Attention Wal-Mart Shoppers...

I remember when the retail giant Walmart first opened its doors in my hometown. I guess we originally thought it'd brought regeneration to a certain section of town, but now I can see how much of our local business it's wiped out and how many other large retail chains it's ushered in during the following years. I have always hated Walmart. In fact, I refer to it as my own personal hell- if hell was a location here on earth where one was sent to spend their eternity being punished my own hell would be Walmart. I'd like to say this is because of some outstanding moral vendetta I have against the store but really it's just that they sell a load of crap and there are way too many people shopping there, most who don't give a crap about putting items back when they've decided against them (pick an aisle, a shelf or a floor anywhere and drop your near-impulse purchase... it's fine, that's what the employees are paid for).

Now I've got new ammo to wield against Walmart. I have always known that this kind of business is bad news, but I never had the actual info to act on. But an hour and a half later I've seen enough. I'd recommend you check out the below preview then head over to the free documentaries site to learn something for yourself, whether you're a Walmart shopper (bleeding Walmart blue as one employee interviewed on this doc states), or anti-Walmart.



One thing I'd like to highlight is the governmental sort of ideology carried by Walmart. I've heard pretty much nothing but bitching from most of my American counterparts (perhaps because negative sentiments usually are louder than positive) about the current government in the states. Leaving aside thoughts on Obama and Bush and who could kick who's ass in the ring, I'd just like to say something that really interested me in regards to social government schemes (communism, socialism... I'm really not 100% enlightened on what the tenants are of each).

Walmart moves into your town. They dominate. They govern in terms of business. The little guys go out of business. Many of the jobs for the lower and middle class end up syphoning through to Walmart. You work for them and you pretty much live for them because you work a ton of hours. When you are off the clock you cash in your paycheck and go shopping at your workplace. Sure you may get a discount but you're just giving your hard-earned money right back to them. You rely on them, as do most American employees, for your health care and that of your family's. They do a pretty bad job of providing health care and charge you out of each check you are paid to do so (likely somewhere around 10% of your check, depending on your earnings). You are put under surveillance to check that you aren't fraternising with the enemy (a union) and planning an uprising. If you do so you are blackballed and ostracised.

Sounds a bit like the iron curtain to me. Yet many Americans who count themselves as anti-fascist, anti-socialist, anti-communist pretty much buy into the same system as one of these government type regimes but this time manifested in a way that lines one particular family's pockets in a big way (not to mention the people in other countries who are exploited to do all this).

I can't critique or summarise this entire video in a brief blog, but I would really recommend you take an hour and a half and check it out. I'd also like to add that they actually feature my hometown in this video as one of the scenes of an abduction out of a Walmart parking lot- all because of poor security (those cameras in the lots tend to be monitoring employees and their potential formations of unions rather than to ensure the customers' and employees' safety). Hits home.

mounting up on the struggle

At this point in time my greatest desire and impulse is to run away and join a hippie band, drive about in a grease-fuelled bus, and eat lots of food from bins. I keep revisiting this pull towards hippiedom but I do have a leaning towards fashion and cleanliness, yet when I was studying biology I'd have been happy to run around in dreads or braids and whatever-the-heck clothing, living for what I loved to do (invade animal's personal space by being nosy about their behaviour). I dunno, maybe it's just London. If I'm going to be here and now I want to live well (not that the alternative isn't living well). Crap, I don't know. I'm rambling. It just seems so much simpler. I could easily trade in this small but nice flat that costs an arm and a leg for something drafty and rustic and eccentric and quirky and that I could be myself in and accumulate stuff to share with others.

I'm listening to The Psalters, an anarchic Christian hippie band and they're rocking me in a funky funky way. Passion- that's the difference- they're filled with such passion and freedom, things that I've lost my grip on. I'd rather give away this burden of living to pay rent to belong to a squat somewhere.

I tuned into Mosaic's podcast earlier also. Erwin was speaking on Blessed are the Poor in Spirit, for theirs shall be the kingdom of heaven. It was exactly what I need at this time in my life. I remember having this recurring dream when I was a teenager of a tidal wave seeking me out wherever I was. It seems to have become reality with financial struggles presently. Everywhere I turn I'm getting bogged down in money. This is so not the way anyone should live. I've been very angry with God and even when I could bring myself to speak to him there was a deep resentment for having been called out of a career into financial uncertainty which only seems to be getting shakier. I know I'm not alone in this- many people are going through a hard time now, so please don't feel I'm asking for pity right now. I just know what God's said to me and the fact that it's not really anywhere to be seen has begun to piss me off in no uncertain terms.

Yet Erwin tackled the subject of poverty. Financial poverty leaves one grasping for every single penny that is around. It leads you to being stingy and not very generous (which is understandable), breeding a mindset that just stinks of poverty and lack. So what does it mean to be poor in spirit? Well spiritual poverty leaves you grappling for any spiritual high that will get you along. When we realise that we are broken and spiritually dead we will eat every crumb that falls from our master's table. We will savour the scents of food coming from his kitchen.

But what it leads us most to is a hunger for him. Do finances and food mean more than Christ who died and rose on our behalf? Christ who calls out to us and speaks to our spirits calling them to life? I could have been persuaded into trading in Christ and his kingdom for security. I really could have. But I think I'm coming back around to the realisation that though money is in short supply, that's the only thing lacking. How can I trade money for an endless supply of love, belonging, forgiveness, hope (even though I can feel hopeless just because of a shallow and stupid yet very necessary thing like money)..... God forgive me. God help me. I am spiritually broke. And I want to be a hippie.

http://www.psalters.com/