[Vision2020] Wal-Mart cause and effect

[keely emerinemix]

Umm, Jeff, you seem to have missed the point, and then another, in your 
post:

1.   The importance of the film's message is not subject to mass-market 
acceptance.  In other words, whether or not the film is a blockbuster 
doesn't matter.  I would hardly expect a documentary about the world's 
largest retailer to command the audience of the new Harry Potter movie, but 
I don't discount the worth of the former because it doesn't compete with the 
latter.  Unfortunately, the pain and suffering portrayed in the movies 
didn't involve special effects, car chases, wizardry and Angelina Jolie -- 
but I'm glad to be one of the folks who was able to sit through it 
nonetheless.

2.  The quotes you post on how much the movie sucks include defiant 
assertions that Wal-Mart is great because you can get pretty much everything 
you need in one place for less money.  If I, or you, or the spoiled American 
consumer were the point, that would indeed be germane.  But we're not, and 
it isn't.  The film expresses in a hard-hitting, heart-wrenching way the 
devastation wreaked upon people and communities because of the cherished 
belief that our convenience -- MY convenience -- is the only thing that 
matters.  Quotes from people who stubbornly cling to the belief that they 
are the measure of all things only prove the film's point.

I know that you and I view Wal-Mart differently, but I think your arguments 
are better made without references to links that illustrate points you 
probably would do better to avoid.

keely emerine mix




From: Jeff Harkins <jeffh at moscow.com>
To: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Wal-Mart cause and effect
Date: Sun, 20 Nov 2005 22:59:28 -0800

Try some peppermint tea - might calm you down a bit.  Vilified again - the 
days of gentile discourse are past I fear - I will opine to the 
"cutting-edge sarcasm" in another post.

Some have commented on the Walmart movie.  I haven't had a chance to see the 
flick, but I have browsed through the reviews of the "documentary".  Here is 
a link to one of the online based movie review sites - pointed to the 
reviews of "Walmart - The High Cost of Low Prices".  The movie is currently 
carrying a rating of 6.6/10 - not exactly a block buster yet.

If you scroll through the WalMart section, you will come across the blogs - 
fascinating stuff - here is a sample:


The title itself is ridiculous. The high cost of LOW price?!? are you 
kidding me?? This is like trying to convince someone of the low costs of 
HIGH price. If i'm getting this right, disgruntled former employees and 
competitors (figures) seem to be the prime sources of dirt on this business. 
People need to realize that employers don't pay the wages of their 
workers....consumers do. Admit it, all of you that support this are also 
supporting a tougher life on poor people for the benefit of the less 
competitive 'mom and pop' stores. Sometimes the little guy sucks at 
providing a good product at a good price and needs to cut his losses. That's 
america folks. Hard work and true grit. Besides if I were running a 
business, I'd feel pretty pathetic if the only way I could stay in business 
was to enact legislation to force other companies to not compete with me. 
>From the worker's point of view, who's a better employer? A small hardware 
store? Or a large one with many different departments? Keep in mind that you 
get paid depending on how much money the store makes. And to all you 
supporters of a living wage, you need to realize (which you would have if 
you worked a day in your life), that most workers don't stay at that minimum 
wage for long. If they're worth anything they get promoted quickly and move 
up the ranks, or they'll find another place to work that pays better. Its 
the lazy, pathetic ones that stay at the same wage and don't do anything. 
why would you want to give more money to someone who doesn't give a damn? 
Personally i'd abolish any mandatory wage.

God just thinking about this infuriates me. Do you people that support this 
movie (face it, its not a documentary no matter how hard you try) actually 
realize how awesome this company is?!?!? They have everything! in ONE STORE. 
Its all really cheap and so you get great deals plus they donated millions 
of dollars to Katrina Relief! And now you're attacking a company that's 
there to give you what you want at a lower price. are you NUTS? In fact, I 
might go there right now and purchase one of their 400 dollar laptops for 
christmas. Oh wait, its bad that laptops are so cheap, we don't want any 
poor people buying that stuff huh?

I hope this "documentary" makes less money than it cost to produce it. That 
would make my day.

Here is another example:

Amen, dude.
I'm stuck being a slave for Wal-Mart right now.
The only reason I'm even there is because I need the money.
Which almost isn't worth it cuz I get paid sh!t.
I just got a raise after my 90 day eval and I still ain't gettin' paid what 
I should be.
It's probably even worse for me because I'm stuck working in the back in 
unloading, which is NOT what I applied for when I put in the application.
I freakin' hate it.
The work isn't too bad, you get used to it, but I hate the fact that I'm 
back there busting my ass for this place so they can have their precious 
merchandise and I get paid crap for it.
We should be making more than the rest of the people that work their because 
they just stand around on the sales floor all night while we're all back 
there unloading their huge ass trucks for hours on end.
And I work with alot of ass holes too.
I work with ass holes bitches and one just really freakin' stupid guy who's 
been there for a few weeks and likes to act like he knows more than everyone 
else and tells you how to do your job.
I just wanna slap that guy.
We had one really cool manager who listened to you and would actually come 
back and help when it was really busy, but then he left to go manage another 
store and the chick they sent in his place is such a raging bitch.
She acts like she runs the whole store when she's only an assitant night 
manager, which means she walks around all night and doesn't do anything.
The other night we were still working on one of the trucks at 9 at night and 
she wanted everything taken out to the floor by 10.
Dream on, bitch.
This was my last resort job, too.
If nobody else hired me, then I had Wal-Mart to fall back on.
And lucky me I get stuck with it.
Sam Walton should be dug up and slapped cuz his stores *beep* suck!

Here is a short excerpt

This is a true disingenuous assertion. Wages are set by the market, not by 
Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart did not offer a better deal for its workers, then most 
of them would turn their resumes to the competition. What Wal-Mart aims at 
is the cadre of unskilled or elderly people, that will accept the lower 
wages because the other companies will NOT hire them.

Here is the link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0473107/

Enjoy!


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