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Today I was sitting in the (smoking!) break room at Wal-Mart, having my obligatory two cigarettes on my break, when five older women come in. These are women who dropped out of high school, had kids, married shitty partners, and now have been working at Wal-Mart for approximately sixty years Wal-Mart time, which is probably actually ten years normal time. (Wal-Mart time is irrelevant to regular time; an eight hour shift somehow manages to get twelve hours of work out of you, or at least that's how it feels).
Of course, I, being the AntiSocial-Weird-WalMart-Employee, am sitting in a back corner, my knees tucked up under me, smoking a cigarette and hoping they'll leave me the fuck alone. Sure enough, they do, but they strike up a conversation about how happy they are that George Bush got "re-elected". One lady says: "I'm so glad! Now all our American jobs will no longer be outsourced!"
I'm not kidding you guys, I choked on my (Diet...bllahech) Dr. Pepper. Wal-Mart is responsible more than any other country in America for the outsourcing of American jobs, aren't they? The Wal-Mart stranglehold is definite and severe. Since Wal-Mart is the number one retailer IN THE WORLD, a lot of companies want to be stocked there. Wal-Mart already outsources jobs to Taiwan, China, Indonesia and Pakistan. Wal-Mart's "Buy American" campaign is null, void, and bullshit.
"I'd spit in the face of ANYONE who voted for John Kerry!" == Garden Center Associate in the Break Room. I am going to be so glad when the holidays are over so I can find another job.
The funny thing is, most people who come through my checkout line are very courteous and nice. 75% of them tell me I do not belong in Wal-Mart because, as one elderly man said, "You're not stupid white trash."
===== "I'm not too worried by hegemony / I know the cadre will look after me" - Magazine, "Model Worker," 1978