The unsung joys of living with Walmart

Colorado College has a reputation as a lonely outpost of liberal thought, constantly embattled by the conservatism embodied in Colorado Springs. Every time a pro-lifer pickets campus, every time a student engages in a debate with the lonely anti-gay rights activists who occasionally loiter around Worner, the student body as a whole can pat itself on the back once more; secure in the knowledge that their progressive views have been upheld. These liberal ideas, regardless of how “edgy” they may seem to our city, or at least the city we live in, are safe on our campus; and there are few opinions more safely expressed than distaste for Walmart. 

You’ve heard all the arguments before, hell you’ve probably spouted them yourself, but for the sake of clarity, indulge me briefly. Walmart treats their workers poorly. Walmart drives smaller, independent stores out of buisiness. Walmart’s products, imported from so many different places, are detrimental to the environment. Walmart, in the hearts and minds of our people, is simply evil. And, you know, if you look at only those aspects, it’s true. Walmart seems like to purest representation of the Evil Empire that every good liberal/radical is honor bound to tear down.

Given the prevailing view, I’m aware that my opinion isn’t likely to be well received, but as far as I am concerned Walmart is fucking awesome. For a long time I was in the same mode of thinking as the school’s majority. My first visit to a Walmart when I was fourteen left me remarking to my family about how I felt physically sick while in the store. My opinion started to change a couple months ago, when I found myself volunteering at the Care and Share food bank off Powers Blvd. Care and Share provides food for the hungry, which I am fairly confident we can all view as a noble goal, and as a nonprofit they get all their food from donations. For me, this meant two hours a day in a freezing warehouse sorting breads from cakes, canned goods from glass jars, and other similarly monotonous tasks. As I sorted however, I began to notice that significantly more food was coming in from, of all places, Walmart than anywhere else. And not just day old breads, either; crates of steak, chicken and sausages, pallets stacked high with fresh produce, doughnuts and cakes, all in a far higher volume than, for example, King Soopers. Obviously impressive, but lets be honest, it probably would have been thrown out if they hadn’t donated it.

What really shocked me, however, was the packaging. I was unloading hundreds of cardboard boxes full of food a day, most of which we broke down and recycled.

Walmart, however, was sending their food in cartons clearly marked with “do not throw away, return to the nearest store for reuse.” Even Sunflower Markets, the “local”(they have locations in six states) natural grocery store, wasn’t doing this. The annoyance of stripping packing tape off of so many Walmart boxes aside, I was floored. This was Walmart, the villain, the monster of capitalism gone mad, making a very concentrated effort to go green. Sure they save money reusing the same boxes, but it’s not like the cost of cardboard cartons is going to put Walmart out of buisiness. Intrigued, I dug deeper, and discovered that Walmart has been the recipient of numerous awards in sustainability over the last decade, honoring everything from their commitment to energy efficiency to their sale of more sustainable seafood. From personal experience then, Walmart is doing more to help the needy in Colorado Springs, and in a more sustainable way, than any other coporation.

This is all fairly irrelevant though, compared to Walmart’s greatest value. It’s cheap. While CC students have the privileged luxury of avoiding the store for “moral” reasons, there are many, many lower-middle and working class people who don’t, and for them the store is a godsend. The ability to find food, and not just prepackaged McDonalds caliber microwave snacks, at affordable prices is an invaluable contribution to the survival of people without the extra disposable income to do all their grocery shopping at Whole Foods. And it’s not just groceries; my hair product is five dollars cheaper at Walmart, dry goods, toiletries, everything is there for wonderfully low prices. It’s not surprising that so many students are willing to put aside their moral compunctions and stock up there before block breaks.

Of course the counter argument to this is fairly obvious. The only reason Walmart can offer these prices is because they treat their employees like shit. And honestly, I can’t speak to that. I haven’t done the research to support or deny that claim. I can say that they’ve won awards from the National Association of Female Executives, Latin Business Magazine, and Black MBA Magazine for being among the best companies to work for.

More importantly, I can say that they employ people. Again, they could be employing people under better conditions, at least according to some sociology majors I know, but lets be honest: This is capitalism. The worker is going to be dehumanized and exploited regardless of their profession. The important point is that in a country with 9.7% unemployment, they give people jobs. They pay people. A terrible job is substantially better than no job. Unless, of course, your family keeps a roof over your head, pays your utilities, and buys your food. 

The only claim left then, is the argument against big box stores, and it is, to some extent, valid. The low prices and massive inventories of these stores truly do put smaller, local operations out of business. It’s a shame, but again, that’s how capitalism works. It’s not a great system, but it is the system we have, and it rewards cutthroat enterprise more than it rewards ol’timey local feel. So while the criticism stands, my question is this: Why level it exclusively at Walmart? There’s nothing local about King Soopers, Barnes and Noble has put many local bookstores down, and well, then there’s Whole Foods. Whatever their commitment to selling local, organic produce, regardless of their incredibly hip, well-paid workforce, they have gone around the country buying up or forcing out a multitude of local natural foods chains. My heart goes out specifically to Wild Oats, the Colorado based grocer that Whole Foods absorbed in 2007 which, while still a massive grocery store, at least offered a change of pace from Whole Foods dominance. But Whole Foods is great, right? Why would we shop at Mountain Mama’s when Whole Foods has a much bigger selection, and better prices, and… Oh. Wait a second.

Now, I’m not criticizing Whole Foods as a store. Nor am I criticizing Target, or REI, or King Soopers. They serve a purpose, and they save me money, so I’d much rather shop there than spend the gas to go to four different stores for everything I need. I’d rather have the 100% guarantee on my crash pad from REI, so I can return it every time it gets too beat up, even though Mountain Chalet is an awesome little local business. I go to Sunflower instead of Mountain Mama’s because I can get Cage Free eggs for a buck fifty a carton. And I go to Walmart for everything else.