At this late date, you shouldn’t need anyone to explain why the arrival of a Wal-Mart in your town is pretty bad news for the well-being of said town. And as Billboard reports, a group of musicians in Athens, Georgia is doing whatever it can to stop the construction of a massive local development anchored by a Wal-Mart. The Downtown 13 collective is led by Patterson Hood, frontman of the Southern-rock-revivalist institution Drive-By Truckers, and it also includes members of R.E.M., Widespread Panic, the Futurebirds, and plenty of others. In their efforts, they’ve written and recorded a song called “After It’s Gone” about the slow death of local culture. Watch the video for the track below.
To download the song and learn more about the cause, head over here.
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Really? I don’t think most people who protest new Walmarts are doing it from an elitist standpoint. I think they’re worried that local businesses will close as a result of Walmart moving in, and also about how bad Walmart’s wages are for workers (probably worse than the wages given by local businesses). I’m also going to go out on a limb and say that Walmart execs aren’t putting a Walmart in downtown Athens because they want to help those in poverty.
The Athens area (I am not from there but know people who are/were) already has two Walmarts a little outside city limits. This one is a bigger deal because it will be located downtown, very close to loved local businesses that might shut down as a result of Walmart’s cheaper prices (though I guess accessible to people downtown who don’t have a car). Two seems enough for me. I remember going to school in a poorer part of the country and taking the bus to Walmart to buy school supplies – there was a bus system in the area, and one of the bus lines went right to Walmart’s front door. There are probably similar buses in Athens to get to the other two Walmarts. Walmart has its place, but the oversaturation is unnecessary and bad for everyone, I think.
I guess I’m assuming some things here, but I think there are a lot of factors involved and it’s hard to make a blanket statement like you made without thinking about it a little more.
Dear Brandoch:
The Walton family (who owns Walmart) are billionaires. Yes, that’s right…billionaires. Do you think they got that way by doing business like everyone else? Nope. Their huge, evergrowing conglomeration is a result of putting thousands of small businesses out on the street. So, they are making people poor in many cases. Plus, low-income Americans might want to take a look at the labor conditions in foreign countries just so they can buy cheap stuff. Millions of people are being exploited so the Waltons can stay billionaires.
I am a low-income student, and the last thing I want to do is give my last dollar to a billionaire.
Have a nice day.
So Bryan…you say you’re a student. I was wondering what your goals are after you graduate. My guess would be that you are wanting to be successful and make a decent living. Or do you plan on being poor all your life? Why then is it bad to be wealthy? How many people do you think the Walmart corporation have put to work? Maybe you should be forth some effort into researching your topic before you make such ignorant comments. By the way Bryan…when was the last time you or anyone got a job from a poor person?