ciroccoj | Hatred. AKA, Wal-Mart.

I 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

The squirrels gathered nuts, the sun shone on the leaves
The fragrance of the flowers sweetened the gentle breeze
The birdies were all singing… but they’re not anymore
‘Cause I dug the whole thing up and built a big box store

CHORUS
Big box store, it’s my big box store
Coming here makes it clear what life’s worth living for
Big box store, it’s my big box store
It’s big! It’s a box! It’s my big box store

It’s as if a football field made love to a mall
And the baby that they had is my sweet suburban sprawl
Whose parking lot is bigger than the downtown it destroyed
Come on and enjoy shopping on steroids

CHORUS
At my big box store, it’s my big box store
Its rectangulated beauty is sure hard to ignore
Big box store, it’s my big box store
It’s big! It’s a box! It’s my big box store

BRIDGE
It’s got toys from China
And TV’s from China
And knick-knacks from China
And lamps from China
And clothes from China
And china from China
And employees from Mexico

So grab your big box wife and your growing big box kids
And get some big box stuff to shove into your big box fridge
If living large is what you want, we’ve got what you need
So buy a dozen sofas or a ten pound bag of cheese

CHORUS
At my big box store, it’s my big box store
You’ll come out with lots of stuff you did not come in for
Big box store, it’s my big box store
It’s big! It’s a box! It’s my big box store

Big box store, it’s my big box store
How can you ever have enough when there is so much more!
At my big box store, it’s my big box store
It’s big! It’s a box! It’s my big box store!