–Fred–

“Saintly virtue?” I sometimes shop at the big boxes precisely because they are “pragmatic.”

Implicit in your statement about “burying my head in the sand” is the notion that you are simply more “mindful” about your world than automatons like Marshall and me.

Perhaps we should call your essay “Concerto for the Cognizant?”

Shopping at Walmart does not make you a populist hero, any more than shopping at Tiffany’s makes you royalty. Please do not elevate simple pragmatism to a saintly virtue.

There may be other reasons why a “certain” clientele forgoes shopping at Walmart. If I had enough disposable income, I would probably avoid big box discount stores, too, because I could afford higher-quality items at higher prices. (When we lived in NYC, we used to get our furnishings from Ikea. Nearly every one of those darn pieces has broken or fallen apart!) Although, you can’t be sure. It is an axiom in my business (fundraising) that the millionaire may be the guy or gal with the beat-up Chevy out front. You can get rich by being frugal.

As for moi, I do my regular grocery shopping at Price Chopper in GB, and I have, at various times, patronized Staples and other big box stores in Torrington, Home Depot on Route 202, and even the Kingston (NY) mega-malls. (For a true mega-mall experience, however, we had Thanksgiving in Columbus, Ohio, next door to a ten-square-block mall that was practically a Disney World of its own!)

Having said that, there are many excellent reasons, in addition to the issue of workers’ rights, to be critical of big box stores and—if possible—to minimize one’s patronage of them; not to mention, to wish that we not accept big box stores in the midst of our Northwest Corner. Torrington and Kingston can have their big boxes, but our area would be a lot less desirable a place to live if it became just like every other place. True, you can make a persuasive argument that this might be a hardship for those who can’t afford to drive 30 minutes for cheap prices, but I’m not sure it’s worth sacrificing the remaining special qualities of our towns.

On a more global level, there are environmental concerns, the homogenization of everyday life, the loss of local businesses, the consolidation of economic power into fewer and fewer large corporations, and the mass importation of cheap goods from overseas, many of which are manufactured in sweatshop conditions or worse. Though to be fair, it’s nearly impossible to avoid such items no matter where you shop, which leads me to the hollowing out of the American economy and the impending collapse—but let’s save that topic for another day.

Some wag will surely accuse me of spreading “liberal guilt.” I’m not a big believer in the power of guilt, but I prefer being mindful of the consequences of my actions to burying my head in the sand.

We now return you to your concert. Up next: Mozart’s politically incorrect “Abduction from the Seraglio”….

Marshall

Caveat emptor
My comment on this comment…..

B.S.

Marshall

Marshall, I agree with what you said on your show this morning. Wal-Mart and its ilk have put a lot of medium sized chains (Caldor, Ames, Bradley’s) out of business. I’m not so sure about the small retailers.

I recall a few years ago, the Waterbury Republican did a survey of local hardware stores near the new Home Depot that opened on Rt 202. Doom and gloomers were predicting they would all go out of business. If I recall correctly, two years later, all but one were still operating.

They did so by offering a level of service Home Depot (and Wal-Mart) cannot match. If I go to Herrington’s, for example, someone will come over and fawn over me even for a small purchase.

ZenMensch, a Wal-Mart in Millerton might put Saperstein’s out of business. But I’m not sure about that. Lew Saperstein is a great guy and has strong customer loyalty for the reasons you cite. His late father, Irving, is a legend. I don’t see Oblong going under at all. Different market entirely from Wally.

I love Oblong but I rarely buy books anymore, opting instead for freebies at the Scoville Library. And back when I bought music CDs I always made a point to go to Oblong and buy there (or order it) rather than buying online at towerrerecords.com. But now with i-Tunes, I buy music at home. ZenMensch, have you ever used i-Tunes?

But the big stores do have an impact. The Canaan Market has a going-out-of-business sign in its window now. Hard to see how that could have happened without the new Stop & Shop.

Perhaps, as one of my colleagues pointed out today in the newsroom, Wally will get so big that it will run afoul of anti-trust laws, as Microsoft and Standard Oil did. Then it’ll get busted up like Ma Bell and we’ll all pay more.

DO you ever shop at a major supermarket? They put Mom and Pop supermarkets out of business.

No one is saying that you should do ALL your shoping at a Wal Mart, what we are saying, is that it should not be considered a blow against local stores if you shop elsewhere at times

Marshall