Walmart NIMBY

Glad to see that Walmart is still winning friends and influencing people (emphasis mine):

Caledonia residents crowded the North Park Elementary School gym on Wednesday night and voiced their opposition to the proposed Walmart store at 4 Mile Road and North Green Bay Road.

The company held the neighborhood meeting to present its plan and gather citizen input before it brings the plan to the Village Board next Tuesday, according to Wal-Mart Inc. spokeswoman Lisa Nelson. She said the company will be considering community input as well as that of the Village Board and emphasized that this project is in its early stages.

After laying out a proposed plan to the group of about 150 people gathered in the gymnasium, 4748 Elizabeth St., the company handled questions and emphatic criticism from a string of speakers.

Those who spoke Tuesday expressed qualms over a variety of issues they feel a new store could bring, including increased crime in the area, a negative impact to area businesses and a disruption of rural solitude, which many cited as the reason they moved to the village.

Nelson remained positive after the meeting and called it “constructive,” saying the questions and concerns expressed were similar to those in other new markets.

Two things stand out to me from this excerpt.

One is that the good people of Caledonia feel that Walmarts are OK for the poor people of the more urban, and less affluent, areas where they are more likely to be exploited.

The other is that Walmart is basically flipping the residents off and indicating that they'll build their stores wherever they damn well please.

This must be what Scott Walker meant when he started the slogan "Open for business."

Too bad it meant closed for people as well.