The Anti-Wal-Mart holiday pledge:

[Catshrink]

I (name) solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart.

I, Catshrink, solemnly sear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart(and to seek out small businesses).

[wryter2000]

1. I have never entered a Walmart

And I never will. They'll never have one of their superstores in Oaktown, in any case.

[7th_Sephiroth]

29. HA!

my work has screwed both wal-mart and Tyson out of thousands, i install power monitors and networks, and i double my price for wal mart

[gate of the sun]

30. i boycott

those bad boys as well.

[bamademo]

2. I shop at Target instead

I'm not religious but one year I walked into Wal-mart and ventured back to sporting goods in search of thermal underwear. Imagine my disgust when I saw a rotating gun display with a nativity scene on the top. I found the manager and asked him if he didn't see the irony in the display. I'm not sure irony was in his vocabulary but the display was gone shortly afterwards. :evilgrin:

[curse10]

3. I don't even know where a Wal-Mart is in Boston

nor do I care to find out!

So I'll happily take this pledge!

[intheozone]

4. I will never shop Wal-Mart or Sams Club

not ever. They can be giving the stuff away free and I still will refuse to go anywhere near those stores.

[Noordam]

5. Costco GOOD Sams BAD

From what has been posted Costco treats their employees great.....

[msanger]

7. shop to drop bush

has links toTtarget - which is a good store, and Albris -- which links to many small independent bookstores. If you want to do the anti-walmart thing, one approach is to "shop to drop bush" - where a percent of what you spend gets sent to groups like moveon.org.

[wryter2000]

19. That's good to hear

I love Costco. I figured if I hadn't heard anything bad, they must be okay.

[Catshrink]

20. I live on Costco rotisserrie chicken

and generally buy my DVDs there, too. As well as too much other stuff!

[Padraig18]

6. I swear it.

I, Padraig, do solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart.

I, Padraig, solemnly sear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart(and to seek out small businesses).

/s/ Padraig

PS-- I am a small-business owner. :)

[MaineDem]

37. I second those emotions

I, MaineDem, solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart (and that includes Sam's Club) and to seek out small businesses.

This will not be difficult for me. I hate that corporation with a passion!

[onebigbadwulf]

8. Ever since I saw their commercials as a kid

I knew there was something I didn't like about Wal-Mart.

Now I know. Never have and never will shop there.

[blondeatlast]

9. Not a problem for me--I hate Wal-Mart.

I even hated the place before I found out about their crappy ways of doing business.

Now, I say we ORGANIZE. This is one place I would cheer if they went out of business.

This evil empire needs to be stopped, YESTERDAY.

[pippin]

10. I too take the pledge

I will never shop at wal-mart. I hereby also place the following hex upon them: May their profits dwindle and wilt and may all the workers of America rise up against them. :-)

[Catshrink]

11. Their anti-union activities are appalling.

Whenever an employee is reported to management for anti-union activities, a team is sent out from Benson. There's a thread in GD on this very subject:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=784077

[JI7]

12. YES YES YES

can't stand walmart. horrible business practices. good thing there aren't really anywhere that close to me. i like target though.

[Nlighten1]

13. I take the pledge

Screw Wal-Mart

[FreakinDJ]

14. Glad to see finaly getting the BIG PICTURE

I stopped shopping there 2 years ago

How in the Fuck can you explain to me how the biggest retailer in the world needs corp. welfare to pay healthcare benifits for its working poor.

Hope Sam is rolling in his grave

Cheap basterd

[Catshrink]

18. They could pay for full health coverage for all employees and families

if the Wal-Mart siblings would give up a billion of their annual revenues. Sounds like a lot, but hey, they make a lot. This was posted on DU about a month ago and I don't have the link handy. Pretty amazing though.

John Walton has a scholarship for low income families - that would include his workers.

[ima_sinnic]

15. yes I solemnly swear to continue resisting the evil force of WalMart

I would love nothing more than to see a plague of biblical proportions descend on the greedy House of Walton.

[eyesroll]

16. I, eyesroll, solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart

and to seek out small businesses whenever possible;
and to make sure all holiday food is Tyson-free (http://www.tysonfamiliesstandup.org);
and to avoid all retail establishments tomorrow with the possible exception of the gas station and perhaps the haircut place (neither of which are in or near a mall);
and to get the heck off the computer already so I can go to my parents' house for some food.

(But I do reserve the right to cut through the Wal-Mart parking lot to avoid the back-up on Hwy. 59.)

[liberalmuse]

17. Eff Wal-Mart.

I haven't been in a Wal-Mart for almost 4 years, and will never give them my business again. That goes for Sam's Club, too. May your karma bite you in the ass, Wal-Mart.

