Member-only story
Why I Won’t Shop At Walmart
I’ve been on the lookout for an armoire. Something that’s tall enough to allow me to hang some long dresses but narrow enough to fit into a tiny corner of my bedroom, something that won’t cost hundreds of dollars. I went online to see what I could find.
I typed the word “armoire” into Google’s search engine. After refining the search a little, I found an armoire that met all of my requirements. However, I decided not to buy it. The armoire was available at Walmart.com. I never shop at Walmart.
At this point, you’re probably wondering what I have against Walmart. After all, one hundred million Americans shop in those stores every week. Why am I refusing to do something that approximately one out of every four Americans does?
For starters, Walmart’s hostility to unions, discriminatory employment practices, cutthroat competition with smaller businesses, and refusal to provide benefits and a living wage to its “associates” would make me feel like a modern-day slavery apologist if I were to shop there. And more than a few women are unable to fill prescriptions there; apparently the clerks and pharmacists at Walmart are abusing the hell out of statewide conscience clauses, even if it means denying prescribed medication to a miscarrying woman. And that’s when the pharmacy clerks aren’t refusing to sell Plan B to men. As an angry vagina-toting feminist, I don’t feel welcome to shop there.
So even though I will end up spending more money on this armoire that I so desperately want, I will take my business to a store which treats its employees and customers and surrounding community with some modicum of respect. After all, I do like sleeping at night.
