I've only been to Wal-Mart a handful of times in my life. The first time I remember was with my friend, Victoria, over March break for a shopping trip. I think I was twelve and we were hitting the mall the next day so we dropped into Wal-Mart for kicks.
I ended up buying a pretty white skirt and a t-shirt, regardless of the fact that I was still shopping in the kids section and I had to keep running back and forth to visit Victoria in the Womens'. I think I probably still owe my mom money from that excursion, but some things are best left forgotten.
Back then Victoria was so surprised I'd never been inside a Wal-Mart. To me, it was a place of wonder; whatever in the world you could ever need at a discount price. Since then, I've been disillusioned.
Wal-Mart is Evil (in a nutshell)
Regardless of the discounts at the checkout aisle, people actually do pay for those price cuts. There are many reasons Wal-Mart can afford to cut back prices. My argument is as follows:
a) Wal-Mart disrespects their workers.
WM pays employees minimum wage and does not supply health benefits. They also keep people from starting a union by trying to make sure the workers don't talk to each other on social terms.
b) Wal-Mart undervalues their customers' security
WM has the minimum amount of security precautions they can scrape by with. Multiple people have been robbed and assaulted in WM parking lots because of their lack of security cameras, etc.
c) Wal-Mart abuses the people who make their stuff.
The reason the stuff you find at WM is so inexpensive is because it was most likely assembled by an underpaid worker (possibly a child) in China or India or one of many other developing countries. The conditions these people work in are inhuman and incomprehensible, all so that we can buy a pair of jeans for $19.99 or whatever else you may find in WM.
d) Wal-Mart destroys local businesses with their discount rates.
This is pretty easy to understand. A WM can open up in a small town and make all the local family owned businesses obsolete. Who would go to a local camping store when you can get the same equipment for half the price at WM?
This is a pretty breif overview of information you can find in the documentary, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Prices. If you're looking for something to watch that's a little more breif I highly recommend The Story of Stuff. If you haven't seen this, it's something you must watch. I don't think I've ever learned more in 20 minutes. It's a great video.
I feel like I've gone on long enough so I'll save the questions for Thursday. Hope you all had a good weekend. I will answer the one that spurred this post which was Rena's:
Are you one of those people that dreams vividly or not?
On and off. Some nights I have very vivid dreams and some nights I can't remember dreaming about anything at all. I did have a dream the other night about a friend's dad who was throwing knives at me. Scary.
Q: What was the last movie you saw in theatres?
2 comments:
I've never been to a Wal-mart. WEIRD.
That's crazy, though. I knew they're somewhat unfairly treated but I didn't know that other stuff... D:
I've been to Wal-Mart a few times, mostly though we get clothes and stuff from Goodwill. They do actually have some quality stuff there, some things still have tags on them. Yes, most of that is probably from Target/Wal-Mort and the like, but they work to employ people with disabilities. That's good.
This is also a HUGE deal in "The City." (I realize all "the cities" are different, but MINE is Chicago.) They have one already there, (in a poor, largely black/hispanic neighborhood on the west side) and people want another one for the cheap stuff and whatnot, but the debate is exactly what you stated. EVIL, it is.
(Yoda, I am, why?)
Post a Comment