I watched this last night and second the recommendation that Jennifer gave. Its pretty informative, although I was annoyed at how emotional they tried to make it. I like a little heartstring tugging, but I feel like they did it way to much.
There was some good info about China in there. That was probably my favorite part. They touched on Ma and Pa shops closing, the environment (mostly water quality), and then China and the factory workers there. That part was the most informative for me.
I was amazed at how hypocritical Wal-Marts advertisements and commercials were and are. And even more shocking than that is their relentless attempts at squandering union activity. They are ruthless.
I always "knew" that Wal-Mart was less than an ideal place to shop, but I guess I never really had a solid backing as to why it was so bad. You hear a lot about the employee treatment and low wages, but there is A LOT more too it that I was unaware of.
So, of course, I would like to refrain as much as possible (preferably completely) from shopping at WalMart. But heres my dilemma: Where do I stop? Wal-Mart is by far the "worst" of all giant retail stores, but other places use similar business practices, just on a smaller scale. I recently heard that Target, my beloved Target, contributes millions and millions of dollars to Republican campaigning, and were, and probably are, huge Bush supporters. These political ties don't align well at all with Nate and I's political beliefs (the few we have, lol), but do we stop shopping there because they support something that we don't? On the other hand, when that "something" that they financially support, is "something" that effects my children's life and future, then why should I continue to financially support them with my purchases? And like I said above, Where do I stop?
For now, Wal-Mart is out. Forever? I don't know. But for now, out. This is about baby steps anyway. I know a lot of you didn't really like Wal-Mart, I have heard most of you mention that, but I recommend seeing the documentary anyway.
PS. No offense to Bush supporters! He's just not my "cup of tea" :)
2 comments:
I want to see it sometime. The appealing to emotions part of documentaries bug me too; that's what annoyed me about An Inconvenient Truth. But if you can wade through tactics like that, most documentaries can be at least a little informative.
I never really liked Walmart anyway because it was just too much for me, but I still want to see the video for imformation purposes.
No worry to offend me with your Bush comments. We are counting the days until he's out of office.
I had a feeling about Target's political connection (where's the election finance reform???!!!), and have known about Wal-Mart for a while now. Hmmmmmm.... looking at the list, there are not a lot of options for more "bulk/bargain" shopping. Even Costco got low ratings (D). I guess I'll stick with Target for now until I figure something else out. I will be going much less as a result of breakdown issues over the toy aisle, anyway.... And I have reduced my weekly trips to monthly lately, anyway... like Sarah said... baby steps!
Post a Comment