Progressive Wednesday

Downsizing Wal-Mart Some More

Problem:

A scant few weeks after we opened our P.O. Box in Model City, New York, we received our first piece of junk mail, the kind of junk mail that makes us believe in a god of irony (okay, we don't actually believe in a god of irony, but, well, sometimes we find it difficult to rule it out): a circular from Wal-Mart. Not just any flyer, mind you. This one promised, amongst other things, “instant savings,– “the season's best savings,– and “brilliant holiday savings.–

At Progressive Wednesday, we're all about saving and even savings, but we're also about taking action to protect our tax dollars, our families, our environment, and our small businesses. And we could use your help. It's time to stop the Walton family from harming our country more than it helps. It's time to downsize Wal-Mart.

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Make Progress:

• Watch
• Stop
• Write
• Donate & Replace
• Sign

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Watch:

To witness an even-handed and wonderfully heartbreaking documentary, check out the PBS Frontline flick Is WAL-MART Good for America? by clicking here. It's conveniently broken into five segments, so you don't even need to watch the whole thing straight through. You can watch ten minutes, then fix a sandwich (we dig Monte Cristos, by the way). You can watch another diez minutos, and buzz your grandma–she misses you and you never call. You get the picture.

While this film does fill us with pit-bull rage, it also leaves us feeling empowered. We realized that we could change things in our own small ways, because, despite what Wal-Mart would like you to think, we aren't actually a bunch of wishy-washy wimps when we come face-to-face with even the largest, richest, and arguably most despicable, American company.

After watching the film, maybe take the time to send an email from the Frontline page to three friends (the email link is on the far left margin of the page). You might indicate which section you thought was the most interesting, so that folks could just take a few minutes to educate themselves about Wal-Mart and the ways they harm America's hard-working families. You can always click the Share This button at the bottom left-hand corner of this post and email from there.

If you dug this documentary (though “dug– might be too generous a word), you might want to check out The Wal-Mart Movie, a flick by Robert Greenwald, who's produced several other charged and progressive movies. This one takes a more sharply critical eye to the company than does the PBS program. You can buy the sucker here or check out the trailer first:

There are even more videos you could tell your pals about from the folks at Wakeup Wal-Mart.

Why do you want you to watch these films? Why do we want you to get your peeps (that's right, we said “peeps– ) to watch these films? Because, quite frankly, we want everyone to stop shopping there until they change their ways.

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Stop:

We ain't never claimed to be perfect, people (read all about it in our FAQ), and we'll never do so. And we'll admit it: we've shopped at Wal-Mart; we've shopped at Sam's Club.

There are few powers our general citizenry possess to fight major conglomerations, at least not many that don't involve our arrests. But there's always the b-word, and we don't mean bulldogs or bananas or bills; we mean boycott, baby, boy-cott.

So we'll also admit this: barring a fluke of nature or tequila-induced drunkenness, we'll never shop at any Wal-Mart owned company again. If you haven't already, join us. There will be very few times where we beg at Progressive Wednesday. But we do beg of you: stop going there. Wal-Mart isn't saving you money, both in the short term or the long term.

So quit cold turkey, yo, because shopping in bulk does seem like some kind of addiction. And how many three-gallon tubs of mayo do we really need? (The answer rhymes with “hero.– )

But here's the deal–today, this Wednesday or whenever you're reading this, try to convince one other person to stop. We'll provide you with additional resources to educate yourself or the educate this other person. Explain to them gently what you've learned and how disgusted you are with the company. Or click the “Share This– button at the bottom of any of these posts, and email the sucker.

And now comes the big question: where should we shop instead? Well, we don't exactly have the answer to that because we don't know where you live. But here are three suggestions:

 

1. Whenever possible, buy American products.
2. Shop locally at privately owned businesses. You can always try the Yellow Pages online.
3. Only buy items of significance or necessity; stuff doesn't make us happy. (If you’ve got to read it to believe it, check out this University of Colorado study or this CNN article.) Of course, Progressive Wednesday swag will bring ebullient joy to your life whether you're 9 or 90.

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Write:

We believe that one of the most powerful ways to make progress is to be the voice of progress and to state your case publicly. One of the most effective means of doing this is writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper. (For advice on writing letters to the editor, check out our brief tool or our full tool.) We'd like to encourage you to write one of two different letters.

1. If there's a Wal-Mart in your area, we'd like you to consider writing a letter that tackles one of the following topics:

• Wal-Mart fails to be a good steward of the environment. The EPA has consistently fined Wal-Mart, including a 2004 penalty to the tune of $3.1 million for violating the Clean Water Act.
• Wal-Mart costs tax-payers billions of dollars in subsidies from state and local governments. And according to a recent study, “more than 90 percent of the company’s distribution centers have been subsidized.–
• Wal-Mart “bulldozes– local businesses. A recent decade-long Iowa State University study has shown that “some small towns lose up to 47% of their retail trade after ten years of Wal-Mart stores nearby.–
• Wal-Mart hurts hard-working families. Besides violating family leave laws and forcing employees to work off the clock, there’s this: in 2006 Wal-Mart was found liable of (of all things) meal break violations; the court ruling dictated that Wal-Mart had to fork over $172 million.
• Wal-Mart violates child-labor laws. In 2002, thanks to the 1,436 child labor infractions Wal-Mart committed in Maine alone, the Maine Department of Labor levied the largest fine in state history for violating child labor laws. And in 2005, the Department of Labor fined Wal-Mart because the company permitted teens “to operate hazardous equipment– including chainsaws, scrap paper balers, and fork lifts.
• Wal-Mart, of course, knowingly hires illegal immigrants. Check it out for yourself.

