People of Walmart

[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