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Hatred. AKA, Wal-Mart.
Jul. 21st, 2010 10:41 pmI cannot express the verklempftness I feel when I tell somebody where I live and they say, "That's where they're building the new Wal-Mart! Oooh, that's exciting, isn't it?"
No. No, it is not *^$#ing exciting. Every time I go by the construction site, I want to spit. It used to be the high school of last resort for the worst of the worst kids in Ottawa, and for the Somali immigrant kids from the nearby housing project. It used to have a field for the kids to use during school hours and for soccer and football teams to use after school - and for people to walk their dogs, or have picnics, or play frisbee. It was the only part of the walk from our house to the grocery store that didn't take place next to roaring traffic. It was part of the community, and it was unique.
As of January, it will house cheap shoes and junk food and a huge honking parking lot. And it will pay its workers poorly, treat them like crap, threaten local small businesses, cause traffic congestion, and I could go on about its economic, environmental, and international impacts, but this all pisses me off too much so I'll leave it there before I rupture something.
"Oooh, that's exciting, isn't it?"
If by 'exciting' you mean 'nauseating', then OK, yeah, it's exciting, all right.
::hate hate hate hate hate::
ETA: Music soothes the savage anti-Wal-Mart beast, at least temporarily. Here's The Arrogant Worms' take on the topic: Big Box Store
( Lyrics )
No. No, it is not *^$#ing exciting. Every time I go by the construction site, I want to spit. It used to be the high school of last resort for the worst of the worst kids in Ottawa, and for the Somali immigrant kids from the nearby housing project. It used to have a field for the kids to use during school hours and for soccer and football teams to use after school - and for people to walk their dogs, or have picnics, or play frisbee. It was the only part of the walk from our house to the grocery store that didn't take place next to roaring traffic. It was part of the community, and it was unique.
As of January, it will house cheap shoes and junk food and a huge honking parking lot. And it will pay its workers poorly, treat them like crap, threaten local small businesses, cause traffic congestion, and I could go on about its economic, environmental, and international impacts, but this all pisses me off too much so I'll leave it there before I rupture something.
"Oooh, that's exciting, isn't it?"
If by 'exciting' you mean 'nauseating', then OK, yeah, it's exciting, all right.
::hate hate hate hate hate::
ETA: Music soothes the savage anti-Wal-Mart beast, at least temporarily. Here's The Arrogant Worms' take on the topic: Big Box Store
( Lyrics )
