Attention: Wal-Mart Shoppers!

Aw, Shucks! ^ | 5/10/04 | Aw,, Shucks!

[shuckmaster]

Dear Shucks,

The other night I was checking out the new Walmart.com service in search of music to download for 88 cent a song. I have a about three hundred CD's in my collection, maybe twenty of which are albums that I can actually let play through from beginning to end. So, naturally being able to scan an entire album and choose the songs I actually wanted was the main attraction to their site.

The first name I did a search on was Johnny Van Zant. I was just curious about his solo efforts before he took over his late brother Ronnie's gig as front man in Lynyrd Skynyrd. I was quite stunned and shocked by this excerpt of Wal-Mart's bio of Johnny. It reads as follows:

Southern Rock differs from standard Rock in its regional mix of conservatism and rebellion. It is defined by political incorrectness: maleness, whiteness, sexism, racism, and a flaunting of Confederate flags, mixed with a more positive regional pride.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?cat=4118&dept=4104&product_id=846516&path=0%3A4104%3A4118%3A5094%3A25336

Now, I'm pretty thick skinned. I try not to get too worked up by those who pretend to know me by the way I talk or dress. But, when I step into a store to spend my hard earned money on a product they have for sale, I expect to be treated with a little respect. Rudeness and incompetence are the reasons why I no longer set foot in a Wal-Mart store. And those are the very same reasons why I will never again visit their website.

I'm sure Wal-Mart will plead ignorance about this blatant denigration of Southern Rock and all those who have been touched by such great music, and they'll get around it in the end. However, if Brand X music store on the corner said anything half as racist and bigoted in a Rap artist's bio, they would not only be chastised by all the local papers, they'd probably get the Molotov treatment.

I think it's about time for Wal-Mart to see a big gray cloud on the horizon. And I ain't talkin' about rain.

Matt Hilliard Nashville, TN

[shuckmaster]

Attention: Wal-Mart Shoppers!

[shuckmaster]

Will y'all send this to your ping lists for me? I lost mine a while back! Thanks!

[Reelect President Dubya]

Which union do you belong to?

[2banana]

Southern Rock differs from standard Rock in its regional mix of conservatism and rebellion. It is defined by political incorrectness: maleness, whiteness, sexism, racism, and a flaunting of Confederate flags, mixed with a more positive regional pride.

I can imagine the great praise for "Gangsta Rap" that some one will will find on this website...

[anonymous_user]

Don't play the victim/boycott game. Nice plug for your Web site though.

[Know your rights]

Southern Rock differs from standard Rock in its regional mix of conservatism and rebellion. It is defined by political incorrectness: maleness, whiteness, sexism, racism, and a flaunting of Confederate flags, mixed with a more positive regional pride. [...] if Brand X music store on the corner said anything half as racist and bigoted in a Rap artist's bio

Let me try. "Rap differs from music in its pre-civilized lack of melody or harmony. It is defined by thuggery: sexism, racism, and a flaunting of violence and inebriation, mixed with a nothing positive whatsoever."

[G.Mason]

I wouldn't be caught dead in Wal Mart!

... At least I hope not

[Naspino]

What happens is a company like Walmart will hire a contractor to do data conversions and alter descriptions to make them unique. Obviously they hired the wrong guy.

[Robert DeLong]

I just called WalMart Headquarters, 800-925-6278, and lodged a complaint. I urge others to do the same.

[Hank Rearden]

Mall*Wart censors the movies they sell. Why would you even consider buying music from them? To save 11 cents?

Try Napster.

[Alas Babylon!]

Actually, it's a far from a true description. Southern rock owes a great deal to classic black rythym and blues, and makes no racist overtures as far as I know. Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama states:

In Birmingham they love the governor
Now we all did what we could do
Now Watergate does not bother me
Does your conscience bother you?
Tell the truth

They're talking about George Wallace, so does this make them racist? About the same time the band wrote this song, Wallace had given up on segregation and apologized to blacks. In fact, his last election as Governor saw him receive a majority of black votes.

[LanPB01]

Wal-Mart does not censor the movies they sell. They do, however, sell "clean" versions of music.

[JFC]

The people who hate wal-mart are the unions........

I like wal-mart!

[excalibur1701]

I let them know how I feel.

http://www.walmart.com/cservice/cu_commentsonline.gsp?cu_heading=8

This description of southern rock is insulting.

[familyofman]

"Skynard's Sweet Home Alabama..."

You do realize this song was written in response to Neil Young's 'Southern Man', and even mentions Neil Young in the lyrics.

[Hank Rearden]

I may be wrong, but I believe Mall*Wart insists on studio-modified versions of movies to fit their "tastes". (The high percentage of lard-butts blocking the aisles wearing lime-green stretchie things indicates we don't share the same tastes.)

I hope someone can enlighten me if I've got it wrong.

[CyberCowboy777]

I was going to buy the Xbox Live Starter kit at Wal-Mart today....guess someone else gets the cash.

[Dane]

Attention: Wal-Mart Shoppers

Shucky if you want to make the joke funny, you left out some obvious referneces.

First, you left out the word "all", and left out the reference to the blue light.

Obviously you with this thread are trying to take off the promotion and subsequent jokes that followed K-Mart in the late 70's.

Now to make this thread to have some humor it should state, IMO.

Attention all Wal-Mart shoppers(in a blue font)

Oh yeah Shucky, I also know that your anti-Wal-Mart point is masked with some pseudo Confederate pride, but sheesh, don't talk down to audience, OK.

[LanPB01]

The reason I'm almost sure of the fact that Wal-Mart movies aren't altered from their theatrical release (other than the large number of movies I've bought there) is because of the fierce manner the MPAA protects their films. A few years ago, a company tried to sell "family friendly" movies with the profanity and the nudity edited out, and the MPAA went nuts.

[Hank Rearden]

I remember that; I think it was a single store or small chain, and they were copying the movies onto blank tapes IIRC, editing out the "bad stuff". That's messing with copyright.

Mall*Wart, IIRC, insists on a MW version of the tape/DVD from the studio, or they don't carry it. Like the CDs.

Like I said, I may be hallucinating this, but hope someone will help me out here.