Date: Sun, 11 Dec 2011 13:13:25 -0500
From: JG
Subject: WalMart
Lots of interesting points of view here….I’ll offer another:
I shop at Wal Mart and it doesn’t change what I see when I look in the mirror.
I shop there because they have the food and products and services that I need for me and my kids….and it’s what I can afford.
I’m faced with economic uncertainty and cash-flow irregularities daily/weekly/monthly as a result of the choice I made to own my own business (which doesn’t compete with Wal Mart). And I don’t / won’t apologize for pursuing that life/career path.
I’m working towards the American Dream…and I work my a$$ off in order to achieve it.
My primary responsibility in life right now is to my kids…to see that their needs are met…usually ahead of mine.
I work my a$$ off for them to have what they need ( and some of what they want) too.
Wal mart offers me a lot more bang for my buck than any other place I know of.
I’d like to be able to afford to buy all their food at the local farmer’s markets and co-ops.
I’d like to be able to afford to buy all their clothes and school supplies and toiletries at a ‘name brand’ store.
I’d like to be able to afford to buy the oil and tires and anti-freeze etc. that keep my vehicle running, so that I can take my kids to and from school and all the related activities, from a local auto shop.
I’d like to have a shopping experience that doesn’t involve ‘traffic’, or increase the threat of adverse environmental damage to the surrounding area, or take away from some other smaller, ‘local’, somehow more deserving merchant.
I’d like to be able to ‘vote with my wallet/feet etc.’ to send a message that ‘Made In USA’ is my preference.
I’d like to be as concerned about surrounding property values as others are, but it’s hard to explain that to my kids.
I’d like to be more concerned about how the businesses I patronize allocate their revenue, but again, my kids don’t really understand that.
But what my kids do understand is gratitude for what they do have, regardless of where their clothes etc. come from. They understand that no issue in life is ever ONLY one sided.
They know that they are loved, and as a result of that *I* sleep really well at night.
When I’m trying to figure out how I can stretch my last $50 or $70 so that I can feed my kids for another week, and still have enough gas to get them to school, none of the above items really factor into my decision making process.
It’s the (economic) reality that I live with every day.
And I’m pretty sure that it’s not Sam Walton’s fault that this country, and the economy, is in the shape that it’s in.
And to offer some perspective; I recycle, I was a bicycle commuter for years, I’m not a ‘conspicuous consumer’ (of anything), I live within my means, and when I say I put my kids 1st, it’s not just words, it’s what I actually do.
I’m no fan of ‘The Man’ in any form…whether it’s Uncle Wally, or Uncle Sam, or anybody in between.
I’m glad Wal Mart is coming to N.Chatham, and my kids will be too.