I don’t shop at Walmart. I made that choice back in the 1980s when the company’s growth model called for it to sweep into small towns and destroy the local mom & pop businesses to make shopping at Walmart the only game in town and/or county. I liked the diversity of small businesses in rural America and mourned their destruction, and so I didn’t support Walmart.
Over the decades many more reasons to avoid Walmart bubbled to the surface. By the late 1990s it was clear that the company had a tendency to buy cheaply built products/garments that were often manufactured in sweatshops. Labor and environment problems at their stores, warehouses and throughout their supply chain were also common place. In the wake of some bad publicity, Walmart has paid some lip service to putting in a code of conduct for their suppliers and have been spreading some cash around to green-wash their act. But as of just a few weeks ago, workers sewing clothes for the company are still dying in fires caused by greed, safety violations and locked fire escapes. Walmart’s ongoing use of Sweatshop labor is one example, but the company has many other social justice and environmental problems embedded in their supply chain and the way they do business.
Walmart is all about profits and downshifting to costs to others. Which explains why they treat their workers so poorly (something exposed by the recent Black Friday protests). In Walmart’s business plan anything goes–even bribery–if it will help their bottom line. So it is not a surprise that they turned to sales of automatic weapons and ammo as a way to keep their profits up during a recession. In fact, Walmart has made the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle the most popular assault weapon in America. No wonder that the AR-15 has become the gun of choice for so many mass murderers–Walmart makes it easy to buy at everyday low prices.
Wingnut conspiracy theories and hatred of a Black President led to an increase in gun and ammo sales. Walmart saw an opportunity for profit and aggressively jumped into assault weapons market. The Nation has the details:
The expansion of gun sales at Walmart came after a five-year slowdown. In 2006, the chain announced that it was rolling gun sales back, citing declining profit margins on the relatively expensive weapons, which even at Walmart can retail for hundreds of dollars. But in 2011, company executives were looking at eight straight quarters of declining sales at stores open for a year or more—the worst slump in Walmart’s history.
They must also have noticed that Barack Obama’s inauguration had sparked a rally in gun sales, which have steadily increased every year since 2008. The government isn’t allowed to track firearm sales, but the FBI does release figures on how many retailers ask it to run background checks—a relatively reliable indicator of total gun sales, although likely a lowball estimate, since a person can buy multiple guns on a single background check, and many gun shows aren’t required to perform such checks. In 2007, retailers asked the FBI for just over 11 million background checks; by the end of 2009, 14 million checks were requested—a 27 per- cent increase.
In April 2011, Walmart began stocking guns in more and more stores, expanding the sales to 1,750 outlets nationwide…
There is more and I encourage folks to read the article.
Walmart is part of the problem. Greed has them pushing these semi-automatic weapons and increasing the ease with which any crazy person can get one into their hands (and extra ammo on the way to a shooting). I wouldn’t be surprised if we learn that the weapons and/or ammo used in this latest tragedy were purchased at Walmart (and at everyday low prices).
A national boycott of Walmart until they remove the assault weapons and ammo from all their stores would not be an irrational response to this most recent shooting.
Cheers
Mnemosyne
And we wonder how we ended up in this situation. Kee-rist.
rikyrah
not shocked in the least.
I consider Wal-Mart the 7th rung of hell.
if not for my sister having her medicine there, I’d never set foot in one.
beltane
I’ve been boycotting Walmart for so many years that I don’t think my continued boycott will make a difference. I do think some kind of “Walmart kill kids” campaign on FB could be effective among the type of parents who love their children.
Yutsano
Kan we haz union there too?
beltane
@Mnemosyne: The government can, however, track which books you buy because FREEDOM.
longtime lurk
I think I understand why this blog has become all-gun-control-all-the-time. It’s because you folks spent the last 6 months hammering liberals like me (who opposed Obama because of his awfulness on GWoT and civil liberties issues) with the argument that, oh, sure, he could be better on drones and stuff but we have to elect him to save social security and keep poor old folks from eating cat food. Etc.
