Wal*Mart

Wal*Mart

"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of communities." - Sam Walton

Do Americans still shop to fill that void within them or did that phase of our culture pass? Who knows. What I do know is that I once dated a girl who liked Wal*Mart. Not that she actually ever shopped there. At least I don't think she did. I mean she was from Santa Cruz so I'm sure she's never actually been into one, but she liked Wal*Mart a great deal. Like the business model. How could you not on the stand point of making money.



Everything inside Wal*Mart is made somewhere else. Not in a good way, like a Swiss coffee maker or a Japanese kitchen knife or a French Press, but in a bad, everything here is cheap and disposable and made in China or worse way. So feel free to throw it out when it stops working in 6 months because it sure isn't worth repairing, and we have to keep those landfill people in business, just come buy another one to replace it, because hey it's cheap.

Sam Walton, the founder of Wal*Mart's original plan was to support the whole "Buy American" mentality. Ha, how'd that work out for you, Sam? Once he died his family abandoned the buy American policy and it led directly to their massive expansion in the 90's. Wal*Mart is where America's peasantry goes to shop for American flag-themed clothing and food. I mean, where else can you get your kids styling new clothes from?



Be herself? Yeah and have a bitching new wardrobe from Wal*mart.

What a lie. Like there has been any group of females that would accept someone wearing something bought from Wal*mart. They know that target or generic department store crap a mile away. We all know the cool girls only allow others who shop at Forever 21, American Apparel and maybe.. just maybe the GAP.

Maybe I got this whole view point wrong here. Maybe the girl I was dating had a point. Darn that evil corporation for stimulating the local economy by creating jobs in construction first, then later within the store itself for the retail workers! How dare people with low incomes and poor mobility be able to shop locally for things normally found in the bigger cities for cheaper prices, increasing their shopping power and allowing them to maybe save a bit of money somehow!

I cannot believe those scumsuckers would open "stores" in smalltown REAL AMERICA!

How dare they tap a market!

God, it's not like the communities themselves invite Wal*Mart in because they understand that poor people not having to SOMEHOW get to the nearest city to go shopping for a fucking book or new clothes is actually a good thing. I mean come now, I've lived in small town Florida when a Wal*Mart opened in my town; without them, I would have starved to death, because the "local community grocers" all charged twice what Wal*Mart was charging for food.

Yeah, they're a huge corporation, and I'm well aware that if a corporation were a person, it would be a psychopath. SO WHAT? Maybe Wal*Mart genuinely does good things for people in the communities in which it arises... but you know what, I can't say any of that because in the end of things, Wal*Mart is a shitty company. Even if you're able to get all your shopping done in one place.



You have to factor in other things. Maybe things like worker's rights. It wasn't Unions who killed the American dream. No sir, I'm in one.. so clearly I can't talk shit about them.. but god damn those union fees really add up.

I think you can see where I would like to cut my fingers off for typing all that above pro-Wal*Mart bullshit. While most people toss the claim that Wal*Mart is killing small main street style stores and destroying the unique America that we're all so used to saying they actually kill in small town U.S.A., I do think it's far worse. Those stores were never really safe to begin with anyway.

And anyone who says that with a Wal*Mart coming in, all that now open storefront space that is dirt cheap will gather the potential of getting totally rad antiques stores, ethnic gimmick food and neat-o bars in there. Stuff that Wal*Mart can't really give to you, I have this to point out about those;

totally rad antiques stores



ethnic gimmick food



neat-o bars



Even "quirky" downtown's with cheap rents are sanitized and white as hell. When I was in Florida and in Georgia I would go days without seeing another Mexican. Let alone a Mexican restaurant that wasn't completely gross. Don't get me started on Chinese food. It was only when I got back to L.A. and went down to Monterey Park did I get that itch of Chinese food out of the way.

I think we do need to welcome in the fact that there is absolutely nothing special about where most of you people live because chances are everywhere you are, it's only a matter of time before the same carbon copy strip mall pops up with the same best buy, the same hip clothing store and the same upscale, but still shitty restaurant pops up. And believe me, Cheesecake Factory is not anything special or unique.

All those quirky local businesses are neat, until you figure out that they turn over and fail all the time and the same landlord owns the entire block.



But what's even more troubling about Wal*Mart is how much of a cult it really is like. You may have heard this if you're ever in a Wal*Mart early enough;

Give me a W!
Give me an A!
Give me an L!
Give me a squiggly!
Give me an M!
Give me an A!
Give me an R!
Give me a T!

What's that spell?
Walmart!

Whose Walmart is it?
It's my Walmart!

