Another question the YARs are focusing on right now is the definition of evil. My knee jerk, immediate reaction to the question "what is evil" is "WALMART".
I have said in the past that I believe Walmart is the epitome of modern evil.
There are a lot of reasons to dislike this corporation- they don't pay their workers a fair wage or treat them well, they're homophobic, their stores are huge and terrifyingly seductive, they drive nice American businesses out of business, they're about as environmentally destructive as it's possible for a retail operation to be... I could go on and on. Perhaps the thing that bothers me the most is that all Walmart exists for is to create profit- the organization just doesn't care about anything else. It worries me to see so much economic power in the hands of people who will do anything, no matter how destructive to our interconnected world, to make money. And I feel like no one wants to stand up to them because... well, they sell things for cheap. My libertarian friends believe that if Walmart was really doing anything bad people would stop shopping there. My non-libertarian friends think that if Walmart was really doing anything bad the government would stop them. When I say I boycott Walmart, most everyone looks at me like I'm nuts.
Every time I buy something from Walmart, every time I step through that door, I feel like I've given up a piece of my soul. I feel dirty, and used, and ashamed.
I want to say Walmart is a subtle evil, since labeling a retail chain evil seems a bit extreme, but it doesn't seem particularly subtle to me.
I have a very Quaker idea of the nature of good and evil, after all. Good is listening to our inner light- doing what's right even when it's difficult or uncomfortable or unpopular. Good is about thinking deeply about the effects of what we do, paying attention to how things are connected and who benefits from any particular course of action... respecting the earth, honoring our fellow human beings, creating justice. Evil is giving in to what's easy, to power structures and economic pressures and what's socially acceptable. I don't think wealth is necessarily evil, but I don't think it's particularly noble... or worth giving up my values for.
You aren't crazy. My family hasn't shopped at Wal-Mart in years for the same reasons you mentioned above. When it comes down to it, the things I might buy at wal-mart (books, toys, make-up, etc) I would be able to buy the same exact brand at another store for a similar price. As for things that are "wal-mart brand" (for lack of better words) they really aren't that awesomely priced, and I could spend a tiny bit more and buy something that was honestly manufactured and sold, and something that will hold up properly. Win-win situation.
ReplyDeleteAs for the feeling dirty/ashamed bit...I totally agree. The first time I had bought anything at Wal-mart in about 5 years was when I ran out of toothpaste at Tweedale and that was the only store I could get a ride to buy more. I think that situation made me the most angry at Wal-Mart. I live in a big city where I have plenty of choices of where to spend my money, but in Oxford I didn't have much of a choice, and it makes me angry that Wal-mart can monopolize an area like that.
But that's all I have to say about that :)