So it really isn’t all that surprising that now, when Obama has (according to widespread media reports) offered up social security for the chopping block, all you cheerleaders have suddenly found something much more important to talk about. Sure, I get that it’s in the news, but I certainly don’t recall seeing a lot of gun control talk on here in the, oh, five years I’ve been reading this blog (guess why? Obama never talked about it either), but the near-total blackout* on any kind of budget deal posts here is just not something that can be explained by the overwhelming passion for gun control, especially given how important the SS issue appeared to be to everyone here. Right before the election, that is.
So anyway. Is it too much to ask for one person to stand up and at least acknowledge that your hero is giving all you good little Democrats the shaft?
*(I did see a post by Bernard where he, in a very weaselly way, appeared to support the SS cuts — after all, Obama’s doing it, so it must be good, right?)
gwangung
@longtime lurk: Heh. Amusing.
Mnemosyne
@longtime lurk:
Yes, it has nothing to do with Emilie Parker or Madeleine Hsu or any of the other dead 7-year-olds whose mutilated bodies are being prepared for burial even as we speak.
Nope, it’s all so we can avoid talking about what you want to talk about. Because, like you, we don’t really care about a bunch of stupid dead kids who probably deserved to die when we could be talking about how horrible Obama is instead.
eric
@longtime lurk: two things….most will say…lets wait and see what actually happnes and two, this was a tragedy of truly epic proportions that is causing the conversatino to change in a way heretofore not seen or anticipated. Please post the url to yoru blog so we can all bitch about obama there.
Citizen_X
@longtime lurk:
Yes, it couldn’t possibly be because of the PILE OF DEAD LITTLE KIDS IN CONNECTICUT, now, could it?
Fuck you, lying Republican sack of shit.
Mnemosyne
@gwangung:
Why do the trolls all lack a scroll button and reading comprehension to the point where they don’t seem to realize there have been at least 3 posts about their hobbyhorse since last night, so they have to barge onto any available thread to make asses of themselves?
magurakurin
@longtime lurk:
sounds like the chained CPI is off the table
It’s a fluid situation. Nothing has been done, yet. Call your senator, call the Whitehouse and voice your objection. And you could ask the folks here to do that as well…without being a dick about it.
But what would be the fun in that,eh?
The Dangerman
One of their cute supply chain tricks, along with negotiating margin down to the barest of minimums, is to make a massiver order from a place and then forget to pay them. If Walmart is lucky, that place folds, and, presto, instant huge profit.
Which he can safely do because any Grand Bargain that includes any tax increases is DOA in the House; see, he can now say he tried to be reasonable and balanced, but, oh, dear, we are going over the cliff…
…which is exactly what his strategy should be … over the cliff and then clean up the mess afterwards, when pressure on the Republicans, who weren’t reasonable and balanced, will be extreme.
Del
@longtime lurk: Well, since you’re apparently psychic tell me: what does my wife want for Christmas? It’s ok if you aren’t quite sure, your vision’s obviously not that sharp. I’ll take a rough guess.
Shadow's Mom
On a more positive note, just saw on The Last Word that Dick’s Sporting Goods has electively stopped sales of the AR 223 and has removed its firearms display from the Danbury Connecticut store.
redshirt
Once I heard that the Walton heirs, collectively (6 of them) equal the lower 40% of America in terms of wealth I stopped shopping at Wal Mart, for ever. Even though it’s convenient as hell, I’ve not stepped foot inside one for years. Fuck Wal Mart.
beltane
@efgoldman: Back when the Patriot Act was passed there was a big uproar over a provision that allowed the government to trace book purchases to individuals (because if you purchase a translation of the Koran you might just be a terrorist). I remember Pat Leahy complaining about this but I am not sure if the provision was removed or how this would work with cash sales. Still, Americans have surrendered many in not most of their privacy rights since 2001 in every area of life except gun & ammo ownership.
Lolis
@longtime lurk:
Bernard is hardly an Obama fanboy. Sorry if we are not getting freaked out enough for you about leaks from negotiations that are ongoing and very unlikely to succeed. I refuse to fall into the Sky is Falling Club because they have been wrong so many times in the past I don’t take them seriously anymore. Nor do I take MSM reports (read: leaks) very seriously.
