Yes I am a little late on this blog- but elephant ate an entire chocolate cake and I was dealing with her throw up all night last night.
So lets get started- better late than never. In class on Monday, we watched the documentary, Walmart. Just a few thoughts on this:
1. The movie at times was a little melodramatic, but gave good and thought provoking information.
2. I was conflicted after watching this movie because I grew up in Walmart. All of my family shops there and my uncle was a store manager for a decent part of his life. My mom even dated Sam Walton's son! (She grew up in Bentonville, AR)
3. Obviously there are a lot of human rights issues that this company is partaking in, and something needs to be done.
4. I am not so sure that not shopping there would help- it would just make the employes hours shrink and them have to work harder with less. Stopping the problem at the highest level may be a good way, on top of trying to keep Walmart from growing and adding more stores. BUT, at the same time, there are some small towns that don't even have a grocery store- so do we let the Walton's come into those areas?
Conclusion-- This is a problem. But there are so many problems I have been faced with recently that I think this is one that I am going to stay out of.
Next, Culture Boxes. I am glad that I got to hear a bit more about everyone! Also, I didn't anticipate crying when I shared mine, and I think it gave me more insight into my grieving process with my grandparents. I couldn't deal with their deaths at the time because I was taking care of my mom, and I think I just need to spend a little time with these feelings.
Finally, let's talk about class....
Reading the text made me realize something- When I was in 6th grade, my family moved to Flower Mound. I attended a middle school that what not in my zoning because my mom worked there. "All the families had a lot of money." I put this in quotes because I my family didn't have a whole lot of money, and I am sure there where others like me. Then in high school, I was surrounded by even more wealth.
It's interesting to me that I have always thought it was important to let people know that I wasn't wealthy- that I didn't have things handed to me like some of my friends. But why? This was me being classist. Even still I recognize the privileged class as "different." For example, in our communities and organizations class my group is focusing on the needs of adolescent substance abuse. I interviewed a CIS at Reagan, and then I went to interview a therapist in west Austin-- Westlake area. I realized that I forgot that people with money have problems, too. I know that's silly, but for real! We focus a lot on the problems of the lower class and we forget that there are issues everywhere. In my high school, Drugs were rampant. People died every year from over dose, and less than a year ago, 3 people I knew, (1 of which was a friend of mine), got busted for heroin by the DEA.
Does anyone else ever forget that everyone needs our help, not just the poor???
So lets get started- better late than never. In class on Monday, we watched the documentary, Walmart. Just a few thoughts on this:
1. The movie at times was a little melodramatic, but gave good and thought provoking information.
2. I was conflicted after watching this movie because I grew up in Walmart. All of my family shops there and my uncle was a store manager for a decent part of his life. My mom even dated Sam Walton's son! (She grew up in Bentonville, AR)
3. Obviously there are a lot of human rights issues that this company is partaking in, and something needs to be done.
4. I am not so sure that not shopping there would help- it would just make the employes hours shrink and them have to work harder with less. Stopping the problem at the highest level may be a good way, on top of trying to keep Walmart from growing and adding more stores. BUT, at the same time, there are some small towns that don't even have a grocery store- so do we let the Walton's come into those areas?
Conclusion-- This is a problem. But there are so many problems I have been faced with recently that I think this is one that I am going to stay out of.
Next, Culture Boxes. I am glad that I got to hear a bit more about everyone! Also, I didn't anticipate crying when I shared mine, and I think it gave me more insight into my grieving process with my grandparents. I couldn't deal with their deaths at the time because I was taking care of my mom, and I think I just need to spend a little time with these feelings.
Finally, let's talk about class....
Reading the text made me realize something- When I was in 6th grade, my family moved to Flower Mound. I attended a middle school that what not in my zoning because my mom worked there. "All the families had a lot of money." I put this in quotes because I my family didn't have a whole lot of money, and I am sure there where others like me. Then in high school, I was surrounded by even more wealth.
It's interesting to me that I have always thought it was important to let people know that I wasn't wealthy- that I didn't have things handed to me like some of my friends. But why? This was me being classist. Even still I recognize the privileged class as "different." For example, in our communities and organizations class my group is focusing on the needs of adolescent substance abuse. I interviewed a CIS at Reagan, and then I went to interview a therapist in west Austin-- Westlake area. I realized that I forgot that people with money have problems, too. I know that's silly, but for real! We focus a lot on the problems of the lower class and we forget that there are issues everywhere. In my high school, Drugs were rampant. People died every year from over dose, and less than a year ago, 3 people I knew, (1 of which was a friend of mine), got busted for heroin by the DEA.
Does anyone else ever forget that everyone needs our help, not just the poor???
Morgan!
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry about Elephant! I hope everything is okay now.
I agree with what you said about the Walmart documentary, it provided good and thought provoking information. I also agree the Walmart corporation has a TON to improve on. But I personally think that one person can make a difference when standing up to the company. You can make your own choices and explain to others why you do/don't support Walmart. I think it's important to remember that we all can make big things happen.
You also have a really good perspective on class. I have definitely done exactly you did many times and have never thought of it that way. Thank you for helping me realize this, now I can be conscious of it and not do it.
I enjoyed your post a lot Morgan! Thanks for sharing. See you in class :)
I agree with you about the class issue. I also often feel the need to make it clear that I didn't grow up with money. It's probably because those aspects of our identity that make us a little uncomfortable tend to be in the front of our thought process. I have had a lot of difficulty reconciling that money does not make problems disappear, that money is not the magic key to unlock suffering. I've also come to the realization that I often treat people differently if I perceive for some reason that they are a different class than I am. When I first met Andrew I actually refused to go into his friends houses because I was convinced that I would be judged based on my class... Kinda crazy. Thanks for the thoughtful post.
ReplyDeleteI really liked seeing your perspective on the Wal Mart video. It's a little different than the other blogs I have read thus far. And it does hit home, I too grew up in a Wal Mart town and couldn't imagine NOT going there. But I do feel as though things can and should be done to stop the corruption. I also liked the culture boxes... It's weird how you can go through a class and not know people at all. I like that this activity kinda changed that. Nice post!
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