Invasion of the Wal-Mart Jews
As a local business supporting Jew, I'm not thrilled at the association and the weird phrasing in this article:
Residents of Benton County, in the northwest corner of Arkansas, are proud citizens of the Bible Belt. At last count, they filled 39 Baptist, 27 United Methodist and 20 Assembly of God churches. For decades, a local hospital has begun meetings with a reading from the New Testament and the library has featured an elaborate Christmas display.
Then the Wal-Mart Jews arrived.
It almost seems as if the last sentence was meant to read, "Then the Wal-Mart Jews arrived, sacrificing Christian babies and using their blood to make their evil matzoh", but then some editor thought better of it.
The article actually turns out to be about how Christians and Jews have mixed rather effortlessly in an area where no one previsously knew all that much about Jews. But still: Wal-Mart Jews?
That's awful.
My husband is Jewish, and it gets so painful sometimes, people's utter lack of consciousness about these things. I squirm sometimes more than he does. He does feel it when these little things slip past most of us.
I think we all have a little inherant racism in us, to be honest, not deliberately hateful, but it's there. I was on vacation recently, and noticed myself feeling awkward asking our sweet waitress for some 'black tea' when I realised that I could have asked for 'English breakfast' instead. I'm sure she didn't notice, but I felt it. Stupid, huh? I have no idea what she'd find offensive about it, but I was just noticing my own awkwardness, something that surprised me a little. I don't think of myself as anything other than maybe a little 'sheltered', having come from a very narrow-minded small English town where I grew up (and moved away from asap!!) I'm otherwise very libearl and open, and have alot of friends from all kinds of religious/racial/sexuallly diverse backgrounds. I think these things just stick in us subconsciously sometimes.
I also notice being English, that the English get a very unfair treatment in the US media too, we're either Benny Hill, Austen Powers, the Queen or David Beckham. I know it's not the same at all, but it does hurt occasionally.
I'm Jewish and wouldn't care for being called that even if there were good intentions behind it. Wal-Mart is seen by many to be exploitive to it's workers by being cheap with them. Love to be associated with that. Thanks guys.
Well, one assume good intentions, but I think it is more good community relations aka PR.
To the extent that it is glossy advertising it has remained just that - gloss, and so what lies beneath has simply bubbled through.
Call them on it ... they are moving into my neighborhood so that some CEO can keep his job next elections.
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