Column: The Way I See It
You hear the most intriguing things on those morning radio shows. One particular morning, the bus driver had the radio tuned to a discussion on yet another debate about whether or not Wal-Mart was sent from Satan. Since we in Logan recently had our version of the Walton Empire Strikes Back, I listened with
interest.
One caller in particular offered the comparison of a Wal-Mart going up in her area as a parasite that leeches all the life out of a city. After the caller had her say, the dj pointed out something to the effect of how Wal-Mart got there first and where were the other businesses busting down the city’s door?
This got me thinking and brought me to this week’s column. Why do we get into this argument every single time Wal-Mart wants to build somewhere? We never complain when a Target or something wants to build. Why can’t other stores like ShopKo and Kmart spread as prolifically as Wal-Mart? They know as well as we do that people get mad when Wal-Mart comes to town.
Why can’t they step in and build. It’s about time Wal-Mart had some real competition. For some bizarre reason, anytime a “for sale” sign goes up on a suitable piece of property, Wal-Mart is on that like cornflakes on funeral potatoes. There is some mystical force in the cosmos that draws Wal-Mart to a vacant piece of land that comes up for sale. But the fact remains that Wal-Mart didn’t have to buy that land. Someone else could have bought that piece of land and built there. It is available to anyone who wants it.
City councils have it in their power to discourage Wal-Mart and encourage other higher quality stores (there’s a reason you’ve never heard the phrase “cheap
Target crap”). Even more effective is average citizens giving their input. So far all the anti-Wal-Mart protesters have done is make noise and generally annoy people with all their negativity. It doesn’t help solve the problem, in fact, it just creates more publicity for Wal-Mart and there is no such thing as bad publicity.
It’s time to be more positive. Say what you would rather have. Don’t just complain about the problem, but offer solutions. If the only thing a city government hears from people is “We don’t want Wal-Mart”, what does that leave city government? What can they bring in if they don’t know what it is you do want? Just drop a name like Target, Smith’s Marketplace, ShopKo, Kmart and any other retail stores you can think of. The more noise we make in favor of something, the more likely it will be that they will hear it and come. Make someone feel wanted. There now, doesn’t that make you feel all warm and gooey inside? Kind of like you swallowed a whole bag of taffy? I know I do.
Chrissy Johnson is a junior majoring in English. She can be contacted at desertrose1785@yahoo.com