Who's number one?
The customer! Always!

That’s the Walmart cheer!

You shouldn't be surprised if you hear your local Wal*Mart associate shouting that enthusiastically. One would expect a blood sacrifice after all that but it's just that the employees like to take it seriously - it's the one way they show pride in their company and how much they value their customers.

Either that or I bet the Kool-aid is just really dee-lish!



I also find it stupid that Wal*Mart still pays its American workers (unlike its Mexican workers) in real dollars rather than in Wal*Mart gift cards. The motto should be

Save Money. Live Better. Unless You Work For Us, Then Fuck You

People who work at Wal*Mart are paid terrible wages and have shit benefits and have to deal with Wal*Mart claiming that their anti-union polices are okay because "Associates don't need unions to represent them" and Wal-Mart has an "Open door policy" Not to mention that their employee discount doesn't apply to most of the food. That cherry FUCK YOU on top of that sundae is that they purposefully schedule employees to just under 40 hours in order to avoid giving them full time benefits.

But hey, why limit it to just poor people who can't get jobs anywhere else? It's not a common practice for Wal*Mart to treat high schools as training centers as you can see from the fine folks of Detroit trying to recruit some greeters.

The Detroit Public Schools have teamed up with Walmart Stores to provide job training and entry-level, afterschool jobs to students at four high schools.

The training program was kicked off today at assemblies held at Frederick Douglass Academy for Young Men and at Western International High.

Detroit International Academy for Women and Henry Ford High will also participate.

Students will get 11 weeks of job-readiness training during the school day and 10 high school credits for the class and work experience.

Sean Vann, principal at Douglass, said 30 students at that school will get jobs at Walmart. He said the program will allow students an opportunity to earn money and to be exposed to people from different cultures - since all of the stores are in the suburbs.

Donna Stern, a national coordinator for the activist group known as BAMN, attended the assembly at Douglass and objected to the program.

“They’re going to train students to be subservient workers,” she said. “This is not why parents send them to school, to learn how to work for Walmart.”

The scary thing here is that not one Wal*Mart is in the city limits of Detroit. The closest one being in Warren, which is a fair distance away. But you see, Detroit is currently living through 50% unemployment.. due to other companies outsourcing their manufacturer jobs overseas. So people desperate for any kind of job, even minimum wage slave labor, are more than willing to make a deal with Satan.



I don't think this is what they meant by career pathways in the curriculum development department. But hey, at least conservatives are enjoying the idea of using high school as a way to train children to enter the unskilled workforce. I once heard a radio host mention that he expects a return on his investment in public schools. That's right kids, Aim low. Really, really low.

Here's a protifp if you're not making enough at your job. Wal*Mart is such a huge company, if you steal something worth less than $25, they wont bother calling the cops in and prosecuting you, they'll just ban you from their stores forever. Hint Hint.



It's not like you're not owed this. Want some justification for such behavior? Wal*Mart is actually costing Taxpayers millions in the form of Medicare and Medicaid benefits paid to employees since they don't pay their workers enough, or cover health care costs.

Back to the subject of quality of goods. Most goods in Wal*Mart that are available elsewhere are manufactured in two grades, one cheaper and Wal*Mart bound, one more expensive and everywhere else bound.

Take two black and decker power drills of the exact same model number. One from a home improvement store and one from Wal*Mart. The Wal*Mart one will be about 20% cheaper and will be a physically different unit from the other one, more cheaply made with lower profit margin.



This is the only way that many manufacturers can stay alive, by complying with Wal*Mart's demand for tons of shitty products while still somewhat keeping a shred of their own build integrity intact for some of their products so their reputation and mindshare doesn't go down the drain.

I mean, why buy a $90 ratchet that will continue to work long after you die when you can buy a $10 one that will break in a year. Do you see how this short sightedness comes into play when it comes to Wal*Mart in general?



But hey, at least Wal*Mart respects the history to a place, right? It's not like they tried to build over a priceless archaeological treasure that can never be replaced if damaged, right? Oh wait, they did.. and they succeeded.

Wal*Mart built a store on the site of Teotihuacan, an ancient classic Meosamerican city, and basically the inspiration for every civilization that followed it. Easily the 1st or 2nd most important site in central & north America. The city is literally miles across so it's not like the whole thing is now a parking lot, but there's pretty much a 100% chance they built over some temples or house or graves or something.



You know what happens when a Wal*Mart does close? And believe me, many of them have because of the economy or they just expanded too fast in one area that couldn't maintain it. Those shells of a building are hard to rent out or use for anything else because they are too big. Most of them just turn into a church or a community center. Many of which just sit there to be urban exploration down the line.