You can head over to Daily Kos if you want to join the Obama betrayed us meltdown that is being led by David Mizner. His diaries are about as one-note as any other writer out there.
beltane
Why do I get the feeling that longtime lurk is really someone else who is a longtime not-lurker?
Concerned Citizen
@longtime lurk: Who is your alternative fucktard? I am sick to death of ideologues.
Maude
@efgoldman:
I think it’s in the Patriot Act. Libraries have had a hard time with that law.
Unsympathetic
@longtime lurk:
The tree of liberty must from time to time be refreshed with the blood of
patriots and tyrantselementary school children.whidby
@longtime lurk: Heh.
When I pointed out the other day that President Obama has killed more children in drone strikes than were killed in Connecticut, I was accused of trying to derail the discussion about gun control.
In a recent segment, Jon Stewart’s noted that the gun nuts say you shouldn’t talk about gun control right after a shooting out of respect for the families, but there are so many shootings that there will never be a “right” time under that logic.
Sort of the same with the ongoing drone program, except of course that there is practically no media coverage of it. I wonder if CNN sent some more camera crew to cover funerals of children if people would start to care a bit more in this country.
whidby
@efgoldman: If you used a credit card, your purchases have been duly logged.
Concerned Citizen
@Unsympathetic: this makes me very very sad. I am not an activist by nature, but I feel this is an issue.
The Thin Black Duke
I wonder why these new guys are trying to stop us from talking about guns…? What a coincidence. As the late Gil Scott-Heron said, “It follows a scheme if you dig what I mean.”
Mnemosyne
@whidby:
Funny, didn’t you accuse me of lying when I said that you had said that? Or was the “lie” that I said you thought Obama shouldn’t take any steps towards gun control before he ended drone strikes?
sal
Fwiw, I don’t think Wal-Mart sells automatic weapons. They sell semi-automatic; pull the trigger to fire one shot. Automatic – hold trigger down to keep firing, like a machine gun. Maybe I’m wrong here, but think automatic weapons are still (mostly) illegal. Yes, easy to modify a semi-automatic.
PeakVT
@rikyrah: Costco’s pharmacy has pretty good prices. In Vermont, at least, you don’t have to be a member to buy medicine. Check it out if there’s one near your home.
Maude
@The Thin Black Duke:
Excellent question.
ant
my boyfriend works at walmart.
he says that the place is a magnet for all the dumbest people in town. It’s like the walking dead zombies in there.
I refuse to step foot in the place.
PeakVT
Halp! I can haz unmoderashun, plz? I used the far-ma-see word.
GregB
Surely the NRA and the gun strokers don’t want to talk about how many of their fellow fanatics are careless, ignorant fools and/or violent sociopaths.
Anya
@longtime lurk: Did you not watch any news at all in the past four days? Did you not see pictures of little kids who were massacred by a madman –who was using a military weapon? Where is your heart? For the past four days, all I seem to be doing is cry. So, I am sorry if we’re all too shell-shocked to care about your latest outrage. But if you want to wallow in some OBAMA SOLD US OUT outrage, please go to Daily Kos.
Evolving Deep Southerner
I just want everyone here to know that Dell computers suck rancid warthog dicks.
Two laptops. Within the one-year warranty, both hard drives had to be replaced. Then processor dies at 14 months. So me and Mrs. Deep Southerner were sharing one. Today, same fucking massive failure on hers at 18 months. Typing this shit from my phone. Two grand worth of laptops, now twin boat anchors. And right at fucking Christmas.
May Michael Dell go straight to hell.
Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel.
NotMax
I eschew shopping at Wal-Mart as well, but not all the stores are identical in what they carry.
Local (or state) pressure can make a difference. Their one store here sells neither firearms nor ammo of any kind.
Mike in NC
@longtime lurk: Fuck off, clown.
Del
@Evolving Deep Southerner: If you can pop it open and pull out or otherwise service the processor, and it’s not under warranty, you might be able to pull it out, clean it, and then thermal paste the hell out of it when you put it back in. I had a similar issue with my first generation xbox, the damn chip wasn’t secured well and a megadose of thermal paste fixed it right up. If the chip fried though… ouch.
