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But it was our desire as consumers that drove Walmart to come up with the idea. So I dont blame Walmart....and whereas I do not shop there (I bleieve in supporting the local merchant and lucky for me, I can afford to pay more for products), I am sure there are many people out there that thank Walmart for creating an environment that allows them to stretch their dollar further.
While I agree with your principle of supporting the local merchant I'm afraid the days when that available alternative are all but gone.
Today, where I live, the small merchant concept has been swallowed by the corporate whales. There are no more
little guys. Today the commercial landscape is dominated by
Costco, Staples, MacDonald's, Ace Hardware, Dick's Sporting Goods, Target, Home Depot, P.C. Richard's, WalMart, Lowes, Burger King, etc. And it's becoming the same all over America. If you drive cross-country you can't tell if you're in Maine or California unless it's snowing.
I'm lucky to have found one of the few remaining barber shops in America where a male barber offers the simple choice of a haircut or a trim and one is in-and-out in fifteen minutes. Because the alternative is a choice of
salons, where one needs an appointment to be
interviewed by a female
stylist and clipped like a movie actor, one hair at a time.
It's bad when it oscillates between imminent rage and depression. I'm afraid we are moving (have moved?) from a sense of community into the state of mind known to behaviorists as,
alienation. And that's not good.