Walmart Wars !

news.yahoo.com.../nm/20040903/wl_nm/mexico_pyramids_dc_3
For who dis like walmart check out this story. I never realy had a problem with the store but this story has changed my prespective.

they can't be serious. that kind of thing wouldn't even hold up here in the US. i can't believe the Mexican gov't would allow a monopoly like walmart destroy a historical site. sickening.

I'm not a Walmart fan because they wipe out small business, however...

Ever been to Mexico? In Quintana Roo there are ruins all over, and they are generally disregarded. In Cancun, for example, the ruins are fenced off from a golf course and overshadowed by hotel chains and tourists crawl all over them and take rocks away. The Walmart was a MILE AWAY? That's not bad at all.

All over the world there are cities right up on ancient monuments. Giza, Egypt is another example. We all see these romantic pictures of pyramids in the desert - they are all shot from the same angle looking away from the urban mess that is a scarabs throw away from the base.

I'm all for preserving monuments, and the past, but a mile is not a bad distance away. The benefit that one store will bring to the area far outweighs the damage to the view. Walmart might even throw in some bucks to help restore and preserve that site, and do more good that the people who oppose it could have ever asked.

Did you read the story/ It says they found a alter of some kind where the parking lot is going this isent a case of being near a land mark but a case of paving it over.

Yep, I did see that, and aparently they weren't away - may or may not be true, but at least they found it, and having a parking lot over you is a good way to stay protected. That seemed to be a minor point in the article, though. What was getting people's panties in a bunch was the proximity to the site itself.

"The construction lies less than a mile from the gated tourist park housing the main ruins and is visible from atop the Pyramid of the Sun that has defined the skyline for 2,000 years."

The other point was that locals felt it would erode the sale of crafts and handiwork. I have a feeling the tourists that would be checking out the ruins aren't going to want a souvineer from the local walmart. They want the cheap handicraft they can barter for and they will buy where the tourbusses take them.

Wow... you know what the guy inside that tomb under the Walmart parking lot would be doing today if he were alive? ...scratching at the lid.

Seriously...

Dear Walmart:
If you locate your store near these monuments,
Please provide funding, to assist in the restoration
and preservation of these monuments.
I hear in your commercials "what a good neighbor Wal-Mart is"
Please put your money where your mouth is.

[edit on 5-9-2004 by spacedoubt]

I love Wal-Mart. If Wal-Mart doesn't sell it, I probably don't need it. Long live Wal-Mart.

i have always hated walmart. i dunno why i just hate them so much. might be the commercial with the yellow smiley face floating around hitting old people.

Wal-Mart Mexico has local and state approval for the store. Federal archeologists monitoring construction say it poses no threat to the ruins, and officials say most people welcome the store for the low prices, investment and jobs it will bring."

Everyone loves to blame wal-mart, did you all skip this paragraph in the story?? My mom has worked for them for 24 years, working her way up from cashier to ALL POWERFUL GOD-LIKE STORE MANAGER!! J/k
I have no problems with the store, they fed me for a LONG time.

Walmart has everything, even Dremel etching bits, which helped me modify my computer case. Why would I not love them?

I'm all for picking and choosing buildings to save as historical monuments, but you can't save them all. Often it's best for old, useless buildings to be torn down and replaced with new, usable buidlings. Or would you rather go cover more fresh land in concrete and increase urban sprawl?

The more I think about this, the more I regretfully support Walmart. The alter under the parking lot that everyone keeps bringing up as proof they are out to destroy is a sticking point with me. While it's unfortunate, and I'm as nostalgic and for preserving history as anyone, but it brought up a few things.

1) How common were these alters? Could there be hundreds around and undiscovered? Was it as important as we think it is today?

2) Modern life cannot stop for the sake of the old and ancient. In 1000 years that Walmart might be someone's archeological miracle. Psychogirl mentioned above "that kind of thing wouldn't even hold up here in the US. i can't believe the Mexican gov't would allow a monopoly like walmart destroy a historical site. sickening." We pave over and dig up and build on the past in this country. We build on grounds sacred to native americans early immigrants. In New York there is so much history underneath everything else. In Jerusalem, you can go down underneath the buildings and modern homes and tour a home of people that lived in biblical times that has been excavated. The whole city is in layers. I'd be willing to bet the Mexicans did this in the past and do this now also. I don't mean to sound harsh or insensitive, but the absolute outrage at this one Walmart seems a bit hippocritical.

3) Everone loves to hate Walmart. If this had been a Mayan theme park, would there be so much outrage? I don't think Walmart came down there to intentionally pave over Mexican ruins, but they get the black eye for it because it's easy to point fingers at them. The community probably welcomed and campaigned for Walmart to come down. Local and State authorities agreed and approved the store. Archeologists gave the green light, too. I don't see how they are the bad guy here.

I'm glad they were able to find the alter and hopefully preserve it, and I hope the community gets as much benefit as possible having a Walmart in town. I'm sure Walmart will do the "right" thing and the PC thing and help out the effort to conserve and protect. I'm also sure these same people who protest it will have no problem shopping there.

All of you fans of Walmart, take a look at the face of mega-corp greed.
Walmart exists for one purpose, GREED and lining the coffers of its shareholders....any "concern" they express for community and workers is propaganda...(not saying that they wont give you a job, but what kind of job and at what expense)

Read the evil that is Walmart,
www.fastcompany.com...

[edit on 6-9-2004 by CazMedia]

I worked for Wal-Mart at one of their distribution centers until very recently and I can tell you without a doubt everything you hear on the news is almost 100% propaganda and lies. Its all incredibly hyped up...most people will find any reason they can to pick them apart. Keep in mind the only things you ever hear are from the people that want to whine and complain about whatever they can find and never from the huge majority of those which have no problem with wal-mart. They honestly arn't that bad of a company compared to others, especially to work for.

Walmart now trying to improve it's image. Heh.. thought of you all.

news.ft.com...

Well Mexico government welcomes corporate American in their lands, I wonder when Wal-Mart will reach the Middle East and open his first store in Baghdad.

I just remembered something..regarding some of the past civilizations
of Mexico, and the Yucatan.

Isn't it true that a lot of the monuments, buildings, pyramids..Were built up
layer by layer, over older preceding structures?

Can someone help me with this?
I'm pretty sure, I've seen evidence of this before...

Originally posted by spacedoubt
I just remembered something..regarding some of the past civilizations
of Mexico, and the Yucatan.

Isn't it true that a lot of the monuments, buildings, pyramids..Were built up
layer by layer, over older preceding structures?

Well, I remember learning in my World History class that Mexico City, Mexico was built right on top of the old Aztec city Tenochtitlan...

I usta shop wal mart. Until I relisied that thier products were s%$t. I would rather pay an extra dollar or two to get a product that will last and not break on the first use. I usta pay $30 every 4 months on boots at wal-mart. Now I spend about $60 every 16 months for boots. Why? becouse the wal-mart product is cheap. You get what you pay for.