formerly Diane's Addled Ramblings... the ramblings are still addled, just like before, and the URL is still the same...
it's just the title at the top of the page that's new

Friday, December 11, 2009

My Eyes! My Eyes!

I think I've probably mentioned how I don't shop at WalMart.

Correction: I won't shop at WalMart. Ever.

There are lots of reasons for my boycott (which has been in effect for about a dozen years now) and I won't go into grand detail, but you should know I call that wonderful corporation, 'The Evil Empire'. I hate everything about them, from the way they come into small communities and completely decimate the local retail markets; to the way they claim to bring jobs to depressed areas but then pay their employees so little and keep the vast majority at part-time (to avoid paying for benefits and insurance); I hate their employee relations practices; I hate how sub-standard their brand products are; I hate their sub-sub-standard service (which is understandable, given the appalling employee relations practices I mentioned before); I hate how they are striving to (and gloat publicly about), not compete fairly in a free market, but annihilate their competition by what I consider shady marketing practices; and I hate the way Americans flock to their stores in droves, just to save a few dollars, and in doing so, make an absolutely crap corporation even stronger. I am concerned, truly, that before too long, there will simply be nowhere else for a large number of Americans to shop. And if that happens? I will be pissed off.

OK, so I guess I did go into detail. Sorry. And if you happen to be a WalMart employee and you love your company and your job, well, I'm happy for you. But I can tell you that you won't change my mind about how I feel, so don't even try. I refuse to support the store in any way. My mother gets aggravated with me because I will spend $20 a week more in groceries (when I really cannot afford to do so) in order to avoid entering The Evil Empire (where she shops, mind you). But I don't care. I'd rather spend money I can't afford to spend than support a store I think should be run out of business. And that's fully my prerogative.

And? I found yet another reason not to shop at The Evil Empire last night. My friend Emmy posted something about a website on her Facebook page... a website I'd never heard of. So I had to go look. I have four words for you...

My eyes! My eyes!

I'm going to post the link below. Some of you may know about it already. Some of you will find it funny. Some of you will find it disgusting. Some of you, if you're like me, will be fascinated and horrified, sort of like when you pass a terrible car accident on the road... you don't want to look because you know what you're going to see will be gruesome, but you just can't help yourself. And, if you're like me, you'll need to wash your eyes out... with bleach... when you're finished looking.

To those non-Americans who might peruse the website I'm going to link, please, please, PLEASE do not assume that the majority of us are like this. We are not! Granted, there are more of us like this than I care to acknowledge... but I am certain it's not the majority. God, I hope it's not the majority! No, it's not the majority. Damn it.

OK, are you ready?

The website is People of Walmart... prepare yourself for what you are about to see...

Oh, and be sure to read the captions under the photos...

23 comments:

Lemmy Caution said...

Yes....visit that website every day. It is ALWAYS good for a reminder of how wonderful humanity can be. Ugh.

Michelle said...

Oh crap...my eyes are bleeding..

Jean said...

The saddest thing is that many of them show up in other public places... malls, gas stations, etc.
well, except for the old man in the tu-tu. Pretty sure he escaped from somewhere that needs improved security.

boneman said...

well, I've seen that, so didn't have to go look.
However, the last question...
you have the twenty extra bucks you can't afford.
I, on too many levels, don't ....
A fair amount of us don't
Maybe because the damage is done already...
But...the question is this: Do you buy ANY mass produced items? Because THAT, my dear, is the real destruction of artisans like me and so many others.

None the less, I hope you a Happy Holiday Season, gal, to you, your daughter, your dog, your otter
your duck, your park, your laughter
and to your good luck!
You're one of the positive ones no matter where you shop.

d=))

Debbie said...

oh my gosh..the pictures were hilarious!!! I am not a wal-mart fan either..so enjoyed your post and point of view..as always!:)

Diane said...

Boneman, I'm not talking about artisans necessarily... that's a different matter entirely. It would be difficult to live in this world without purchasing mass produced items. I'm talking about the decimation of local and smaller retailers (some of whom might sell artisan-produced items). I do buy local whenever I can. I do buy 'fairly traded' whenever I can. And I don't actually have that extra $20. Right now? I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul. But that's another story entirely.

But thanks for you well-wishes! Back atcha!

Maithri said...

Those pictures made my day! Love you beautiful one,

M

hebba said...

The thing about WalMart is...they advertise that they have lower prices, but if you actually compare your total bill at Walmart to other stores...they DON'T have lower prices. It will cost the same, or in some cases, more.

Last Xmas, I bought 4 games for my 3 neices and nephew... WalMart was $25.00 more than Toys R Us. Mother's day, I priced a book and DVD for my Mom...WalMart $14.00 more than Borders. And yeah -- their clothes won't last through more than 3 or 4 washes.

I'm with ya.

dianne said...

