I opened my door yesterday to retrieve a red sheet of paper, asking me to please get involved. The angry-red sheet of paper demanded to know:
WHAT WILL THIS BIG-BOX MADNESS MEAN FOR OUR COMMUNITY?
Obviously, all about Wal-Mart. More petitions, more carrying-on, more gnashing of teeth.
I wish we could stop them, but I just wanted to tell the zealous distributor of red-sheet diatribes, that if a bunch of millionaires can't stop them, what makes you think we can? The Greenville News reports:
Wal-Mart Stores says an "upscale" Supercenter will likely take more than a year to open at Pelham Road and The Parkway, where county land records show the company paid $7 million for 16 acres of hotly disputed land.Upscale! Is that supposed to make us feel better? Hey, don't worry, it's UPSCALE! And what the hell is that, anyway? It's still a Wal-Mart isn't it? Does an "upscale" Wal-Mart charge regular prices instead of Wal-Mart prices? I doubt that!
The land sale follows nine months of legal and political wrangling over a prime slice of property already zoned for commercial use in which some nearby residents say their vocal opposition group was eventually bullied into silence.
An attorney for Greenville-based OBS Land Co. sent a letter to the Pelham Corridor Property Owners Alliance earlier this year that said he could take legal action if the group continued to interfere with OBS' contract to sell the land, according to copies obtained by The Greenville News.
The fact is: Wal-Mart can and will do whatever they want. They are running the joint.
Profits are more important to Wal-Mart than your excellent, rational talking points:
While I certainly appreciate the effort, this red sheet just depressed me, as I realized all of these things are true, and my sanity is NOT going to be preserved. Nor is my neighborhood.
TRAFFIC - Traffic will infiltrate our quiet neighborhood and it will be nearly impossible to enter or exit the complex as we fight all the new Wal-Mart traffic.
NOISE, TRASH, LIGHTS - Think about the loudspeakers and trucks backing up at all hours of the day and night.
CRIME - Big development + 24-hour operations = DRAMATIC INCREASE IN CRIME. Criminals will be able to walk into our neighborhood from the Wal-Mart.
POLLUTION - Think about the smell from the trash. In addition, they will drain their dirty water into the creek which runs through our complex.
GET INVOLVED, MAKE A DIFFERENCE, PRESERVE YOUR SANITY.
www.SAVEGREENVILLE.com
Of course, I will sign your petition, go to your meeting, pass out the NO WAL-MART! car magnets and what-all. But I just don't think it will do any good.
Has anyone EVER stopped them?
Mood: despondent.