[name not needed]

21. walmart run by morons

i went to the paintball section, they were asking ME questions. they were lucky i know a lot about paintball.

[sasquatch]

45. What do you expect from sheep

It's not like they're going to start quoting Shakespere for you on the spot.

[annagull]

22. I took the Anti Wal Mart pledge for life

we will never give them a dime.

[Catshrink]

23. I'm in... for life!

[kayell]

24. No problem

I haven't shopped there in more than 2 years, and have no intention of shopping there ever again. As for holiday shopping, I mostly make gifts anyway, other than buying some toys for the granddaughter and nieces. Kids have too much plastic crap anyway, so walmart has nothing I would even want.

[durutti]

25. I don't see a reason to boycott Wal-Mart.

I won't boycott any store unless a union specifically calls for a boycott. Sure, Wal-Mart sucks, but boycotts often hurt workers just as much (if not more than) owners and management.

Another thing: while Wal-Mart is terrible, it's no more terrible than Target or K-Mart.

[Deja Q]

28. Tell us how we can have a revolution where nobody gets hurt?

:eyes:

And you're flat out bloody WRONG about Target. While not the best I suppose, they actually give back to the community. How does that equate them to Wal-mart?!

[durutti]

54. LOL

In what alternate dimension does boycotting Wal-Mart constitute a revolution?

[blondeatlast]

39. Target is immensely better

to it's employees. Working conditions suck in retail as a rule, but Target is much better than most. If you need proof, just look at the attitudes of it's employees as compared to Wal-Mart's.

[Catshrink]

40. Target employees are awesome

They are upbeat and helpful and very, very kind.

My dad is blind and 84 years old. One of his favorite things to do is go out for coffee. Frequently we go to Target -- it's easy to get in and out there and he likes their coffee. Some Target employees who are on break sit and talk to dad and most know him by name. He really enjoys this and it helps brighten his day.

[PVnRT]

51. Unions have been fighting Wal-Mart for years

The only way to hurt the people who run these places is to get them where it hurts - the wallet. Make your demands known, and if they don't change, then they can keep on losing money.

[oldcoot]

26. I, oldcoot, solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart

However, I cannot guarantee that I will try to seek out small businesses. Some of the small businesses in my community are ran by conservatives. For example, one of the used bookstores in my area had a petition to repeal the Endangered Species Act. I will never buy anything from that store.

Fortunately, there are other options. I have ordered some of my gifts from a university press. I also hope to do some shopping at our university museum's gift store. This will help support the museum.

[CSI Willows]

27. I, CSI Willows, solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart.

:kick:

[sasquatch]

31. I have never been in a Wal Mart in Ohio

I was once in Tenessee for fishing licenses. I've sworn to myself to avoid that place like the Plague.

[KCDem]

32. I took the same pledge 2 weeks ago

right after I saw Jim Hightower. I'd been to Walmart that morning, and my 4-y-old said in the parking lot "Why are we going to Walmart? It gives me a headache". What a Wunderkind!

[toddzilla]

33. no wally world for me

i recently convinced my sister to give em up too..
my dad says he avoids it, but he still shops there because he says he's broke. then he bought a turkey there and it contained a "bag of gravy" inside, he was pissed because they counted it as part of the weight..

[Leftist78]

34. Great idea

I Leftist78 solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart.

Target will be getting most of my business.

[loudnclear]

35. I, Loudnclear and family vow to not shop at all for Christmas

We are all either making or baking our gifts. Putting money into family savings account to help needy members of family as more of them lose their jobs. About 37 of us in the family have agreed to only buy necessities, reduce or eliminate luxaries and travel, spend the minimum in 2004, shop at family or other small businesses, for discount stores when necessary we will shop at Costco (we buy in bulk and then divide it up among the family). We will not buy any more appliances, electronics, or autos until 2005. There are also a few families in the neighborhood who will try this type of boycott. The 37 members of my family are spread out in four states: PA, CA, NC, NJ. (My NJ family members livid about the increases in tolls and sales taxes that are needed to make up for lost Federal payments. Also, they say there are gashtop like tactics about traffic violations to raise more money.

Happy holidays to all.

[grannylib]

36. What a lovely idea! Truly in the spirit of Christmas. It's gotten way too

commercial and I think you have the right idea.
We have been giving non-material as well as home-made gifts for years now (coupons for babysitting, carwashing, helping elderly relatives with housekeeping chores, lawn care, car care, etc.)
On edit: forgot to pledge not to shop at Wal-mart...no problem! I hate the place.
I, grannylib, do solemnly swear to maintain my habit of not shopping at Wal-Mart, for Christmas or any other occasion.

