Wal-mart and the evil that runs our society

Kind of an inflamitory title I know but I figure I should say something.

The evil of which I speak is consumerism. I know I've written about this before but it came up again recently. I was out and about with a friend and they were talking about going to Wal-mart. I spoke up about Wal-mart being a bad thing and that I don't shop there. They asked about a situation where I could only get what I wanted from Wal-mart, what would I do? I told them I'd do without. I spoke about my desire to support local small business owners and that I'm willing to make such a small sacrifice as going without some things if it means that I'd have to shop at Wal-mart.

It seemed like I was speaking some foreign language. Their reaction was kind of puzzling to me. It doesn't seem like that big a deal to do without something that I don't really need in order to follow my principles. Oh well.

So they asked me what I would do if it was something for my child and the only place I could get it was Wal-mart. I told them that I'd have to explain to my child that they would have do without. Blasphemy, it seems.

There are so many things that people pine for, beg, borrow and steal for yet very little of which is really necessary. My father is constantly going on about NEEDING a new 42" plasma TV. It seems that his 32" TV just isn't doing the job. It bothers him that he doesn't have this new, better, bigger TV. I think that this is a very common condition because corporations have been very effective in conditioning our society to think that we are our possessions. We live in a society that is being buried by debt, bankruptcies are at all time highs and the gap between the rich and the poor constantly growing. We keep being told that if we don't have the latest gadget or the bigget doohickey we are a lesser person. I know homeless people who have cellphones but don't have food to eat or a roof over their head. A cellphone!

Wal-mart is just one of many and has become something of the whipping boy by those of us who are critical of such large corporate power, influence and greed. Wal-mart gets a large proportion of its products from China which is a country clearly documented as violating human rights on a grand scale. They were caught and penalized a few years ago for trading with the Sudan which was under a trade embargo at the time. I find it amazing that people think I'm the one thats nuts for not wanting to shop at a store that destroys towns, abuses its staff and supports inhumane regimes around the world. All because its much more important to have that cheap pack of tube socks or portable DVD player rather than taking a stand and saying that human life is more important than my owning some piece of superfluous shit that in reality means nothing to me.

Corporations try to tell us that we are what we consume. If I wear a Nike logo I'm athletic. If I drink a Starbucks grande latte I'm somehow sophisticated and discerning. Its all nonesense. If I wear Nike it doesn't make me athletic it simply says I'm an overweight guy who wears a shirt made in Indonesia. If I drink a Starbucks coffee it means that I'm stupid enough to spend over $3 for a friggin' coffee. Corporations are actively marketing towards children because they know that if they can ingrain within them the idea that they are what they buy then they are guaranteed profits because children are unable to think critically. Of course many adults simply refuse to think critically as well. Its okay to ask questions, tough questions.

I guess that that is why I get stupified looks when I suggest that I might ask my child to do without something unnecessary if it means not perpetuating our present consumerism model for society.

Of course I'm stupified by the fact that people are completely and utterly unwilling to look beyond their own nose and begin to look at that bigger picture.

I feel I should write something ... anything.

It's been quite a while since I've been a regular contributor to my own blog. Pretty sad state of affairs.

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In a lot of ways I really hate dating. I'm sure everyone's got a different opinion on the subject but it's not something I generally look forward to. When did our society stop producing women who you can have a conversation with? I swear if I hear "what are you thinking?" one more time I'm going to strangle the person. Especially when its only the second date!

I mean do women have such uninteresting and uninspired lives that they have nothing to say for themselves? Are they so disinterested in the world around them that the only thing they have to contribute to a conversation is "what are you thinking?" The real kicker is that 99% of the time I have to lie to them because if I say that I'm thinking about school, other women, politics or war they either get annoyed or respond with varying degrees of ignorance.

My kingdom for an intelligent woman!

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School is a seeming joke. I have to start teaching in three weeks but I still don't know where my placement is going to be nor do I feel that I've learned anything so far that would make more capable of teaching than before I started teacher's college.

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Everyday I come home I see the wedding gift that I bought for a friend of mine and still haven't managed to get to her. I swear one of these days it will make it to her place!

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Despite my previous rant concerning dating I've gone out on a few dates with someone new. Its a good thing that I live with meager means because she's intelligent, thoughtful and quite the conversationalist! Hip-hip-hooray! She's also quite attractive which is a definite plus.