|
Menstuff® has compiled the following
information on what WalMart thinks of children.
Walmart levies lifetime ban
against gay couple
WalMart
tells junior girls to kick, hit, spray insecticide
in boys'
faces
Get
Um Young and Train
Um
WalMart
Continues to Encourage "No Boundaries" for Young
Girls"
Let
the CEO know what you
think
Board
of Directors (as of 4/1/04)
WalMart
tells junior girls to kick, hit, spray bug spray in
boys' faces
What one person can do: Mary Lou saw something at
WalMart that was very disturbing. She wrote:
"As a mother of two adult sons, it breaks my
heart to think of boys being subjected to this
stuff."
The T-shirts in "A" were purchased at Walmart in
Poway, CA on 8/13/07. The T-Shirts in "B" are
artistic alterations of the original, where the
gender is reversed to emphasize how unacceptable
this violence really is.
She contacted WalMart to no avail and decided to
go to her local television station. (See story.)
The station's Consumer Alert group aired this:
Click on
icon.
"I wanted to thank you for working on the issue
of Walmart's violence-promoting T-Shirts for girls.
I watched the news story and it was excellent, and
the interviewed parents seemed really offended by
the shirts too.
"I've not seen any other mention of the subject
anywhere, and noticed yesterday that Walmart still
has these for sale. Has there been any follow-up to
this? I'm curious as to whether News8 has heard
back from Walmart's CEO. I had also contacted the
local newspapers with letters, another news
station, school principals and Walmart's main
office, none of whom responded at all.
"Maybe I'm in a minority here, but I feel this
is such an important subject. Female-against-male
domestic abuse, I'm afraid, is fairly common yet
nobody really seems too concerned. Men are supposed
to just "take it" I guess, in our society.
"And our so-called "family values" Walmart
encourages it in children."
A
|
B
|
|
Actual T-shirts
purchased at Walmart in Poway, CA on
8/13/07.
|
Not actual designs,
genders reversed for effect, not for sale.
Note how you feel when seeing the role
reversal.
|
Walmart levies lifetime ban
against gay couple
Walmart (WMT) may position itself as the store for
the common man, but sometimes it can act downright
elitist. In fact, it even goes so far as to issue
lifetime bans on certain customers. The most famous
recipient of the ultimate shunning is actress Megan
Fox, who, according to some sources, was
permanently banished from Wally World because of a
shoplifting incident when she was a teenager. Now,
thanks to a pack of lighters, two upset children
and a ham-handed response from the store's
employees, a Chicago-area gay couple, Joe Paolucci
and Thomas Hitchcock, have also been
blacklisted.
According to a report in the South Bend Tribune,
the couple, both of whom are attorneys, were
shopping at a Niles, Ill. Walmart with their two
adopted sons. Hitchcock shepherded the boys through
a checkout line while Paolucci picked up a few
last-minute items at a self-service register. Store
video surveillance shows that Paolucci scanned all
the items in his possession, put them in a grocery
bag, paid and left. However, as he met up with
Hitchcock and the boys on the way out of the store,
the group was stopped by security. The in-store
guards asked Paolucci if he had purchased a pack of
lighters. Paolucci said yes, handed over the bag,
and showed his receipt, the newspaper reported.
Unfortunately, things didn't end there.
There are conflicting accounts of what happened
next. According to the paper, Walmart claims that
the two men became "uncooperative," while Paolucci
and Hitchcock say that the store's employees were
verbally abusive and vulgar. The pair admitted to
the newspaper that they fought against being placed
in an in-store "security room," because they were
worried about what would happen when they were out
of sight of the sales floor. They then asked store
employees to call the police.
When the police arrived, the pair were placed in
the backseats of separate squad cars while their
sons were placed in the care of Walmart store
personnel. After 45 minutes and a review of the
store's security tapes, the couple was cleared of
any wrongdoing.
Nevertheless, Walmart banned the two for life.
Store personnel warned Paolucci and Hitchcock that
they must leave the premises immediately or they
would be arrested for trespassing, the couple told
the newspaper. As an added smack in the face,
Walmart later sent them a $158.40 bill for the
lighters. Calls to both Walmarts in Niles, Ill.
could not produce anyone who was familiar with the
incident.
It seems strange that Walmart decided to push
the issue this far. In 2006, the retailer announced
that it would only press charges against
shoplifters if the items in question were worth $25
or more. Given that Paolucci's lighters cost a
little less than $16, it's surprising that the
store's management decided to detain the pair,
particularly given that they were regular customers
and owned a business in the area.
Many members of the media have latched upon the
Paolucci/Hitchcock affair as evidence that Walmart
may be homophobic. The pair claims that, while they
were in custody, Walmart security harassed their
sons and made disparaging remarks about their
lifestyle.
They also claim that the police were less than
helpful. According to the couple, the police
refused to take statements from the boys, and
referred Paolucci and Hitchcock to Child Protective
Services. After extensive phone calls to the
Sheriff's Department, the pair managed to get their
sons interviewed, but the law enforcement officers
and the county prosecutor refused to cooperate when
Paolucci and Hitchcock requested that they proffer
charges against Walmart.
The pair told the South Bend Tribune that they
believe the Sheriff's office has refused to act
because of questions about its handling of the
event. Given the police report cited in the
newspaper's story, there is also some evidence to
suggest that Hitchcock and Paolucci are not
completely without blame. While the report
definitively concludes that Paolucci was not
shoplifting, it also states that the pair were
"causing a scene, being very loud [...]
while yelling and swearing at Walmart security." In
context, it seems possible that the pair's
detention was due in part to their own
behavior.
Walmart's heavy-handed treatment of its
customers has been an issue before. In addition to
the highly-publicized Fox banning and other
shoplifting-related bans, people have allegedly
been put on the blacklist for taking disparaging
photos near the store, pretending to be union
organizers, and even resembling Osama bin
Laden!
Source: www.dailyfinance.com/2009/11/09/walmart-levies-lifetime-ban-against-gay-couple/?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl1|link6|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2F2009%2F11%2F09%2Fwalmart-levies-lifetime-ban-against-gay-couple%2F
Let the CEO know what
you think
You'll get a run-around for sure if you e-mail the
CEO. You are required to submit a lot of personal
information to do so and it's directed to the local
Walmart, not to the CEO. We suggest sending a
letter to the CEO. You'll still probably get the
run-around, but give it a try and let us know what
happens.
Via snail mail
Leo Scott, CEO
WalMart Stores, Inc.
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716-8611.
By phone
1-800-WAL-MART (1-800-925-6278).
* * *
Contact
Us |
Disclaimer
| Privacy
Statement
Menstuff®
Directory
Menstuff® is a registered trademark of Gordon
Clay
©1996-2023, Gordon Clay
|
