Quote:
Originally Posted by
JeffDM 
In a way, it kind of is, just that the popular conception is a bit of an exaggeration.
That's a fun web site, at least it was when I read it. I was sad to cut it out of my feeds, but I had to axe several to save time.
It's not a fair sampling though, you'll see similar levels of weirdness if someone started People of Coffee Shops or any other iconic type establishment frequented by any particular demographic.
Jeff, I could not agree more. And yes, I do have a considerable axe to grind with everything Walmart stands for. I know that not everyone who works at Walmart (sorry Dick, I did not know) or shops at Walmart (sorry Dick, again I had no idea) is as portrayed in the "People" web site. And I am aware that my methods were not understood. Hell, even I don't understand them half the time. But I still feel if I can persuade just one person at a time to never shop there, then I have accomplished something.
I am still in shock that Apple has chosen to do business with them at all, but certainly understand the "lessor evil" argument that others have expressed from time to time.
There are two instances in my own life where family and friends have been irreparably harmed by Walmart strong-arming their way into their respective neighborhoods.
One family member committed suicide after losing their life-long grocery store in southern California, following the bankruptcy that was a direct result of Walmart coming to town. They simply could not compete on Walmart's level.
In the second case, in northern Nevada near the end of the decade, Walmart once again bullied their way into a long-established, staid and well maintained neighborhood. This, after a voter referendum passed attempting to prevent the new store. The city council ignored the measure, and Walmart won the day. Now that same neighborhood looks like hell. Or to put it another way, would YOU want one of their super stores located a block from the home you bought many years ago? Walmart had the means, the money, and the politicians in their corner. The homeowners did not.
Finally, has everyone forgotten so soon about how Walmart manipulates its workforce? Remember how they manipulate their employee hours so that they can never earn overtime, even when working overtime hours? Or how about conveniently distributing hours among the workforce so that oh-so-few of these employees qualify as "full-time" so they can never qualify for their admittedly crappy health plan?
Disgusting practices all.