PeakVT
(reposting because D.G. has wandered off)
@rikyrah: Costco’s far-ma-see has pretty good prices. In Vermont, at least, you don’t have to be a member to buy pre-skript-shuns. Check it out if there’s one near your home.
The Thin Black Duke
@Anya: Again, I don’t think he is the clueless asshole that he appears to be; I don’t believe his presence here is an accident.
For as long as I can remember, trying to have an intelligent conversation about a rational gun control policy was impossible; it literally was the “third rail” in our political landscape.
But thanks to the atrocity that happened in Newton, the circumstances has changed, and it might actually be possible to do what every other civilized country in the world has done and take the first steps in getting the damned guns off the street.
This is a genuine tipping point, but the moment is fragile and temporary.
So we shouldn’t be surprised when these sock puppets of the NRA are trying to distract us with smoke and mirrors.
Cassidy
People like longtime lurk, whidby, kitchen implement, etc. are a lot like the gun fetishists we’ve been talking about. Not only are they liars who make broad proclamations with no facts, but they try to turn the conversation all about them. While we are discussin the tragic deaths an what we can hopefully do about it, they can’t contain themselves to somehow derail a conversation and say “look at me”. Thy are just like the gun fetishists going “kids? But what about my guns?”. You are one in the same and utter failures as human beings. You disgust me.
PurpleGirl
@beltane: I think there was also a provision to track books borrowed at libraries. Librarians really made a stink about it. Not sure if the provision went active, though.
Mnemosyne
@rikyrah:
I second what PeakVT said — when I was uninsured, Costco was by far the cheapest place to get my still-patented medications, and in California you can use the pharmacy without being a member. You can check pricing on their website ahead of time and see if they can do any better.
Cassidy
And it’s cute how you pretend to care about dead kids in another country. Sick.
Mnemosyne
Reposting to avoid naughty-word moderation — sorry for the duplicate:
@rikyrah:
I second what PeakVT said — when I was uninsured, Costco was by far the cheapest place to get my still-patented medications, and in California you can use the farm-a-sea without being a member. You can check pricing on their website ahead of time and see if they can do any better.
PeakVT
@Mnemosyne: You too, eh? What would this blog be without FYWP’s quirks? Other than less irritating, that is.
Mnemosyne
@PeakVT:
The funny part is, I ran the Costco link through TinyURL to avoid The Forbidden Word and then absent-mindedly used it in the actual post. D’oh!
Gretchen
My company got a WalMart account a few years ago. My former boss said don’t do it – you’ll staff up, buy equipment, and then they’ll get it ten cents cheaper somewhere else and leave. That boss got pushed out, and someone who said “let’s do it!” was put in charge. Guess what just happened? WalMart got it cheaper somewhere else, and pulled their business, leaving us with extra people and equipment. The contract specified that anything that didn’t meet their turnaround time they got for free, and one theory is that we were doing too well and they weren’t getting as many freebies as they’d hoped.
Pinkamena Panic
@longtime lurk: Hi, Timmeh. How long before Cole bans your ass again?
Anya
@The Thin Black Duke: Makes sense. In order to pass for an outraged liberal they have to use liberal sounding talking points. That way they can derail the discussion. This time the tragic loss of those little kids might wake up decent Americans.
? Martin
Chocolate eggs are illegal in the US, but AR-15s are perfectly legal.
Yeah, apparently there’s no Chocolate Egg Association with the necessary political clout. Thank goodness there are no first graders who are going to choke on one of those. That’d be tragic.
danielx
None of this should be a surprise; Walmart would sell shares in a Venezuelan kidnapping ring if there was a nickel to be made from it.
Walmart has one – repeat, one – redeeming virtue. If you’re feeling bad about your life, go visit one, preferably at 5:30 in the evening or so. It’s a tossup as to which people will look worse, the customers or the employees, but it’s certain sure that you will leave feeling better about yourself by comparison with everyone else there.
If you must shop at a discount store, either Costco or Target is a better store, and neither stocks firearms or ammunition to the best of my knowledge. Additionally, they don’t have that weird aroma that is unique to Walmart.
