Not surprised

I'm not surprised. Take a look at this site:
http://www.russelltharp.com/walmart.htm

A place for everything

I shop at Wal-Mart - not often, but I don't mind driving a little further to do it. There is a place for Wal-Mart's in the city and even in the rural areas, but not in heavy residencial neighborhoods. We moved here, in part, to avoid living near the traffic congestion, the noise, the glaring neon lights, and vast parklots.

Wal-Mart and the other warehouse stores don't have any place in a bed-room community. When I need a disposable pool toy or a some cheap potted plants, I have no problem looking up a Wal-Mart a few miles away.

The are warehouses, after all, and the look best next to COSTCO, SAMS, Best Buys, HOME DEPOT, Target, and Academy. We have a place for them and I'd like to see them clean up and improve what they already have, not mow down acres of fine Oak Trees and trying to fit in where the aren't wanted and don't belong.

There is nothing wrong with shopping at Wal-Mart and boycotting Wal-Mart won't make any difference at all. Understand who they are and what the do, and then you can see that emotional responses won't work. They have built a fortress of walls to protect the business from any form of community responsibilty. They even give out token gifts of charity to enhance their reputation. Hiring seniors as door greeters is good PR, not a good job, but it does make them look good. They know how to LOOK GOOD, not how to BEHAVE GOOD.

I DID shop there also....

Feeling so powerless regarding the Wal-Mart, Loews Home Improvement and others that WILL be coming, I decided the ONLY way other then expressing my opinion through this forum or letter writing is to STOP SPENDING MY money there. I was not a heavy Wal-Mart customer either but did go occasionally to shop. I did shop Loews but no more ever since they are trying to disrespect Sunset Valley as well. Russ made another good point which I know is hardly brought up around South Austin because everyone seems to be hard up for retail in our back yards, TREES! Wal-Mart says that they will try to save the trees BULL! They will have to cut so many of them to build even a smaller store. This goes for a Target, HEB etc. I can't speak for others, but ONE of the reasons I moved to Austin is for the greenery. I read that this city is the most forested urban city in America. (Except for Hawaii). Look around people, look at the developers who built our homes, they all could care less about saving these beautiful old oaks and cedar elms. And when they do replant, they have no character at all...straight perfect trunks! We will all be 6 ft. below when they are even able to comfort us from the Texas sun. Unfortunately as I have said a million times before...think about what our kids will inherit our mistakes. I keep looking at the Arboretum shopping center. I heard from folks that it was the community that put pressure on them to keep those trees. As Stephanie mentioned at the Wal-Mart meeting, we need areas with urban forests around our shopping centers so after dinner we can sit, digest and eat an ice cream! (Don?’t worry, I won?’t mention all the displaced wildlife) Look at what Endeavor did to what I coined as the forest that is now a concrete shopping center, they saved a few token oaks. I am sure that they made more bucks that way. And Endeavor, Russ might think they are ?“good guys?”, I say that it was more important that the owner bought his big mouth wife (you know the one that to Daryl Slusher not to F____ with my husband) and threaten him more Pilate?’s classes! Lastly, the area I moved from only had 2% tree canopy left. YUP, they cut down the entire area for shopping center strip mails, houses and car washes. Its happening here folks and we need to wake up else the reason we love this area in South Austin will be under the knives (chainsaws) of Gary Bradley, Endeavor, home builders, Steve Bartlett and any other good old boy who has no respect for the land! They only respect their fat wallets and fat bellies!
Development can, and will happen and people do have property rights but just as Daryl Slusher said, they have to start respecting our wishes and the hill country!

Good Employer

I agree that boycotting probably won't do any good, but I am doing it anyway. I didn't spend about $150. at Wal Mart Since last Wednesday and I feel good about it. I will admit that they are a good employer. They give much-needed jobs overseas and pay at least 8 cents an hour. And, Unlike in the USA, those people are allowed to work 40 hours and overtime.. Wal Mart is doing its part to keep those youngsters off the street where they might get run over by a speeding rickshaw with the slogan ''allies lower plices..allies'' and a smiley face on it.