Wal-Mart has a reputation for getting in bed with local politicians and getting them to use the power of eminent domain to sieze property from private citizens to aquire land to build their stores if they refuse to sell to Wal-Mart. The Wal-Mart folks usually convince the local "officals" that a Wal-Mart store would bring more tax dollars into the community and therefore the construction there of is for the good of the community and eminent domain is applicable. This has happened all over the country and Wal-Mart has done a fairly good job keeping it quiet. However, Neal Boortz has been following the story for more than a year and regularly updates the situation. You should read about what Wal-Mart did to folks in Alabaster, Alabama, who refused to sell their land. It was sickening and it's not just Wal-Mart doing it.
Without property rights, so much for our "free" society.
There are no property rights being violated by Wal-Mart in this case as it is being built on the site of an old Bleachery that has been abandoded for at least 20+ years. No one wanted to buy into the site before because of the cost of disposing of chemically contaminated debris from demolition. Wal-Mart is doing Asheville a favor by cleaning up the Bleachery, when no one else would do it.
The outcry against this location has been 90% from the tree-hugging environuts who DO NOT WANT ANYMORE DEVELOPMENT in their county. It's as much about the "evil corporate empire" Wal-Mart represents as it is about cutting trees to these folks.
I am not familiar with the situation in Asheville. However:
If heavy-handed bullying strategies, legal strategies, or any other techniques are used to steal property from people, decent people must oppose and stop it, whether it be done to further capitalist policies or "environmentalist" policies or anything else.
People should be aware of these injustices and refuse to tolerate them!
If the powerful decide to steal from you or to exploit you, they can find a strategy. If one thing doesn't work, they can think of something else.
"Environmental charities" are notorious for doing this. Some are funded by billions--that's BILLIONS--of dollars. They can afford to hire extremely intelligent lawyers and buy off powerful politicians. The average citizen is helpless when threatened by these organizations and the people who work for them.
Businesses that exploit people are no less onerous.
Such injustices are as evil as racial discrimination or any other evil, and they must not be tolerated.
Injustice is injustice.
The most important property right to Americans should be the right to own a weapon.