Mnemosyne
@Anya:
I’m kind of starting to hope this could be some kind of watershed. My co-worker/friend is my barometer for liberal-leaning Real Americans and she is very, very upset and shaken by Newtown, far more than she was by Aurora or Tucson. With those, she was angry and saddened, but Newtown really seems to have hit a deep chord with her that those other two events didn’t.
kelrian
Working at Walmart on the day the shooting went down was the single most surreal thing ever in my life. Everyone in the break room was glued to the TV. Quite a few people cried. The store manager left the room looking more shaken than I’ve ever seen someone (he has kids that age).
And yet, that night, during lockup of the back registers, we had to wait for a co-manager for a while because she was walking out a gun sale. Somebody’s reaction to the shooting was to buy a freaking gun.
If I didn’t need this job, I would so be out of there in a heartbeat.
Soonergrunt
@longtime lurk: Hey, dumbass–we’re kind of upset about 20 innocent children being slaughtered in their classroom, and the 6 adults who died trying to protect them.
Not every single thing in the universe or even on this blog is about you and your personal causes and issues you egocentric bastard.
Soonergrunt
@? Martin: “Yeah, apparently there’s no Chocolate Egg Association with the necessary political clout. Thank goodness there are no first graders who are going to choke on one of those. That’d be tragic.”
But they’d be OK if the teacher had an M-4. Because that solves everything.
shecky
This is pretty bullshitty. Walmart sells guns because people are buying them. And most of what they sell doesn’t seem to fit in the “assault rifle” category, as if they’re magically more evil. Their most powerful guns are bolt action rifles without the accoutrements that seem to define assault rifle.
Walmart sells what people want to buy. And firearms are moving fast in the Obama age. And they’ve been selling firearms for a pretty long time. This whole gun thing is getting pretty loopy, probably because for all the rending of garments and gnashing of teeth, there’s so fucking little that can be done about effective gun control. That ship sailed 200 years ago, and it’s never coming back. Walmart is as culpable as everyone reading this thread. If you live in the good ole’ USA, you are part of the gun culture, like it or not.
Humble Lurker
@shecky:
What the hell does that mean? How am I part of the gun culture if I do not own or use guns?
And excuse us if dead elementary school kids causes a little gnashing of teeth and rending of garments. Sweet Jesus.
Thlayli
@whidby:
Perhaps you can explain how bringing up DROOONEZZZZZZ was not derailing the discussion…?
Anne Laurie
@Humble Lurker:
You know all the professionally religous fckwads who keep insisting ‘America is a Judeo-Christian nation’? Shecky feels the same blind devotion to his Gun that they do to their little plaster icons. Anybody doesn’t agree that his icon is the best coolest most wonderful POWER in the known universe is dissing Shecky’s religion.
Applejinx
Fuck me. WalMart- destroying communities, uh, pretty much EVERY POSSIBLE WAY.
I honestly did not know about the extent of this. The rare times I’ve been there, I didn’t inspect what was on sale in the gun area too closely, and assumed it was hunting rifles (and, ironically, pistols, because I don’t know shit about that stuff)
Patricia Kayden
@shecky: No, we are not all part of the “gun culture”. I’m a nothing as far as power or influence is concerned, but I can do a little to push this country in the right direction vis-a-vis gun control. For example, many here have donated to the Brady Campaign, signed the White House petition, voted for politicians who support sensible gun control, etc.
Coming from Canada, if it were up to me, all private ownership of guns would be banned period. Seems like too many Americans have decided that a few massacres per year are the price to pay for the “right” to own guns.
jayboat
You need not be an active participant in the ‘gun culture’ to be surrounded by it. Big city, small town, does not matter here. I don’t own a gun and never go hunting or to the range, but I’d bet easily more than 50% of my friends own a gun.
And there’s sure as hell no escaping the media claxon at full volume during the immediate aftermath.
More definition between real hunters and the gun strokers, please.
Cassidy
@shecky: That is completely inaccurate. Walmart actually sales several different assault rifles. They may not be in the glass case, ehich is where they keep the shotguns, bolt action, and less scary guns, but you’ll also find a 3-4 page advert sitting at the counter or at the front of the store, detailing the more “tactical” weapons they sale.
