claim to speak for: the poor and the middle class. While many of these activist are bellyaching about the need for unions and higher pay, Wal-mart stores all across the nation (and world for that matter) have no problem finding shoppers and folks who want to work for them.
But they know better.
The City Council in South Side Chicago recently blocked Wal-Mart from moving in, fearing it would put small retailers out of business. Wal-Mart responded by opening a store just outside city limits in Evergreen Park. (Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott said in a speech a few days ago that 25,000 people applied for 325 jobs at that store.) (source)
Go to just about any Wal-mart store on just about any day of the week and you see folks of just about all races and most economic levels do what we all do: shop for the best prices that fit our budget. While many of these activists have been pounding the pavement for these “poor, misinformed” souls who work for Wal-mart, I have yet to see or hear of any of THEIR favorite stores like Gelsons or Whole Foods opening up shop in a mostly low-income area while selling food and products at affordable prices. And while other grocery do have a presence in these areas, many cannot compete with Wal-mart on price partly because of union demands (dues and bureaucratic guidelines) that places certain limits on price flexibility. You can make fun of the blue vest and the elderly (and sometimes peculiar) greeters all you want, but a job is a job. If you do not like Wal-mart, don’t shop there. In the meantime, leave all of us “undesirables” alone.
From the same article quoted earlier:
Democrats have a valid point in arguing that the middle-class family is stressed. But they will not win new votes by reaffirming their old stereotype as the anti-business party or by telling people who are barely scrapping by not to shop at Wal-Mart. A mother with a minimum-wage job is not going to pay $7.99 for a shirt for her second-grader when she can buy the same shirt for $3 at Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart is not the best employer in America, and it may well be one factor contributing to the demise of small-downtown America. But the problems of the middle-class, the working poor and the uninsured are far deeper than Wal-Mart’s employment policies.
Wal-Mart claims it saves the average family shopping at its stores $2,300 a year. Biden, Bayh, Richardson and Vilsack need to get off the bus and do the math. If 127 million people each week feel Wal-Mart makes their life better, how many of them will run to the polls to support a candidate who shakes his fist at their beloved Supercenter? (source)
