BIG blunder by WalMart
Okay, so I'm in WalMart half an hour ago, and I saw something that got my blood boiling pretty quick. It may well have been a complete oversight on some employee's part, but I don't know how you can mess this pretty easy one up...
I'm standing in the checkout isle, and low and behold, next to the Maltesers candy, what do I see? An entire section of rainbow pack TROJANS... yes, as in condoms.
Now, the sight of condoms in general tends to send my blood pressure north, but seeing them sitting at a child's eye level, right next to the candy? I'm sorry, but that's one royal screw up by someone. Just what sort of message are we sending our kids these days anyway?
So I pointed it out to the Assistant Manager on duty, and I got the impression the he was surprised to see that. He said he'd get it looked into right away. Good on him, but I'm thinking this one needs to be brought to the attention of corporate. It was one of your stores in the KW area, it's currently under construction, if that helps you narrow it down.
CLARIFICATION: Someone asked me about the line "the sight of condoms in general tends to send my blood pressure north"... just to clarify, I tend to associate them with pre-martial sex, which is a no-no in my books. Just so I don't offend any of my married long time readers. ;-)
I expect to see this corrected immediately, and will be checking in there in the next few days. (with a camera, if need be)
Any further inquiries from WalMart corporate can be left in the comments... I just won't publish them.
I'm standing in the checkout isle, and low and behold, next to the Maltesers candy, what do I see? An entire section of rainbow pack TROJANS... yes, as in condoms.
Now, the sight of condoms in general tends to send my blood pressure north, but seeing them sitting at a child's eye level, right next to the candy? I'm sorry, but that's one royal screw up by someone. Just what sort of message are we sending our kids these days anyway?
So I pointed it out to the Assistant Manager on duty, and I got the impression the he was surprised to see that. He said he'd get it looked into right away. Good on him, but I'm thinking this one needs to be brought to the attention of corporate. It was one of your stores in the KW area, it's currently under construction, if that helps you narrow it down.
CLARIFICATION: Someone asked me about the line "the sight of condoms in general tends to send my blood pressure north"... just to clarify, I tend to associate them with pre-martial sex, which is a no-no in my books. Just so I don't offend any of my married long time readers. ;-)
I expect to see this corrected immediately, and will be checking in there in the next few days. (with a camera, if need be)
Any further inquiries from WalMart corporate can be left in the comments... I just won't publish them.
posted by Christian Conservative @ 5:20 p.m.
15 Comments:
At Sat Jun 20, 07:00:00 p.m. EDT,
Dave Hodson said…
If you really want to know if it was just a stocking error, you should have asked to see the planogram. All the major food, drug and mass retailers stock their shelves, and the front-end racks in particular, according to very specific planograms sent out by head office. Sometimes there is some 'flex space' where the local stores have some discretion on product placement, but not too much. The manufacturers negotiate with the category managers for their space, and in most cases (although not at Wal-Mart) pay very hefty real estate fees just to be there. Anyway, if it wasn't listed in the current planogram, it would have just been a stocking mistake.
At Sat Jun 20, 07:31:00 p.m. EDT,
Tory@York said…
Seriously buddy, do you have nothing better to do? Its stuff like this that re-inforces the stereotype of all Conservatives as anal, bible thumping nuts.
At Sat Jun 20, 07:38:00 p.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
While you're there don't forget to insist that they remove all of the other evidence that people (gasp!) HAVE SEX; things like diapers, car seats, lacy underwear, and so on. Honestly, I'm a small-c conservative voter, but it's beyond me how small-minded and prudish one must be in order to get exercised over something like this.
At Sat Jun 20, 09:05:00 p.m. EDT,
Christian Conservative said…
Tory@York, but I AM an "anal Bible thumping nut", as you so eloquently put it. But the best part? You can't ever get elected without me, so we're stuck. Deal with it. But you need not worry, we don't ask for much. Just don't ever forget that. You're welcome for the free advice. ;-)
Anon@7:38, I'm not supportive of the corruption of morals in our youth. It ends up wreaking families, which ends up helping to raise our crime rates, which then costs us more tax dollars. So you see, it's really got a fiscally conservative bent to it.
Of course, such corruption of morals ultimately encourages the condemnation of more people to the eternal flames of Hell, but that's my spiritual side talking... so yea, when it comes to Hell and damnation, you might say I get worked up over these sorts of things.
Boy, aren't you glad we've got such a big tent? Don't forget, as I reminded Tory@York, you can't get elected without us, so humour us a little, eh? You could, of course, have just said nothing...
At Sat Jun 20, 10:18:00 p.m. EDT,
Unknown said…
Tory@York:
What do you expect to find at a blog called "Christian Conservative". If you really can't stomach people with values perhaps you should avoid websites with the term "Christian" in the title - seriously.
At Sun Jun 21, 01:48:00 a.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
BIG blunder? really?