So Walmart does sale quite a bit of assault rifle type weapons. They may not have the selection of your local gun store, but they beat them on price everyday.
brantl
@longtime lurk: How about some sign that he has actually DONE that? I don’t see it.
AxelFoley
@Lolis:
Him and Jessalyn Raddick. They do the same types of Obama-has-betray-us-and-taken-away-our-freedoms diaries almost daily.
Patricia Kayden
@longtime lurk: A lot of Democrats are pissed off that President Obama has put SS on the chopping block. I hope the Dems in Congress stand tough against him for doing this. There’s a petition on Daily Kos that you may want to sign.
But I don’t understand why you think we can’t walk and chew gum at the same time. We can disagree with President Obama offering SS up as a sacrifice to the Repubs but still be outraged at the massacre in Connecticut. It’s not one thing or the other.
Ash Can
So what was it about this particular post that lit the bat-signal for all the GOP ratfuckers and NRA shills in this thread? The mention of Wal-Mart? The pic of the gun? The fact that the post was written by Dennis G, who over the years has been such a tireless foe of such ratfuckers and shills?
Wolfdaughter
Frankly, if I were a gun nut I wouldn’t buy one at Walmart. I’d be worried that it would blow up in my face or fail in some other way, given how cheap most of their stuff is.
I can’t boycott Walmart any more because I already refuse to set foot in one.
Paul
@longtime lurk:
You do realize that the Democratic senate could stop it, don’t you. Then again, the Democratic senate has members like Bernie Sanders who opposed closing Gitmo.
Why is it with people like you that literally EVERYTHING on the planet is Obama’s fault and none of the fault lies with Congress? Hell, if Democratic voters hadn’t been so damn lazy (or didn’t vote to protest Obama per dailykos) in 2010, there wouldn’t be a GOP House. And Obama wouldn’t have to offer up the social security as a negotiation chip. Did you ever think of that?
AxelFoley
@Paul:
Exactly. Ex-fucking-actly.
chopper
@longtime lurk:
there is no chopping block, you moron. there’s no deal. there will be no deal. all this shit is just theater to make sure that boner and the teabillies take the blame for it all.
jesus, you guys are terrible at this shit.
chopper
@Paul:
you have to remember, there’s one thing that scares both progressives and conservatives more than anything in the world; the imaginary obama they’ve created in their heads.
as much as we like to laugh about obama’s ability to drive righties insane, this superpower is not so tightly focused that it only ends up working on right-wingers.
Cassidy
@chopper: But s/he’s pure. And precious.
mapaghimagsik
@jayboat:
It would be great if the Hunters did, or could do more to differentiate themselves, rather than rather than simply state it. A “the NRA doesn’t speak for me “ org might be a good start, rather than making it a defending yourself, when the criticism isn’t about you.
Grew up with firearms and enjoyed the experience, right up to, and beyond, being shot in an accident.
For all that, I never needed thirty round clips or stuff to make me all para military. I’d be perfectly happy with a single shot bolt action. And if I had to check it and out at a club or something, fine.
dporpentine
At least Walmart collects sales tax.
I don’t shop there, but I’d be hard-pressed to choose–ethics-wise–between Walmart and Amazon. And funny thing: ads for the latter often grace Balloon Juice’s pages.
whidby
@dporpentine: Working conditions in some Amazon warehouses were so bad that they had ambulances standing by to tend to people with heat stroke.
And Target, I believe, actually pays its workers less on average than Walmart.
The irrational Walmart hatred is just a cultural signifier meaning “I am not one of THOSE people.”
Soonergrunt
@dporpentine:
@whidby:
You both do know that the article is about how Walmart sells Bushmaster ARs, right? Amazon does…not.
Cassidy
@Soonergrunt: Don’t stop whidby from getting his/her holier than thou on. Emoprog gotta emoprog.
dporpentine
@Soonergrunt
You do know the first paragraph and a half are not about that, don’t you?
dporpentine
Correction: the first two and a half paragraphs out of . . . four are not about Bushmaster ARs.
Soonergrunt
@dporpentine: actually, they actually are, in larger context.
Howard Beale IV
@chopper: We’ll see….