March 3, 2012 Walmart and Adams

Walmart: "Save Money. Live Better"...After watching the film this week over Walmart, I find myself reading their quote and thinking," Yeahhhhhh Right." I know this is geared towards the consumers, but for the employees it seems as though it should be, "No money. Live worse." The whole time I was watching I felt like my eyes were widened in shock by everything that was being said about Walmart. My heart goes out to all the small business owners who lost their business because of Walmart, especially that cute old man that owned the hardware store and his wife that was ironing the clothes. I know it had to be heartbreaking to work so hard and be so successful for so many years, only to shut it down becuase Walmart moved into town. That's so sad and such a shame. They always say if you work hard you will be successful and be where you want to be in  life, but after hearing these stories of the small business owners it seems as though that may not be true. The comments made by those people about Walmart getting a grant or some kind of government funding but they were turned down just goes to show how shady our government can be. I mean, if these people have had a store open for so many years then obviously they have been successful and are doing something right. So why shouldn't they deserve to get help? I think they deserve it more than Walmart actually because nowadays Walmart has grown to be such a powerhouse that it's like they don't have to put forth any effort. They just pick a spot and set up shop then the money comes rolling in.

As much as i'd love to be the compassionate social worker and sensitive person that I should be, I know I can't lie to myself or ya'll and say that I won't ever go to Walmart again. I know that sounds really bad, but let's be real...I've been going to Walmart my whole life because that's the place that I can get whatever I need for low prices. I'm surely not agreeing with how they are functioning in society and what they do to their employees, but on the other hand, I still can't afford to shop anywhere else. So what should I do, ya know? Hopefully, one day there will be enough people who stand up for themselves and convince Walmart to fix their issues. Or perhaps the government will wisen up and step in. There's always hope.

Also, as social workers we should always try to see the good in others. In Walmart's case, I always think it's cute how they hire the elderly people to be door greeters or cashiers. I'm sure having a job makes them feel important and have a sense of purpose. I don't know, maybe i'm wrong. That's just something I thought about when I was thinking of Walmart.

So anyways, one comment I had to make about the reading that talked about upper/middle class women hiring lower class women in their households was that I think it's a shame. It's always sad to hear how women can oppress other women. We should be fighting for each other, not working against one another. It reminded me of the stories that my aunt would tell me. She said that she remembers when she was little that a black lady would always come over and help clean her grandmother's house. She also remembers that her grandma would keep a seperate coffee cup for that lady to drink out of and have coffee before she left. Luckily, her grandma was nice enough to let her sit down and have coffee after a long day of work. Alot of times the women who hire maids were really mean and insensitive to the them. The only thing that was wrong about her grandma's situation is that she felt the need to have a seperate cup for her because she was black. She wasn't doing it out of hate. That was just the mentality of people at that time, which is still present today. I still remember when I was little a black man knocked on our door and asked my mom for some water. My mom is nowhere near a mean or hateful person, but I remember she put it in a plastic cup and told him he could keep it. I just think that people continue to think and act in those ways because that's how everyone was brought up. I feel like I talked more about racism than classism, but then again that's just an issue that can affect every aspect of society. I feel as though classism is somewhat based on racism. They go hand in hand.




Here's an image just for you to look at and think about:

How come all the girls in the picture are white, but they decided to make the black girl look bigger and be the center of attention? Hmmm...