Finally the last piece of Wal*Mart news that just scares the hell out of me is that Wal*Mart has been trying to set up a consumer banking division for years and they were just about to launch one when the financial crisis hit. Not to mention that they had some problems with the FDIC and state licensing. But still it's only a matter of time though, as soon as the right legislators are in office they'll try again and the people will rejoice.

WWJB?

WWJB?

Thus far it has been a very merry NPH Christmas as the last 7 gifts that I bought for people have included Neil Patrick Harris. Seasons of How I Met Your Mother from the studio store, Dr. Horrible, Assassins Broadway soundtrack... it seems that Neil Patrick Harris is a major part of this Holiday season.

I also have a little wrist strap that says WWNPHD? I'm pretty sure that the answer would be be awesome.. or sing show tunes.. either one, really. But in that same vain, Morgan Spurlock has produced another documentary that sort of makes you roll your eyes called WHAT WOULD JESUS BUY? and it brings back those bad memories of why I can't fully support Spurlock's rational. Not because of the question asked but how the question is addressed. I thought the premise of Super Size Me was great.



It is a little alarming that so many people rely heavily on fast food places like McDonalds or Burger King as the main method to cook. Have it because you don't have time to shop for food, cook said food or sit down and eat it. The over consumption of unhealthy fast food is a great item to focus on. But where Spurlock failed was in the execution of his example. Of course eating McDonalds three times a day will destroy your health and it's not very practical and allows people to simply discredit the whole project by saying exactly that "Well, duh. No one eats McDonalds three times a day!"

So anyway, never mind my rant (as much) here's the trailer for his latest documentary piece; What Would Jesus Buy?



So What Would Jesus Buy? The Answer? Nothing. It's his birthday, duh. The question should be what he would be asking for... I think maybe a nail removal tool. Certainly not a snuggie or a freedom try....

3/4th of us look towards Christmas with dread instead of anticipation. For example, I just got an e-mail from Amazon telling me that today is the last day to buy something and be sure to get it to the person of receiving by the 24th. This sort of threat seems to... I dunno, make me feel like this whole consumerism thing is bad.

But then again.. I already knew that.



Which lead me to this little moment of clarity about what I usually talk about. Then had the biggest fffffffffffffuck moment possible. Because for as on top of my game that I believed I was in terms of finding those cracks and obvious contradictions in modern day society and being observant of them, I just was blind sighted by the fact that I fell for the oldest trick. In believing that the only way to show my love is by buying it through gifts. Using material goods as a symbol of love. Which is exactly what the marketing people want us to believe.

It really is a shame that I come to this moment of clarity now so close to Christmas and after I got a fair amount of gifts for my girlfriend. A girlfriend who I should very well damn know doesn't need gifts to see that I care for her. At least now I don't have to do any shopping on Christmas Eve for those family members, right? I seem to go out every year on that day for one last thing that I never realize that I needed to get. Mostly it's people watching.



But then it got me thinking about this whole gift giving idea behind Christmas. You know, how parents go out of their way to hide the fact that they bought the gifts by creating this story of Santa bringing them what they wanted in exchange for good behavior like some jail house warden.

I know what you're asking me. Am I going to be one of those assholes who tells his four year old child that Santa Claus is a lie and that the sooner they learn that, the happier they'll be? Considering it's mainly a tool to control the behavior of a child, I really don't see it as a product means to develop a relationship with your kid based on a lie. It doesn't set a good example to teach them not to lie by also creating a lie in itself.

First off, me even talking about a potential child is... pretty scary. If you asked me two years ago, I would have given you a stern "Not gonna bring someone into this hell we call earth is what I'm going to do. It's all just going to get worse!" even though I still blog about how things are getting worse, imagine me with a more dead set no-children mentality.



So me now.. even thinking this is something surprisingly new. I do have to wonder why I would even bother lying to them. Maybe I wont lie to them, Perhaps my offspring will be mentally equipped to identify the fact that the Santa Claus myth is bereft of truth value and they'll be able to do it themselves.

The early pattern of believing in something false and then finding out the truth through use of their own faculties is actually very healthy and will help children in the later years to examine the culturally established norm of "god" and then reject it on their own. See, I'll be raising my own little atheist! How else are they going to throw off the shackles of such a simple control mechanism over them?



