A Tale of Six Beers: The Saga Continues
Yesterday I sent the following message to Walmart Global Headquarters. I understand that in general Americans -- especially those who work for corporations -- have short attention spans. Fortunately I can be very succinct:
I was carded for buying a 6-pack of beer yesterday. I am 63 years old. What is Wal-mart's rationale for such absurdity?
That same afternoon they sent me the following non-answer:
Dear Gordon,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your feedback. Each comment, concern and suggestion is very important to us because it gives us the opportunity to evaluate the various aspects of our business. Be assured that your message will be forwarded to the appropriate team where it will be reviewed and carefully considered.
Thank you again for your correspondence.
Sincerely,
Walmart Customer Care
Maybe the team will ponder my question and get back to me eventually, but somehow I doubt it.
To me, this little mini-incident is yet another example of how what used to be considered common sense is being replaced by authoritarian arbitrary absurdity.
Another example: night before last, Laura and Nancy were walking Nancy's little Chihuahua, Pippen, across the highway from Nancy's trailer. A large dog spotted them and started running towards them. Nancy scooped up Pippen and the two women ran back across the highway away from the threatening dog. At that exact moment a Border Patrol car passed by. Seeing two people running ("suspicious activity"), the officer turned on his flashers and stopped Laura and Nancy for questioning. It was obvious that nothing was amiss, so the officer quickly let them go. But imagine if they had been young males with brown skin, even American citizens engaged in harmless activity! People are already being tased or killed for nothing. Before much longer, if present trends continue, we will be required to carry an ID with us at all times.
So yeah, I'm sensitive to new outbreaks of authoritarian arbitrary absurdity whenever I see it.
I was carded for buying a 6-pack of beer yesterday. I am 63 years old. What is Wal-mart's rationale for such absurdity?
That same afternoon they sent me the following non-answer:
Dear Gordon,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us with your feedback. Each comment, concern and suggestion is very important to us because it gives us the opportunity to evaluate the various aspects of our business. Be assured that your message will be forwarded to the appropriate team where it will be reviewed and carefully considered.
Thank you again for your correspondence.
Sincerely,
Walmart Customer Care
Maybe the team will ponder my question and get back to me eventually, but somehow I doubt it.
To me, this little mini-incident is yet another example of how what used to be considered common sense is being replaced by authoritarian arbitrary absurdity.
Another example: night before last, Laura and Nancy were walking Nancy's little Chihuahua, Pippen, across the highway from Nancy's trailer. A large dog spotted them and started running towards them. Nancy scooped up Pippen and the two women ran back across the highway away from the threatening dog. At that exact moment a Border Patrol car passed by. Seeing two people running ("suspicious activity"), the officer turned on his flashers and stopped Laura and Nancy for questioning. It was obvious that nothing was amiss, so the officer quickly let them go. But imagine if they had been young males with brown skin, even American citizens engaged in harmless activity! People are already being tased or killed for nothing. Before much longer, if present trends continue, we will be required to carry an ID with us at all times.
So yeah, I'm sensitive to new outbreaks of authoritarian arbitrary absurdity whenever I see it.
posted by Gordon Solberg at 7:24 AM
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