procrastination....

Good morning everyone! :) So I have a very long list of things I'm supposed to be doing right now but instead I'm finishing my morning tea and writing here. ;) I just had to share this with you. Now I try not to go into political things on my blog so I'm going to keep this as short as possible. I DO NOT LIKE WALMART. I don't think anyone who is a planner (really any human being) should EVER shop there. I had the most unfortunate experience at my last job to have Walmart as a client and nothing depressed me more than sitting all day at my computer designing sites in CAD for Walmart. :( The only solace I had was the few anti-Walmart cartoons that I had taped to my desk. Anyone remember all of the anit-Walmart commercials during last year's elections because of the proposed Walmart in Vermillion, yeah that was me. The Walmart, not the ads. :P

There are a host of reasons why Walmart basically sucks and ruins communities, etc. etc. etc. I used to have a blog were I would discuss things of this nature and Walmart pretty much made the 'news' daily with something else that they had done or planned or impacted or destroyed. Regardless of my political views or my education, I simply could not shop there because of the discriminatory policies that Walmart holds (i.e. not paying women the same as male counterparts, not promoting women, etc.) and the labor practices.

So imagine my glee when I was sitting at my laptop last night working on my digital scrapbook (THAT is a story for another time ;) ) and I suddenly hear the words "communist China" followed by Walmart. I turned and watched the remainder of the commercial which had me laughing my ass off!!!! So I HAD HAD to go find it because while it might be true there are several aspects of the commercial that are hysterical. First, I love how people try to scare the US with the word COMMUNIST. Ooooooohhhhhh, I know you are totally shaking aren't you?! I mean in the 50s, 60s, 70s, even 80s that would make people shiver, but I don't think it means the same thing today. Especially since the famed Cold War (another war of terror of sorts) is (supposedly) over. ;)

So in addition to the dramatic use of "communist China" they include other reasons why products from China are bad and how Walmart is bad and deserves a spanking. Which I agree with but I thought the dramatic effects on the commercial were really entertaining. Watch for yourself!





P.S. I really did not post this to encourage anyone to stop shopping at Walmart. I thought the ad was extreme and VERY entertaining. (You HAVE to love the dramatic music. ;)) I also certainly don't need any responses that include why Walmart rocks. I'm not judging anyone for shopping there (ok maybe a little). I have done extensive research both from outside sources and information from Walmart to form my opinions so there isn't going to be much of a shift in what I think. I respect the fact that this is still a semi-democratic society and you can choose to shop wherever you'd like. :)

If you want a good short video that explains some of the reasons that Walmart is 'bad' you can view the video below. The couple who made this documentary interviewed Julie Langan the former ED of FUTUREHeights. They aired the entire video at Cedar Lee and it was very interesting but not at all surprising from my perspective. Additionally, while I know it was not intended to provide solutions on how to change things, it really did seem like there was an awful lot of complaining and not nearly enough problem solving. Below the trailer is a short video that explains the multiplier effect and how big business (NOT JUST WALMART) can hurt communities.

INDEPENDENT AMERICA TRAILER



MULTIPLIER EFFECT VIDEO - Austin, Texas example