Then again, I hope God does exist so that everyone will find out how little he cares about religious dogma. Just as Santa Claus doesn't give a crap about your letters. I'm guessing my kids will thank me later for not having their innocence. Maybe I can tell them sometimes grown ups just make up things for fun.... But fuck it, I'm more than likely going to just tell them that it's a folk lore and a old stories. There's really no harm in that.. the simple truth. Yeah who'd want presents from their loving family when they can have them from an immortal magician who spies on you?

So that's why I like the general idea of this documentary. How about we actually enjoy the holidays with friends and loved ones and ignore the idea of what we're going to buy each other. Still doesn't change the fact that I already fell for the marketing machines.. but still. So while I'm liking the message, I have to say, this film really did a piss poor job in getting it out there.



I have to say, I like his message about the consumerist part of things, but he loses me with some of the anti-wal-mart type of stuff. While I give respect to the guy for how he is taking this type of a performance art to a whole new level, I just can't get behind the whole Jesus stuff. Then that last part with him getting arrested in Disneyland was just silly.

In the film they go after Wal*Mart for a good 20-30 minutes and it seems like it doesn't need to be tossed into this film. Stick to the basic message that, if you are religious, what's the purpose of buying things to celebrate this? You don't have to be a Christian to realize that during this winter solstice, it's more to the point of being near one another since it can be an awfully lonely time of the year, than what you got each other.

Is this what they mean by the Christmas Holiday Spirit? Cause.. I dunno. I think I just feel foolish that I let the idea get into my mind on what I need to do in order to show people I care.

buying counterfit luxury goods is the most revolutionary thing

This Holiday Season Buy Counterfeit Goods - It's The Most Revolutionary Thing You Can Do

Those of you who roll in high society consumer circles such as myself will immediately recognize this branding as Louis Vuitton, a luxury goods manufacture whose bags cost thousands of dollars. Let's not even get into the realm of the fact that paying thousands of dollars for handbags is the worst thing. We'll go past that little fact and let's just take a look at the bag in question;



I submit that the most subversive thing any of the proletariat can do is to adopt this brand, which symbolizes wealthy excess, as their own. By embracing that which those above your means hold close as the



Here is a vehicle of a the proletariat, a 1991 Chevrolet Cutlass, clad in Louis Vuitton branding. By adopting the branding of a luxury goods manufacturer, you are destroying its image. Simultaneously, since most of these counterfeit goods are made in third world factories, you are supporting local economies of starving workers.

Next Subject: Burberry



Blurberry is a clother of English and global high society. Their instantaneously recognizable "burberry check"(seen above) used to be synonymous with wealth and taste. They spend millions of dollars to achieve this brand identity. However, it has been subverted by the English proletariat as seen here:





This has resulted in a decline of Burberry's brand identity, and was so successful that bruberry no longer uses its signature check prominently on the outside of clothes.

This should be a lesson to everyone. You don't need to steal it directly from the store in order to stick it to the man. You are more than likely going to get arrested for the shop lifting anyway. Poors risking jail time for luxury products would probably only serve to increase the perceived value of said product.

Since these goods are valued for their exclusivity, any attack on that exclusivity hurts the brand in general. Just take a look at Dolce & Gabbana. I'm sure that once Bruno started prancing around with the product degrading the products perceived value to all those upper crust folks, the amount of people buying into said marketing is going to decrease as they don't want to be related to Bruno.



But perhaps that leads to a new question. That knockoff D&G glasses the Jamaican dude at the mall kiosk is selling may not be the bullet to the big corporations. I guess that it's the gaggle of fat uggos that rolled up to the club decked out in D&G ruins the product as a center piece in terms of product images.

The knockoffs in the fashion industry create a churning effect that benefits the luxury designers at the apex of the totem pole; after a new line of luxury fashion is released, the later proliferation of knockoffs make rich consumers want to buy the next line as soon as it available in order to refresh their elite consumerist image. While this lines the pockets of the companies, I guess it does make those seeking elitism poorer and eventually knocking them down to buying knockoffs to maintain such an image.



On one hand the attempt to undermine the system actually sustains it.. But then again, we're talking about the fashion industry here. Fashion used to be one thing but now it's only representative of how much money you're prepared to spend on an image.

The odd thing about a lot of knockoffs is that some of them are made in the same factories as the real things by the same people. Which makes you realize that the only way to really live is by buying fair trade or buying used in order to maintain some ethical high ground.

In conclusion, if you don't wear or buy conterfeit luxury goods such as Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Rolex, Coach, Burberry, Dolce&Gabbana, etc. then you're not doing your part to both bankrupt elitist trying to maintain their status and bring shame to the name of those obituary popular brand names. Think about that while you're doing your out there shopping for presents.