We think these frames are strong as well, so feel free to use our language. You might ask readers why Wal-Mart is so morally irresponsible. You can find other talking points and info here and here and here and here and here. The thing is, you're going to want to localize the problem of Wal-Mart in your area so you can better reach the audience. You might express concern that one of the problems you read about in the above links might happen in your area.

As we mention in our letters to the editor how-to tool, we recommend offering a solution. This solution might be urging folks to support local businesses and to stop shopping at Wal-Mart. You can probably come up with solutions of your own.

2. If there's not a Wal-Mart in your area–after you thank your luckiest of stars–we'd like to suggest writing a letter expressing how grateful you are, and how much you're hoping it will stay that way. You might want to pick one of the aforementioned topics to explain why you feel this way.

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If you're swamped and still want to yawp a bit to your community, there's a simpler approach to writing a letter to your local newspaper's editors. Wakeup Wal-Mart has a section of their webpage dedicated to just such writing. You choose the topic you'd like to address, select your state, click on your newspaper or newspapers, then tweak your letter.

We applaud the ease of this, but find that more personalized letters have a better shot of getting published (though you could easily add some personal narrative to the form letter they've created). We also think it's good to get into practice writing letters, as they play an integral role in making progress.

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Donate & Replace:

This act of progress is really pretty straight-forward. We'd like to suggest you donate just one thing (though a dozen would be even better) which you don't need or don't want or dig but want to update somehow, and replace it with something else or something new.

This will achieve several aims. By helping others in poverty, you very well might help reduce the odds someone will to go to Wal-Mart. And you'll help another person in need. And you'll help the economy by making a purchase. And you'll help small businesses or blue-collar American workers or both. And you can even get a tax break for your donation. It's one of the gifts that, much like the Energizer Bunny, keeps giving and giving and giving and– ¦.

Here's how donations help Salvation Army. Here's how to find a Salvation Army near you.

And what to buy? And where? You'll find a few links and ideas in the Stop section of this Wednesday topic, but below you'll find even more of our favorite progressive venders:

Shop Union Made
Pangea
CD Baby
Powells
The Book Corner
One Good Bumblebee
The Progressive Wednesday Store

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Sign:

Talk about an easy way to make some progress: ask Wal-Mart to hold itself to moral responsibility. How? Sign this message to Wal-Mart, then print, sign, and send the letter to the C.E.O. of Wal-Mart.

You can also sign up for more information about Wal-Mart here.

You might also consider printing this letter, signing your John Hancock at the bottom, and sending it off to your local and state legislators. If they use the resources at Wal-Mart Watch, they'll be better at waging a strong fight against this unethical company.

Your voice matters in a very real way. The goal is to reach a tipping point so that we can have more progress made.

Clergyman Charlie: On minding your business

Occasionally I get an anonymous letter from someone telling me to “stick to religion– and to “stay out of politics.– Evidently these critics don't see how the two relate. If I knew who wrote I'd reply by saying, “The church, and the prophets before the founding of the church, always spoke up for justice.–

There is an interesting scripture reading in Mark, 1:23-24 that reads as follows (in the New Revised Standard Version). Just then, there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.–

Whether you take the Scripture literally, as they would have done in the first century, and believed in a literal demon, or whether you want to interpret it in more modern terms, the point is that the man who spoke had an evil spirit, and was controlled by forces and attitudes that were destructive and against the mission of Christ.

He was also in the synagogue, which is a reminder that evil can dwell even in religious circles.

And he believed in Jesus, which reminds us that “belief– is not “faith.– You can believe there is a God but do you open your heart to God and let God's Spirit enter your life to guide you daily, and do you trust that God with your life? That's what counts.

But moving on now to my main point, the man with the unclean spirit said in effect to Jesus, “Mind your own business! Have you come to destroy us?–

People say that today. Even in the church some people say it. Keep the church out of politics! Don't try to say how corporations use their money and power. Don't fight for a just wage or benefits for workers! Don't work for a healthy environment; it might hurt profits! Don't tell me how to run my life; it is my life and I'll live it as I see fit!–

All of these are remarks of “an unclean spirit.–

Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God. He called upon people to follow him, and he stood for righteousness and justice and mercy and love. Read his preaching in Luke 4, or his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7, or the readings in Matthew 25. There can be no doubt that what Jesus proclaimed would turn the world upside down and overthrow existing attitudes.

He was not crucified for taking little children on his knee and for being “meek and mild,– but because he was perceived by the authorities as a threat to the existing order.

Forces of control, of greed, of abuse, of selfishness, will tell him and his followers to mind their own business. We have to answer that we are followers of the Christ who made it his business to call people to follow him and sent his disciples out to proclaim the good news of God's Kingdom.

I'm encouraged today when I see groups like NOAH (Niagara Organizing Alliance for Hope) calling for hiring local people in Niagara County, and for providing parks and playgrounds for children in Niagara Falls.

I take hope when I see Residents for Responsible Government (RRG) trying to stop the expansion of Chemical Waste Management (CWM) and protesting against bringing toxic wastes for deposit near our schools and Lake.

I'm happy whenever I see people who do not say “mind your own business– but instead, “How do we follow Christ in proclaiming the new day, the coming of God's just reign? Count on me in the struggle against unclean spirits in our society.–

This is our business. When one becomes a Christian, this is just the beginning, not the end. Once you say you are a disciple of Christ, then you have enlisted to do his work. Jesus engaged in his Father's business, and so must we.