Wal-Mart

My husband HATES Wal-Mart. He hates it because it has a negative impact on small businesses. He hates it because it squeezes the life out of the minimum wage workers it employs. He hates it because it tries to censor what movies, books, and music is sold in the store.

I also hate Wal-Mart, but it is for none of the reasons listed above. Alas, my reasoning is much simpler. I hate Wal-Mart, because it is a haven for white trash. It's like their mother ship is housed within the walls. It amazes me how many WT people I can find inside a Wal-Mart in the middle of the day. Nope, not on a Saturday, but on an actual work day--say, a Wednesday. They're in there with their five snotty nosed kids running amock, pulling shit off shelves, running into people with a basket, and when their kids actually HIT me, the parents look at me like I did something wrong. The people smell. They look like they haven't brushed their hair since 1982. Sometimes, they don't have on shoes. No, really. ADULTS, not kids. THEY DON'T HAVE ON SHOES.

They're everywhere you turn. You can't escape. Call me a snob. I don't care. But give me a city with a Target. You don't see people in a Target who are WT. I don't know why. I have never understood it. I go in a Target, and I see well groomed, well behaved people. Now, I'm not saying every person who shops at Wal-Mart is WT, or that every person who shops at Target isn't. But just for fun, go visit both on a Tuesday afternoon, and you can see for your self. On most days, with most people, this rings true.

I bet if I did a survey on why people shop at Wal-Mart, they'd say because it's cheaper. Actually, I know this is what they would say, because when I tell people I don't shop at Wal-Mart they look at me like I'm crazy, and say, "I get all of my groceries and health/beauty items at Wal-Mart, because it's so much cheaper."

Well, you know what? I'll spend that extra fucking quarter on a tube of toothpaste to shop with people who actually wear shoes when they go out in public. Thank you very much.

On the rare occasion I am forced to go to a Wal-Mart due to our corporate card usage agreements, I leave wanting to punch someone in the face. And I spend all the rest of the day thinking, "that damned Wal-Mart makes me mad."