[Vision2020] The Auntie Establishment and Brother Carl Show(March 5, 2006)

[g. crabtree]

Ms. Huskey, Thank you for your response. It was eloquent and your argument 
was laid out far better then mine. However, at a minimum, I must take 
exception to the following

 I choose to
> refrain from shopping at Wal-Mart because it is a singular case--a 
> retailer which dominates world markets to a larger extent than any other, 
> and which does so in ways which contribute significantly, if not 
> exclusively, to human suffering.

First I would like some clarification of your use of the word "exclusively." 
Wal-Mart sells a great many products. Not all of them come from China. 
Those that do come from China are not items exclusive to Wal-Mart. They are 
marketed by other retailers. How does "exclusively come into the picture? It 
seems odd that I didn't hear these same arguments put forward when the first 
Wal-Mart store was built. (to say nothing of Dollar Tree, practically all 
China, All the time) Now that they want to expand and sell groceries and 
petroleum products, neither of which are imported from China, the "human 
rights" polemic is trotted out. Seems more politically expedient than heart 
felt.

Secondly, We're back to the real crux of the issue. "I choose to refrain 
from shopping at Wal-Mart"  I understand and respect that but I would 
greatly prefer that your choices remain your own. I would never dream of 
insisting that you patronize a Wal-Mart store, I would hope that you would 
not deny others the opportunity.

G. Crabtree



----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Melynda Huskey" <melynda at moscow.com>
To: "g. crabtree" <jampot at adelphia.net>
Cc: <joekc at adelphia.net>; "Moscow Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Monday, March 06, 2006 9:49 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] The Auntie Establishment and Brother Carl 
Show(March 5, 2006)


> g. crabtree wrote:
>> Mr. Campbell, I agree with you that this must be fairly complicated  or 
>> perhaps I'm just not very bright. Please help me understand. To castigate 
>> Wal Mart because it sells items  that are made in China is good and 
>> noble. To turn around and reward Whatever Mart with your shopping dollar 
>> even though it sells the same items is no sin. This seems to me to not 
>> only be inconsistent, but hypocritical as well. To use your own analogy 
>> it would seem to me that you are saying, people who do not stop at the 
>> grade school crosswalk  are a danger and then you proceed to blithely 
>> race through every other crosswalk in town.
> I wonder if a better analogy might not be keeping to the speed limit? 
> Let's say I've decided to abide by the law and never again exceed the 
> speed limit.  I do my best to remain morally pure in this regard. 
> Unfortunately, I find that in certain situations, context requires me to 
> speed--city highway driving, for example.  Should I then decide that if I 
> can't always keep within the speed limit I should just forget about it, 
> speed whenever I want, and the hell with the consequences?
>
> I think the point you imply, that we live in a world where poor choices 
> abound, are even forced on us, and where nobody's skirts are clean, is 
> quite true.  Simply by virtue of living in the U.S., for example, you and 
> I benefit--whether we want to or not--from the historical and present-day 
> suffering and exploitation of a great many people.  There aren't easy ways 
> of abstracting ourselves from the moral dilemmas the world presents us 
> with.
>
> But must that imply that we can make *no* moral choices?  I choose to 
> refrain from shopping at Walmart because it is a singular case--a retailer 
> which dominates world markets to a larger extent than any other, and which 
> does so in ways which contribute significantly, if not exclusively, to 
> human suffering.  Walmart, to my mind, bears a larger burden, because it 
> shapes the economy of this country, and of others, in ways that very few 
> other corporations do.  Maybe my choice is largely symbolic.  It may even 
> be, as you assert, that it's hypocritical, since I can't avoid being 
> complicit in horrible things.  But if my choices are an hypocritical 
> attempt to oppose sweatshops or a cynical acquiescence in human suffering 
> for my apparent benefit, here's me preferring hypocrisy.
> Luckily, of course, those aren't the only two choices.
>
> Melynda Huskey
>
>