There are a lot of 'different' people in this world who don't necessarily conform to societies pre-determined model or normality but most but not all are still human...I don't understand this, do Walmart staff take pictures of these people then post them with these captions??
I support my local shopping centre by buying my groceries from an independant supermarket, my fruit and vegetables from a family owned business, any meats that I purchase from a family owned butchers and my bread, baked goods from a family owned bakery and my medicinal and prescription needs from family owned pharmacy...I don't want to lose these shops and see them squeezed out by the multi-nationals.
I do however shop occasionally at Woolworths and Big W which are a supermarket and a variety store, I try to avoid the supermarket as they are now bringing out all of their own 'name' brands and putting a lot of long standing independent suppliers of foods in this country out of business. I find the prices in the Woolworth supermarket to be more expensive than where I would normally shop and if I can't afford something, then I go without.
Good on you Diane for supporting small business owners. ♥

Diane said...

Dianne, from what I can gather, the photos are taken by anyone who sees a 'worthy' subject (and I assume most of the photographers are other shoppers) and sent to this independent website. It's the people who run the site who write the captions (which are usually pretty damned funny, in my opinion).

I do shop in some large chain stores simply because it's virtually impossible not to (Target is my department store of choice)... but I try to shop locally whenever possible.

dianne said...

Ok Diane I really didn't understand, I thought that Walmart might take these photos...and that would be discrimatory...well it still is but I guess I have to lighten up a bit and take things at face value and see the humour. :)

Target is my choice of store for clothes, though I do have some nice clothes that I have bought from big department stores and I am sure that I buy clothes that are mass produced, it's very difficult not to. ♥

Rachel Cotterill said...

Wal-Mart took over one of the large UK supermarket chains, but it's one I seldom visit (no store in my town anyway), so I don't really know if it's changed since that happened.

Zuzana said...

Great coat!;) But on the wrong person.;) Hehe.
We do not have WalMart and I never shopped in it while living in NC.;)
xo

Jenera said...

I hate Walmart too. With a passion. But I love that sight. Only because it is proof that some people should not breed.

J Cosmo Newbery said...

I haven't visited the website. I have a terrible fear that it may be the same as an evil email that I received some time ago that left me permanently mentally scarred.

Anonymous said...

Those pictures prove why most people go to Wal-Mart.....free entertainment on a Saturday night!

Pearl said...

Diane, you and I are in wild agreement about WalMart.

lisa's right, though -- the place has excellent entertainment value!

Pearl

Pauline said...

there but for the grace of birth and upbringing go I...

Beep said...

One of the few reasons to look forward to Peak Oil is that Walmart will shrivel up and die.

Emmy said...

Sorry :) The thing about a site like that is that you HAVE to share it to get it out of your own brain!

I have to admit that I do shop at Wal-Mart. I hate them as much as the next guy, but I'm just too poor and have shopped there too long so I know how much less things really are. I hate it and I know I should spend the extra money to buy from somewhere else but right now I just can't do it. Maybe when I'm in a better financial spot I'll be able to have a conscience again. I will say that I have seen at least three people while shopping there that if I could have stealthily took their picture I would have.

I'm a horrible person that way.

C Woods said...

You got me started on my Walmart rant:

First there was the lawsuit about women being passed over for promotions. Then Walmart was locking in night employees ---at best a show of distrust, at worst a safety hazard. Walmart was not giving those who worked at least 6 hours a lunch break. Soon someone found evidence of a corporate policy suggesting supervisors allow an employee to sign out for the day, and then asking if s/he could do just one little thing more, getting 10, 15, 30 minutes of extra work off the clock. Walmart demands lower and lower prices from their suppliers putting a few of them (Bobbie Brooks, for example) out of business. When they open a store in a new community, where there is, say, an existing shoe store, Walmart will undercut their competitor until it goes out of business. (They have hundreds of other stores nationwide that are making a profit, so they can afford to take a short-term loss.) As soon as the local store folds, prices on shoes go up.

Walmart claims that a high percentage of employees have health coverage. A few upper level people have company-provided health care. Most of the rest have coverage through a spouse, the Veterans Administration, or Medicaid, and many still have no health insurance at all so end up in emergency rooms ---thus we are getting low prices on goods, but we're paying taxes to cover their employees' Medicaid benefits and paying higher health care costs ourselves to cover those without.

Each little infraction doesn't seem too terrible, but together they create a mountain of distain for their employees.

What put me over the edge was an article about the richest 100 Americans. (This was a few years ago, so the stats are outdated.) Four members of the family that owns Walmart came in 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th. Each was worth more than $17 BILLION.

I figured that if each one of the four Waltons was only 20 years old and lived to be 100 and for 80 years was responsible for supporting 20 people, each one of those 20 people (80 if each of the four supported 20 people) would have more than $29,000 to spend every single day. (More if the $17 BILLION were invested and earned interest.)

And they can't afford to give their employees health care? Bull !!!

hooray said...

I boycotted Walmart about 10 years ago for the same reasons. We even study "the corporation" in my contemporary themes classes. It's ugly and evil. Also, Mansanto is ugly and evil. They have taken over the food supply. There is so much we are oblivious too, and it's our job to educate ourselves because we have a right to know!!!

everydaysies said...

I know this is an entire month later, but here's just one more reason for you to love the 'Evil Empire':
http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/h-m-and-wal-mart-destroy-and-trash-unsold-goods-562909/