There’s a new Walmart in town; 200,000 square feet in South Edmonton Common, a mega shopping complex. This is going to be an open 24 hour store.
I went to see this place. And no, Ann wasn’t there but I just had to put that picture up. (Speaking of her and really enough people already have, how is it possible that even the Republicans take her seriously? Are they that desperate for a little female attention? Isn’t it sad enough that there are so many stupid blonde jokes, now we’ll have insane cruel blond jokes as well. You know, Canadians for the most part like Americans but when we see something like Coulter we really have to wonder about a culture that allows her not only to exist but to flourish; nothing quite like her up here.)
But back to the Walmart. It is big. I don’t really know what 200,000 square feet means but it does kind of mean I won’t be back. I’ve already made a point of not shopping at Walmart, one of the few real lines I’ve drawn in my life, and this little excursion hasn’t made me feel that that is about to change.
What I saw was a lot of hefty folk. I had a vision and the vision was of a new Walmart promotion that kinda went “ if you are fat or just plan on becoming fat, we’re the store for you” or “we’re big, you’re big, let’s do it“.
I had another vision as well, not so much a vision as a revelation. It was about the Walmart job interview. Near the end of the successful interview the interviewer says “Well this all looks pretty good, just one more thing; could ya bend over?” “Bend over?” “Well, you will be doing a lot of that, so we better make sure that is a position you can maintain for an extended period of time” “You mean like this?” “Yeah, that’s good. Now would you mind dropping the trousers?; oh hold on, you better put on this nifty outfit first”. “Ok, good, now drop em and hold it”. And he turns around and says “ok, we’re ready I guess”. And a long line forms into the room. “Who are all these people?’ “Oh. that’s management, and then there’s the investors and shareholders, and then the customers.”
Through the window, the new Walmart employee sees a truck pulling up. The driver gets out and rolls up the door, stands back, then undoes his belt and drops his trousers, bends over and spreads his cheeks. The employee turns to the interviewer and asks “Supplier?” “Yeah”.
The Mind Travels 
That was… you know…
vivid.
I drew a similar line in regards to Wal-Mart. The few times I’ve gone there, I leave feeling ‘icky’.
I do sometimes waltz in surreptitiously to buy one of their very, very cheap, nice pillows.
So I guess I can’t take any moral high ground toward the discount store, since I’d sell my soul for a comfy rest.
A friend of mine lectured me on Wal-Mart the other day, and if only half of what he said was true, that corporation is doing much evil in this world.
Have you seen the documentary: The High Cost of Low Prices?
Pretty revealing. I’ve drawn a similar line about WalMart. In North America I avoided the store like the plague. In China, I will admit to darkening it’s door (cheese, butter, imported items.) In China, WalMart is not a discount store, more of a middleclass store. Here, the corporation doesn’t seem to devastate the economy of an entire city’s business district.
Haven’t seen the docu but I like the title and have ranted to others dismay no doubt about everything being too cheap and discounting being the downfall of our civilization. I did see some film about how they pressured a town to not only not levying any taxes on them for a few years but also to pay for a road to the store, and then they underpriced everyone in town until 90% of the businesses went under, and then because the store wasn’t doing well enough, they closed the doors and left town. The town left gutted and without any surviving tax base and a much higher level of unemployment than when they first arrived.
I often think that hell would be having to be one of those greeters. I love hearing about the German Walmart experience where the greeters were scorned (they do not go in for false greetings there) and would not allow them to discount below the actual cost of the goods (it was an actual law there). Don’t know what the latest in Germany is…will have to go look.