Upon further reflection however I realized that those items would provide comfort to many people. And it would be wrong to demand that the makers and distributors of these products not receive fair compensation for their efforts. In that light, not only did I accept the display, my respect for the Wal-Mart organization increased, because they had identified a need to reduce suffering and were endeavoring to fill that need.
Now maybe I am just rationalizing on behalf of my marketing colleagues, but if so it is not a conscious choice.
--Will
>From: "Kevin Robert Dean" <qualiall at union.org.za>
>To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>Date: Fri, 02 May 2003 07:55:25 +0200
>Subject: [lbo-talk] Patriotic parody....
>Reply-To: lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org
>
>"I am proud of my country and the freedoms I enjoy.
> However, ever since the terrorist acts of 9/11, I'm seeing
>the American Flag being marketed to consumers in every
>possible way, on every possible item. Bumper stickers,
>decals, commemorative plates, t-shirts, car antennas,
>screensavers, e-mails, billboards, grocery bags, toys...the
>list is endless, and they bear the flag for no other reason
>than to make money and prey on our patriotic spirit. The
>Marketing Scum know that consumers are quick to embrace
>trends, especially if it makes them feel better about
>themselves, and so it's no wonder that the flag is being
>slapped on everything imaginable. (People seem to think
>that waving a flag makes them better Americans. It
>doesn't. Patriotism is more a matter of community than a
>matter of how many and how high we wave our flags.) So
>before you send me hate mail for this page, consider
>sending hate mail instead to those companies who exploit
>the U.S. Flag to fatten their bank accounts. This site is
>a satire of this kind of exploitation, and I hope you can
>appreciate the humor. If not, then there are plenty of
>other sites out there to look."
>
>http://www.totalobscurity.com/mind/flagstore/index.html