Why would anyone defend Wal-Mart, especially now that they have
blood on their hands? Well, I'm not going to defend Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart is a despicable corporate behemoth which destroys small towns, refuses to pay its employees a living wage or provide decent benefits, is anti-union, encourages Chinese slave labor, etc. etc. etc. I have nothing good to say about Wal-Mart and I refuse to shop there.
HOWEVER, the above cited diary is an example of a community that is letting its hatred cloud its common sense.
Did Wal-Mart kill this man? Of course not. The employees involved and the management at the Atascocita, TX Wal-Mart will have to answer for this man's death. Chasing an alleged shoplifter into the parking lot, wrestling him to the ground and pinning him to the blazing asphalt is clearly abusive and outrageous. Perhaps the ensuing court case will reveal that Wal-Mart does have a policy that promotes such tactics.
It's unlikely though.
Some here have compared this case to Abu Graib! Huh? There is solid evidence that top Bush Administration officials sanctioned the abuse of detainees. These are sickening crimes which have killed and maimed people, seriously damaged the reputation of this nation, and put our country at greater risk of terrorism. Without similar evidence, to accuse "Wal-Mart" of killing a man for shoplifting is unwarranted. To me, this diary is more akin to the Clinton-haters, who accused the former president of rape and murder.
We Kossaks pride ourselves on being part of the "reality-based community." Reality-based, at the very least, implies that we have strict standards of evidence and logic. We don't rush to judgment. Just because we hate someone or something isn't an excuse to jump all over every tragedy.
There's plenty to hate about Wal-Mart. I'm not defending Wal-Mart. I am defending a more reasoned dialogue which highlights the best in this community and the liberal ideology we so justifiably fight for.