Live better?

From My Perspective

By Toni Walker

I have seen and heard a lot this past weekend about Walmart closing the local stores that have been opened only a year. From my perspective, this is what I think about the whole ordeal. Walmart came in to many small towns, including Hughes Springs, Naples, and Lone Star, employed many people, and all around boosted the economy. In many towns where the Walmart Express stores opened, including Hughes Springs and Lone Star, the local grocery stores, some of which had been open for years, closed their doors because they could not compete. Now, in a little under a year since the opening of those Walmart stores, it has been announced that they will be closed. I have many friends who worked at the local stores, and their families will be affected by this It is my prayer that all of my friends affected directly will be able to find work soon, so as to have as little stress on their families as possible. What those who will lose their jobs do not need is for me to “pour salt on the wound” by constantly bashing Walmart around them. There have been numerous posts on Facebook regarding this whole ordeal, with some people even saying they have heard calls to boycott Walmart because of this decision. I may not be into “big business,” but I do understand this: Walmart made the decision they felt was best for their bottom line. That is what all businesses do. We may not understand it, like it, or agree with it, but, in all honesty, it doesn’t matter. Let me ask a question: would we all be so bent out of shape if their decision did not affect so many stores so close to us? I don’t believe we would. And, from my perspective, that proves that our opinions do not drive the decisions of any big corporation. As for calling to boycott Walmart, what good would it do? Even if everyone in Texas boycotted, all it would result in would be more store closures. More store closures would mean more families affected, and more people looking for employment. Frankly, I don’t want that on my conscience, and I dare to say, many of you do not either. When you are standing in line at the store, bashing Walmart, or talking about boycotting them, or how you “knew” they Neighborhood Markets where a bad idea, think of those around you. You may be standing in front of a new mother whose husband is one who will lose his job. You could be talking to a man whose only source of income was his job, which is now gone, and he is not a candidate for a transfer due to his age. In short, you never know who might be listening, so guard your words. Because in all honesty, Walmart still employees many thousands, and is continually adding more of the bigger stores. There are other national chains that are shuttering all stores for good, yet, we aren’t fussing about them, because that doesn’t affect us the same.

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