Post Christmas question of the day: if the toy your (grand) child (niece, nephew ext.) desperately wanted was only at Wal-Mart would you . . .
(a) Stand on principle and give the little bundle of joy a lump of coal;
(b) Buy the gift at Wal-Mart, but then hide the bag before anyone sees it;
(c) What’s your problem anyway? I love little yellow dots and union busting.
As for my answer, color me . . .
(b) all the way. Hey, blood (and avoiding temper tantrums) is thicker than politics. I’ve got the rest of the year to boycott Wally World.
December 26th, 2007 at 11:48 am
a) is the only choice. Not that I would get a lump of coal. But there are principles and life lessons that are more important than a particular toy at a specific age. Wal-Mart has so many reasons to boycott it that it’s not just a minor issue. Not that a child would understand this, but if it’s clear that a principle is involved, and it’s not because they were bad, the child might walk away with more than the absence of a toy.
December 26th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
I will starve to death before I ever walk into one of those stores.
December 26th, 2007 at 7:32 pm
I wouldn’t shop at WalMart for all the lead in China.
December 26th, 2007 at 8:14 pm
what good is principle if you back down at the first opportunity. no time like the present for the little one to find out what my grampa told me would happen if you crossed a picket line or shopped in a non-union store. that is that the swedish boogie man ollie scoopshovelson would rise up in a cloud of dust and flatten your head with a shovel. don’t know about you all, but i don’t think i want to find out about that. the toy will have to be bygones and the lesson on why wal-mart makes our community poorer will have to begin.
December 26th, 2007 at 9:25 pm
I don’t have a child any longer and will never have grandchildren thanks to George Bush’s occupation in Iraq- my only child was killed in Iraq on 5.30.2004. But I digress….
I had a similar dilemma, though, when trying to buy The Eagles new album, Long Road Out of Eden. It was only available through Walmart (what’s up with that?) I finally solved my dilemma and ordered it through Buzzflash.com. Presumably Buzzflash had to purchase it through WM, so does that really absolve me of my resolve to never shop at Walmart?
December 27th, 2007 at 12:01 am
I have never set foot into a Walmart… and I never will.
No child needs a toy that is available only at Walmart. Children need to learn that this store is not acceptable. (Possibly a good story could be told where the child learns a lesson about what is going on.)
I am sorry for the previous writer… GoldStarMom818… I don’t know that the album is not available anywhere else.
“Presumably Buzzflash had to purchase it through WM, so does that really absolve me of my resolve to never shop at Walmart?”
I hope Buzzflash does not get its albums through Walmart.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:19 am
Boycott Amazon.com, too. They sell videos showing dog-fighting. That turns my stomach.
December 27th, 2007 at 2:21 am
P.S. I have 5 grandchildren, and I did not buy them a thing at Walmart.
December 27th, 2007 at 12:18 pm
Hi Chad from BuzzFlash here. I feel I must step in and assure you that BuzzFlash does not buy albums or anything else from Wal-Mart.
One of the issues in small towns is that Wal-Mart may be the only place to buy a CD, which is especially disturbing since it doesn’t sell Parental Advisory stickered merchandise even to adults (another reason for a boycott).
But you can get the new Eagles album (CD) just about anywhere. Really. No major album worth its weight would EVER be exclusive to one store (exceptions for compilations that might only be available at Starbucks, for example). But we are always happy if you do buy stuff from BuzzFlash.com, where we NEVER buy our albums at Wal-Mart.
December 27th, 2007 at 5:07 pm
I’m with Steve. In fact, I’ll go further and not bother to hide the bag. Bashing Wal-Mart is so de rigeur, and I’ve done plenty of it myself. Like everybody else, I don’t shop there. But my wife does. Her response to my criticisms about the outfit is what makes you think Wal-Mart is unique? It is the biggest and most notorious offender, but don’t kid yourself that other retailers are so great about employee rights and social responsibility. She certainly has a point.
December 27th, 2007 at 7:01 pm
I think the real question is, would you buy a President from Wal-Mart?
We already did once, but this time we should know better.
All the chinese toys in the world cant do as much damage as a NAFTA/Most Favored Nation abettor with ties that bind to Wal-Mart.
People best start thinking for themselves, because the media has you right where they want you.