What Is It About Wal-Mart?

For most of my life, there has always been a Wal-Mart nearby. It's a wonderfully convenient place where you can get almost anything from groceries to car batteries to CDs (edited versions only) to movies (ironically, these aren't edited versions) to an engagement ring if you so desire. If you are hoping to hear a wonderful discussion of the socioeconomic impact of Wal-Mart on a community, there are plenty of places on the web to find that. For a another blogger discussing treatment of workers at Wal-Mart, check out this post. All of this is far too serious for us here at The Fount. I'm much more interested in looking at Wal-Mart from a cultural and anthropological point of view.

For those of you not from the Midwest, specifically the Michigan/Illinois/Indiana area, the predominant discount store in Michigan is not Wal-Mart, but Meijer, a company headquartered in Grand Rapids, MI. When I first moved here, I was shocked to find that the closest Wal-Mart was actually in the next county. Since then, several Wal-Marts have been built in the area, including one relatively close to my home and work.

I ave visited this nearest store a few times since it opened recently, and each time I am left with the same questions. This is not the most cosmopolitan of areas, but even though I am aware of that the people I encounter at Wal-Mart amaze me. Whether it is the man having a screaming argument with his mother in the pharmacy or the people who look like they are waiting to be interviewed on the local news after a tornado tore through the trailer park (Yeah, go ahead act offended, but then try to tell me you didn't know exactly what I meant.), I am in awe by the time I leave...and don't get me started on the prevalence of the mullet. The first time we went to this store, the cashier greeted by asking in full-blown Southern drawl, "Did y'all find everything all right?" Prompting me to ask MK as we left whether they import cashiers from the Arkansas headquarters when a new store is opened.

These people have obviously been here. They didn't just appear or move here because there was a Wal-Mart opening. Why have I not run into them in such concentrations in the past? What is it about Wal-Mart that brings the dentally-challenged out in droves?

Alas, I think this may be one of the mysteries of life that can never be answered.

Until later...