[loudnclear]

44. This pledge is about more than not buying material goods...

It's about organizing a family fund to help those who lost their jobs and health insurance. By not buying to support this Bush economy, we will have disposable income to set aside to help each other. Since only the rich are making out in this economy anyway, a little sacrifice on our part won't hurt us that much but if it hurts the corporations' bottom line, we will have accomplished our mission.

[politicat]

57. I, Politicat, agree with Loudnclear. No shopping at all this season.

I bought all of my groceries before Thanksgiving. They'll get me through until January at least.
We don't celebrate Christmas, not being Christian, nor Chanukah, not being Jewish.

The sole exceptions to the spending ban are:
Milk delivery (from a local, organic, free range dairy that uses glass or reusable plastic bottles)
Postage (for my home based business)
Gas/bus passes (for getting to and from work)
Coffee at the locally owned, family run coffee house that is my secondary office when I'm getting cabin fever. (the problem with working most of the time out of my home office instead of going into school.)
The monthly fee for the community recreation center where I have to go to exercise (as I can't be outside during daylight and it's too frimpin cold to try jogging or swimming at night.)
Regular bills that can't be avoided.

Mom is coming up (Colorado, from AZ) after Christmas but that was planned and the ticket purchased months ago as she lost her husband, my step father in February and doesn't want to spend the holidays alone.

Walmart is sadly, the closest store to my home (Albertson's is 2nd; True Value Hardware will be closest in March when the new building is finished) but I've never even been inside the front doors. I made the mistake of working for WM the summer between High School and college and learned my lesson very well.

Politicat

[bywho4who]

38. KICK

I will take this pledge/ and further more I will inform all the people I contact of this endeavor. If we all do this it will be felt.




:smoke: :hippie:

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

41. I , CP , flip the bird whenever I drive past Walmart

So I definitely won't shop there .

[annonymous]

42. This is relatively easy for me to do.

I avoid Wal-Mart whenever possible and so do many of my family members. However, some of my in-laws do not have very many options but Wal-Mart since they live in a rural area.

[Zomby Woof]

43. gawd, I hate WalMart with every atom of my being

No problem with the pledge from here!

[loudnclear]

46. Did you miss this pledge?

Well, here it is again.

[Catshrink]

47. Solidarity kick

:kick:

[marigold20]

48. No Wal-Mart for me this Christmas

I made a desperate run to Wally World at Halloween, looking for a wig for a costume. Someone at work told me that WalMart had wigs. I entered the store, found a manager walking down an aisle and asked where the Halloween costumes were. He angrily pointed to the other side of the store and stormed away. I've seen the WalMart commercials where all the employees are just so friendly and happy to be there. Hmmm.....

On edit - they didn't have any wigs!!

[Catshrink]

49. Yeah, why are the Wal-Mart employees on the commercials so dang cheerful?

I don't get it. They're barely making a living yet they're happy? Is it something in the water?

[Zorra]

50. Sworn and Upheld.

Have not shopped in an American Dept. store in 2 years.



:dem:

[PVnRT]

52. Sounds good to me

I, Don Cole, solemnly swear not to do any holiday shopping at Wal-Mart this year.

I can't guarentee the part about small businesses, because that's fairly hard around here.

[Devoir]

53. Sorry, but I love Wal-Mart

And here's why:

1. They have a large selection of items at very low prices
2. One is very close to where I live and open all the time
3. The provide jobs for the community, particulary entry level jobs for young people. (If anyone dislikes working there, they are always free to quit).
4. Because of their low prices, poor people are able to stretch their dollars. That is why many of them shop there

I really don't understand the anti-WalMart sentiment here. They are the prototypical American success story.

[CandyCrim21]

55. Me too!

I have to admit that I disagree with some stuff they do, (which we cant controll), but nevertheless. I cant afford NOT to shop there. Between both my jobs, and going to school full time I don't have time really to shop during the day. This is a 24 hour place. Thats another reason I like it. What can I say, I love it. Consumer driven I suppose.

[REP]

56. I *Always* Don't Shop at SquallMart

I hate them. I also hate the really horrible service, but I don't expect people working for crappy wages being forced to work unpaid hours to bust their asses to do their jobs efficiently. I hate being treated as though I am a thief by their security when I leave their stores. I stopped shopping for *anything* at WalMart ever about five years ago.

I shop at Target; everything is so much nicer there, and the employees don't seem miserable, either. I can't recall ever having any problem at a Target.