It's Not Just Wal-Mart -- shop local!

OK, I admit it. I'm a little biased toward Wal-Mart since I worked there for about 3 1/2 months last Spring and Summer.

The truth is that the job (cashier) was enjoyable; I liked my fellow employees; the training was excellent and on-going; and in the short time I was there, three other cashiers were promoted, one of whom was hired the same day I was (smart as a whip, that young lady. She's going to do well one day.)

There were upsetting things about it as well. At the top of the list would be the fact that I checked out so many employees of the store who were on "food stamps." It's a debit card now, but it's governmental assistance because they can't afford to buy enough food to feed their families properly.

That could make you very angry at the store, make you want to rant and rave and picket outside, right?

Except that Wal-Mart isn't doing anything that lots of other stores aren't doing as well. Wal-Mart doesn't set the minimum wage, and if they changed tomorrow, there would still be lots of smart. diligent people working at thousands of other stores, at minimum wage or near it, struggling to put food on the table.

Now I'm seeing all sorts of anti-Wal-Mart comments on Facebook. No, it's not a perfect company, but I've seen posts urging people to "boycott Wal-Mart" on Black Friday because they're going to be open on Thanksgiving.

Wal-Mart didn't invent that disgusting practice. To the best of my knowledge, K-Mart did -- twenty years ago. K-Mart is now owned by Sears. Why not boycott the inventor of this nonsense? Why go to *any* store that was open on Thursday? We aren't going to change a thing by a few people boycotting Wal-Mart on Black Friday. Very few loyal Wal-Mart customers will do it just from the sheer convenience. They can get the groceries they need to supplement their Turkey Day leftovers, pick up that new TV for Grandpa on sale, get balls for their golf date on Saturday and bait for their plans to fish on Sunday, all in one store, one cart, one time of standing in line and trying to find a parking space on the busiest retail day of the year (those last two are huge).

It isn't an issue for me. I'm not a "high consumer" person. I won't be shopping on Thursday and I won't be shopping on Black Friday either. I think we'd all be a lot better off if we bought less "stuff."

But Wal-Mart isn't a "bad guy" here for being open on Thursday. They're the target everyone likes to aim at, and if they are closed, their previously loyal customers will go elsewhere.

Don't look now, but we live in a country based on a capitalistic economy. We're a free market society. Retailers try to draw us in and separate us from our money, and we can vote every single day with our wallets.

I'm all in favor of a boycott on Black Friday. I think it would be good for all of us. But don't just boycott Wal-Mart, who has finally caved to 20 years of pressure. Boycott ALL stores that were open on Thursday.

There will be less places to shop, and if you *really* want to vote with your wallet, shop locally. Go to the little independent stores in your neighborhood who struggle against the retail giants. But don't fool yourself. You can be pretty certain they are paying their staff minimum wage, and those staff will have far less chance of advancing themselves than they would at a bigger store.

It's all a trade-off; pick your target. But make sure you didn't just pick your target from buzz on the Internet. The Internet is full of misinformation.