(via jillbiden)
Louis C.K. (via 30thcenturyboy)
Sylvester Magee, the (probable) last American born into slavery died in 1971.
The last living child of former American slaves, Mississippi Winn, died in 2010.
Slavery in the territory that is now the United States lasted more than 330 years. We will be 330 years removed from slavery in the year 2195.
(via fishingboatproceeds)(via fishingboatproceeds)
(spoiler alert: actual blogging and lots of positive adjectives below the break. you’ve been warned.)
Not that anyone cares, but there’s one more thing I’d like to say following my little rant about Walmart. At the Winn-Dixie store meeting the other day when our store director referred to Walmart as “the evil empire” and all of that, he also went on to discuss how Walmart isn’t known for their customer service and how shopping experiences at Walmart gauged on social levels rarely field good results. In the spirit of the meeting, most of the Winn-Dixie employees in attendance agreed enthusiastically and discussion was sparked about how our store excels at customer service.
While it is true that Winn-Dixie and Publix and other such smaller chains tend to be known more for their quality customer service and I’m proud of that—it isn’t because of what they’re doing right; it’s because of what Walmart is doing wrong. Working at Winn-Dixie doesn’t have a whole load of perks and it isn’t the most enjoyable job in the world, but I don’t expect it to be, and I get treated well enough for the work that I do. Walmart employees just simply get shit on, no matter the quality of their work ethic.
And that isn’t something that I, as a consumer, feel comfortable bashing Walmart employees for. People don’t work at Walmart on a non-salaried level because they enjoy it or because they genuinely want to—they do it because it puts food on the table and clothes on their backs (but just barely, because Walmart’s wages are so disgustingly low). And their job experience is miserable.
So by being miserable to them as customers, what good do we do? By complaining to them about things that are far beyond their control, what good do we do? By furthering the efforts of their employers to make them feel insignificant, what good do we do? None. Absolutely none. I hate Walmart, but I pity their employees. That’s the point of this whole campaign to reveal Walmart for the monster corporation that it is.
Because as much as the GOP wants to believe that they are, corporations aren’t people. But their employees are.
“According to a Congressional study, $6,000 is the average amount taxpayers are being dinged per employee. Walmart’s wages and benefits are so low, it forces workers to go on Medicaid and receive housing assistance, childcare subsidies, food stamps, and more.”— That Cheap Stuff You Just Bought At Walmart? Turns Out It Cost $6,000 More Than You Thought. (via robot-heart-politics)
Fuck Walmart so much. I work for Winn-Dixie, which is owned by a supermarket chain called BI-LO. Winn-Dixie and affiliate stores exist mostly in the south, along with our “rival” store chain, Publix. I complain about my job on a regular basis (though, to be fair, my complaints are usually tailored to my specific store rather than the chain as a whole) and I’ll admit to it. Winn-Dixie runs decent sales for customers with Rewards Cards, but on the whole, their items are more steeply priced than what you would find at Walmart.
And I understand that that’s inconvenient. My weekly paycheck is around $60 on average; I have a car that costs $40 in gas every week. I don’t have a lot of money to spend, and I don’t like spending what little I have on groceries that I could buy elsewhere for a cheaper cost.
But I do it anyway. Because Walmart fucking sucks. My mother worked for Walmart for upwards of four years when I was in middle school and high school; my mother has had a lot of jobs in the span of time that I’ve been old enough to remember them, and I’ve never seen her more miserable and despairing than she was when she was a Walmart employee. I’ve been watching the news of Walmart’s corrupted ways spread through the internet for months now, and while it sickens me that it is the way it is to begin with, I’m happy that the veil is being lifted—albeit slowly.
I recently attended a store meeting at my Winn-Dixie in which our store director referred to Walmart (who is opening a new store even closer to ours in the next few weeks) as “the evil empire.” While the statement is far from accurate in a factual historical context, I can’t help but agree with the sentiment (even as someone who openly and regularly bashes Reagan’s foreign policy) and I really appreciated the reference.
I’m aware that all that I’ve said here doesn’t accomplish anything, but I hope that if anyone at least reads it, they’ll know this: You don’t have to be deeply invested or well-read in matters of jobs or the economy to understand that Walmart being one of the three largest corporations on the planet is fucking terrifying. Sometimes you just have to be a 17-year-old girl who pays attention.
(via staystrong-stayamazing)