Believe it or not :-).
There's other issues being bandied about that cross, or blur, or don't completely understand, the line between the personal or the political. Schiavo is a current example of that--where some people who should know better have politicized what should be a personal issue--but there's more. And some of the others are far more subtle.
And one of them, that a lot of people around here don't get--is Walmart.
More after the flip.
I have posted previously that I'm a paycheck-to-paycheck person. We are
not poor, but we do bargain shop. There are three grocery store chains in Northeast MA and I shop at the least pleasant one--Market Basket--because they're considerably cheaper. I HATE the place, but I'm there every week. If I won the lottery tomorrow I'd be in Stop and Shop forever.
And I occasionally buy things at Walmart.
We're not going to argue here whether or not they really are cheaper, because if you maintain they aren't I'm going to disagree. Not for everything, no. But for lots of things, yes they absolutely are, and I do comparison shop and I work in retail. And it's not just the no-brand loss leaders either--I've previously posted that I went to buy an new TV for my bedroom with some Christmas money, and Walmart had a Magnavox (a name brand) for 110 bucks. The same TV was 20 more in Best Buy and 30 more in Circuit City. A lot of times, for name brand stuff, they are cheaper. I don't just blindly accept that--I look around. And nobody beats them on kids' clothes. Target comes close, but Walmart's still cheaper.
So, we're going to start from a premise that they're cheaper, overall, than their competitors.
So, how are you going to convince me not to shop there?
You're not. EVER. Period.
OK, I'm going to play devil's advocate just a little. Because I am more politically aware than the average Walmart shopper. But I'm going to speak from my non-politically-aware side here. And I think the average lower-middle-class paycheck-to-paycheck Walmart shopper would agree with this.
Walmart employees get paid shit? Who cares, so do I. Their health insurance sucks? Who cares, so does mine. The bosses treat the employees like shit? Who cares, so do mine. Nobody that lives paycheck-to-paycheck works a job anybody wants--we work the jobs we can get. We don't like them. Which gives us no sympathy for the downtrodden Walmart employee, because we're in the same boat.
So, tell me, again, why I should give up saving precious money to make a poltical point?
This is the disconnect: I do NOT NOT NOT decide where to shop based on poltical considerations, because I can't afford to do that. Shopping decisions are personal, especially when you're trying to save money. Shopping decisions only become political when saving money ceases to be the primary concern. Guess what? Saving money is the primary concern for a whole shitload of your fellow citizens.
Walmart bashing is 'limousine liberalism' at its most pointed. Don't get me wrong, I don't like Walmart. However, I like an empty wallet a whole hell of a lot less. And there are other personal reasons people might shop at Walmart--convenience being one of them. You want people working two jobs with limited time to drive all over holy creation to buy stuff to make a political point? Yeah, that's going to go over real well!
However, if you want to get political about it--alienating Walmart shoppers is so counterproductive I can't believe it. Jesus, folks, these are our natural allies--the working class! And bashing Walmart might make perfect sense to those of you who are looking at it from a highfalutin' poltical view--but it won't make sense to people who are shopping there for personal "It's cheaper" reasons. It makes you look like you're completely out of touch with the very people we want voting Democratic.
The bottom line is this--calls for boycotting Walmart will never work and will only alienate people that shop there. The way to deal with Walmart is above--on the government level. Regulating their relationships with their suppliers. Putting teeth back into fair labor laws. Mandating they supply health insurance (or going single-payer). Raising the minimum wage up to ten bucks or so.
There have been some places that have defeated Walmarts in their towns. However, I notice that these never seem to happen in Hardscrabble, Arkansas. They don't happen in Lynn, MA, a city of 100,000 near me that is poor and where the majority of people shopping in the Walmart there no habla ingles. To people in Lynn, Walmart is a fucking gift from heaven. You have to understand that.
So, those of you that have the financial wherewithal to make shopping decisions politically--congratulations. Now, realize that there are a whole LOT of people that don't. And Walmart is a symptom, not the disease. I've seen jokes that Walmart doesn't pay their people so they have to shop at Walmart. Well, I don't work at Walmart and I still have to shop there. You think Walmart invented low-paid retail employees? I've worked in retail long before there were any Walmarts in my area, and retail paid shitty back then too. Walmart gets the most attention because they're so big--but, let me tell you, Costco is an abberation. Walmart, at least around here, pays average for retail. None of us are getting rich.
If you want people to stop shopping at Walmart, they're going to need a personal, not a political, reason to do so. And I'm not sure there are any. Most people who have personal reasons to shop elsewhere already do. People who are shopping at Walmart are doing so for personal reasons. Poltical braying and calling for boycotts isn't ever going to change that.