People of Walmart

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by jojapeach

We definitely heard the story here in Atlanta, but I was wondering how the man had a mugshot without one single scratch or bruise. Thanks for posting with that last sentence. Now it all makes sense - except the AJC later publishing an article where his neighbors kinda called him a harmless loner - who slaps 2 year olds.

And go Target! Great shopping experience and decent labor practices.

I saw it and heard about it too. I REALLY want to know what that guy's deal is. Who thinks they can go around slapping other people's kids? I was trying to figure out if he was actually mentally ill or just a huge attention sponge who wanted to end up on the news.

I will say that I'm constantly amazed at how little attention my generation seems to give to making sure their kids act right in public, but I don't go to Walmart for the awesomely relaxing atmosphere anyway. AND I'd never dream of slapping someone else's kid. Just craziness.

And I'll say it: I don't think Walmart is obligated to have great labor policies. I think a lot of people hate them simply because they've been really effective at keeping unions out. I don't think every shop needs to be a union shop. Sure, there are areas and accusations that they could clearly do better, but they also employ a lot of people who otherwise wouldn't have jobs at all.

I think it's fun to be smug and hate Walmart, but I think a lot of people just kind of jumped on the bandwagon and don't really give the labor practices of most business and industries any thought at all. (I don't mean the people in this thread or their well-informed colleagues obviously.) These other folks cruise though life believe that they are doing something meaningful avoiding Walmart in favor of Target while they continuing to frequent restaurants, nail salons, landscaping companies with illegal employees not even making minimum wage AND/OR pay zero attention to the labor conditions of the people making the products they buy.

I'm not saying that it's wrong to simply decide that it's better to spend money at people's employers rather than not spending money; I'm just saying that singling out one business for all your righteous indignation while blissfully ignoring others might not be quite as cool as you think.

[SWTXBelle]

I know that I am not able to make what I would consider socially responsible choices in my purchasing choices 100% of the time. However, that does not give me a pass not to consider the impact my spending might have. I hate Wal-Mart - I avoid them whenever I can, but sometimes I do have to shop there. I do also check the tags of my clothing, ask where the shrimp I might order comes from, and support small local businesses as much as possible. You do what you can.

And I think the www.peopleofwalmart.com site is hilarious. I don't see it as a "class" thing - I also enjoy www.gofugyourself.com, which you can see as a higher socioeconomic class "peopleofwalmart.com", if you will. Bad fashion choices know no boundaries.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I know that I am not able to make what I would consider socially responsible choices in my purchasing choices 100% of the time. However, that does not give me a pass not to consider the impact my spending might have. I hate Wal-Mart - I avoid them whenever I can, but sometimes I do have to shop there. I do also check the tags of my clothing, ask where the shrimp I might order comes from, and support small local businesses as much as possible. You do what you can.

And I think the www.peopleofwalmart.com site is hilarious. I don't see it as a "class" thing - I also enjoy www.gofugyourself.com, which you can see as a higher socioeconomic class "peopleofwalmart.com", if you will. Bad fashion choices know no boundaries.

I prefer to socially mock up the ladder, or at least those who seem to see themselves as up the ladder. Stuffwhitepeoplelike is my number one.

I don't want any pity creeping into my smug judgments.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

(I don't mean the people in this thread or their well-informed colleagues obviously.)

Obviously.

My friends/colleagues and I are all well-informed and I, in particular, try to uphold certain standards for the places where I choose to spend my money. "Superstores" that have been worshipped for all the services they provide and money they make definitely have an obligation to not lose sight of the law and "humanity" for the pursuit of capitalism and profit. The same goes for any company that has been investigated for unfair treatment of employees, violation of child labor laws, and employing illegal/undocumented immigrants.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

Obviously.

My friends/colleagues and I are all well-informed and I, in particular, try to uphold certain standards for the places where I choose to spend my money. "Superstores" that have been worshipped for all the services they provide and money they make definitely have an obligation to not lose sight of the law and "humanity" for the pursuit of capitalism and profit. The same goes for any company that has been investigated for unfair treatment of employees, violation of child labor laws, and employing illegal/undocumented immigrants.

Your standards are great for you, obviously. I try not to start my personal boycotts at the mere investigatory level. Unless I feel like I know what's really happened because of what I've seen, I like a higher standard of proof. And even then, I'm kind of casual about what matters in the moment when I shop.

I have a relative who works at Walmart. (I don't mean corporate exec; I mean regular ol' store employee.) He likes his job; it's presented him with opportunities that weren't easily available in the community where he lives. My feelings are mixed about the corporation.

I think hypocrisy drives everyone nuts, and Walmart is one of those areas where some people take a proud stand that they don't really live out in any other areas. Certainly, not all Walmart haters fall in that category.

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

I try not to start my personal boycotts at the mere investigatory level.

Neither do I. It took me 10 years to "stop" shopping at Walmart.

I go in there on the rare occasion that a family member wants to and I don't breakout into hives if I have to spend money there. It simply isn't a place that I like to shop and will choose to shop if I have a choice.

Originally Posted by UGAalum94

Unless I feel like I know what's really happened because of what I've seen, I like a higher standard of proof.

What we see personally is rarely the end-all and be-all. There is too much going on in our social world to always discount more general accounts simply because you haven't personally seen it.

On that note, I don't blast others for shopping at Walmart. Whatever is convenient and cost efficient for them. I was just responding in light of KSig's question to cheerfulgreek.

[UGAalum94]

Yeah, I don't limit my (attempts at) understanding of the world to just my personal experience, but someone can be investigated for something that he or she didn't actually do. That's all I meant.

On the one hand, there are so many places to shop most of the time, that you could go with a "where there's smoke, there's fire" kind of thinking. Or you could hold back with more of a golden rule kind of approach for the store employees since most of us wouldn't want an accusation or investigation of accusation to end our careers.

I think most of us are just trying to make good decisions about how we live most of the time. Sometimes shopping isn't a big reflection of overarching social philosophy.

[DrPhil]

And sometimes it is a reflection of social philosophy. Whatever's whatever.

Enough with the boring attempts at philosophical jargon, though.

LOL