No, I just had forgotten that all downtowns everywhere were doing just
swell, goshdarn it, until 1962, when the first Wal-Mart opened in Arkansas,
an event so cataclysmic that just about every downtown area -- even in
towns that wouldn't get a Wal-Mart until a quarter-century later -- went to
shit overnight.

In response to Josh's Stewart's Just A Big Meanyhead post below, I can only
offer the possibility that Josh is just upset that when confronted by
counterarguments by myself, Ron, Bobby, Jason and others -- not one of whom
is claiming that Wal-Mart is the greatest thing since sliced bread, even
the one of us on their payroll -- his initial statement that "Often
Wal-Mart will open up outside of town on a highway or intersection between
two towns-- to draw retail traffic from each-- and destroy the downtowns of
both in the process" doesn't really hold water.  It does not take into
account that the vast majority of American downtowns were already dying by
1962, when the very first Wal-Mart opened in Arkansas, and were well and
truly shot to shit LONG before Wal-Mart started its major national push in
the mid-'80s.  It does not take into account the fact that Wal-Mart builds
its stores on the outskirts of town and in unincorporated areas between
towns (see footnote below) for a variety of factors that are far more
important to their business model than some cockamamie Doctor Evil glee at
putting the screws to the mom-and-pops, such as: 1. land is much cheaper
there; 2. that's closer to where people actually live; 3. zoning laws are
much more relaxed there; 4. there's enough room to build an enormo-box
store and the acres of parking without having to buy two dozen small
parcels of land in the process.  It's a simplistic, reductive argument that
transfers people's anger towards those companies who are exploiting the
real problem instead of directing their anger where it really belongs: at
city charters and zoning laws that encourage urban sprawl instead of the
infill and mixed-use development that it has been proven time and again is
absolutely necessary to revitalize downtowns, and at people who would
rather have a McMansion on a 1/3 acre lot 30 miles from downtown so that
they have room for their big honkin' SUVs rather than living in a smaller
house in an urban area where they might be able to (you freaks!) WALK to a
supermarket or a restaurant and (goddamn commies!) TAKE PUBLIC TRANSIT to
their jobs.

I know that Wal-Mart in particular and urban sprawl in general is a
hot-button topic for me -- I spent the entire six years I lived in
Albuquerque as part of an active lobbying team that I'm proud to say has
done one whole hell of a lot to revitalize Albuquerque's downtown in the
face of various kinds of opposition -- and I apologize for any offense I've
caused on the topic.  But I firmly believe that limiting your outrage just
to the corporations misses the most important part of the problem.  It's
not just Mega-lo-mart's fault.  It's the fault of the city planners and the
city councils, and ultimately, as Ron so eloquently said, it's the fault of
the people who don't even recognize that there are possibilities other than
living in Pinewood Estates, shopping at Wal-Mart, eating at McDonalds and
driving 24.6 miles to work every morning.  If that's what people genuinely
choose to do and they have their reasons, great, more power to 'em.
Personally, I grew up in suburbia, I shop at Wal-Mart sometimes, I have
consumed *way* more than my fair share of Big Macs over the last 34 years,
and I understand that you have to go to where the job is.  But the
fundamental underlying problem is that too many people don't even think
that they might have other options out there.  If you're going to be angry
at anyone, they would be my first suggestion.

They're the same people who only listen to the music that the major labels
and Clear Channel have chosen to push this quarter, because they don't
bother to spin the radio dial or venture past the front CD displays at Best
Buy.  There, I even made this vaguely on-topic.

(Footnote: As Jason pointed out, Wal-Mart hasn't penetrated Massachusetts
much (pun most definitely intended), and that's largely because this state
HAS no unincorporated land!  There is not a single acre of Massachusetts
that's not part of a city or town, which makes it impossible for Wal-Mart
to work in its accustomed manner.  There's only one Wal-Mart Supercenter in
all of Massachusetts, in Ware, in the south central part of the state.
Even it's about 2/3rds the size of the average Supercenter.  And I admit
that I shop there when I happen to be in that part of the state.  Because
that Wal-Mart Supercenter is the only place within 400 miles of
Massachusetts where I can buy Ranch Style Beans, Pioneer country gravy mix
and White Lily flour, and by god, I'm a southern boy and I need the food of
my people.  If they carried frozen green chile and Mrs. Baird's cherry
pies, hell, they could erect a statue of Sam Walton in the middle of
friggin' Boston Common as far as I'm concerned.)

S

PS: 8-P (orright, Greg?)


At 10:07 PM 12/3/2003 -0800, Greg Cagle wrote:
>Looks like Stewart forgot the emoticons again 8^).
>
>- Greg
>
>Josh Chasin wrote:
>
>> Of course, the possibility that I understand you perfectly and that it is
>> you who aren't hearing me, is too absurd to even be on the table.  So I'll
>> just shut stupidly up now.  Thank you for the free lesson though.  You do
>> seem to dispense them freely, and I felt like I wouldn't be one of the cool
>> kids till I got one.