I could have easily thought of 500 bigger blunders that wal mart could have made. Really saying that stocking condoms on the shelf at the check out is encouraging the corruption of morals in youth? Having condoms on the shelf DOES NOT in any way encouage youth to have more sex....it enables those who choose to have sex regardless to do so more safely.
There are so many more important issues in the world to blog about than this one.
-Chadd
At Sun Jun 21, 07:29:00 a.m. EDT,
Anonymous said…
I am also a conservative - I think your complaint about this is silly. I agree with above poster that silly beefs for things like this from religious people are as damaging to the party as far left socialists are to the liberals.
At Sun Jun 21, 09:05:00 a.m. EDT,
Just being honest said…
" Tory@York, but I AM an "anal Bible thumping nut", as you so eloquently put it. But the best part? You can't ever get elected without me, so we're stuck. Deal with it. "
Man! I love it. I wish the Conservative Party had half the courage and guts you have. Alberta’s Finance Minister Iris Evans could also use a few pointers.
At Sun Jun 21, 12:15:00 p.m. EDT,
BackseatBlogger said…
mutton chops: just cuz one is a 'christian' doesn't mean that they have to check their brains at the door(although all too often nowadays that seems to be the case).
cc: what you call corruption, i call nature. Teenagers are going to have sex and it is far better for them to go into the act educated and informed.... ie condoms prevent STDs. i would far rather my teenager play safe than come down with one of those.
and cc politians CAN get elected without you very easily. this isn't the American south with it's loopy Christian litmus tests over abotion and evolution. in my riding Darrel Sweet(sp?) from focus on the family was defeated primarily becuase of those connections and the fact that those views made him seem like a complete looney
At Sun Jun 21, 08:32:00 p.m. EDT,
cycroft said…
I have not been a practicing Christian for some years, but I do find the placement of the condoms as offensive.
And does every point of view that is not agreed with have to be met with verbal abuse? Who's the real nut here? Personal attacks made anonymously always seem so cowardly.
At Mon Jun 22, 02:31:00 p.m. EDT,
Luke Coughey said…
A couple of years ago, I was shocked while standing in line at a local Shoppers Drug Mart. The child behind me asked her father, "What is that, dad?"
When I turned around to see what she was pointing at, it was candy underwear at her eye level on the end of the Valentine's display.
I suggested to the person behind the counter that it wasn't appropriate and I am pretty sure that they agreed after seeing the father's facial expression and attempt at changing the topic.
At Mon Jun 22, 08:16:00 p.m. EDT,
Operra said…
I am a very strong Christian who is a loving, non-judgemental "bible-thumper". I really enjoy your blog, CC. But my first reaction to his post was also "seriously - who cares!" When I read what you had to say my initial thought was "that's great - when I go to Walmart to get condoms for my husband next time, I don't have to go all the way into the store with the kids!" Now I can just go get their candy treats and my husbands "treats" at the same time.
It is our responsibility as parents to teach children about sex, and more importantly our Christian Faith in Jesus Christ. When my children are old enough to know what condoms are, I have no problem with them being beside the candy because HOPEFULLY I will have instilled in them the value of waiting until they are married to have sex, like I did.
As I said, I enjoy your blog. But there are more important issues going on in our world, country, province, city and neigbourhood to worry about than where Walmart stocks their condoms!
At Sat Jun 27, 04:56:00 p.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
cc:
"Of course, such corruption of morals ultimately encourages the condemnation of more people to the eternal flames of Hell, but that's my spiritual side talking... so yea, when it comes to Hell and damnation, you might say I get worked up over these sorts of things."
"Corruption of morals" doesn't "encourage the condemnation of more people to...hell" any more than "celebration of morals" encourages "justification to eternal life". We're a corrupt race who hates God and defies him, whether we have sex pre-marriage or post-marriage, with condoms or bareback: doesn't matter which, dude. We're just as vile in God's eyes if we go into marriage virginally pure or with 50 notches in our headboard (or lipstick case). In fact, I'd be willing to venture that there are more people in hell screaming "why did this happen to me? I was a good, moral citizen and went to church a lot!" then there are people saying "wow, did I ever have this comin'. I was way immoral. Couldn't even come close to controlling my love of condoms."
This post makes me think that if we dropped you in time back about 1950 years ago you'd be railing against those people who dared save a few denarii by buying their chicken breasts over at Insane Ali's Discount Idol Meats instead of at Moses' Morality Meats.
I'm also a tad curious as to whether God is more outraged at the condoms being in the candy aisle, or the shady labour practices of Wal-Mart and the manufacturers who sell their wares there? I don't mean to equivocate, but somehow I don't think the kid who put the condoms in the "wrong" aisle for minimum wage is going to get nearly the kind of harshness as the ownership of a place that knowingly hawks wares from places using sweatshop labour. After all, the Bible talks far more and far more harshly about screwing your neighbour over than screwing your girlfriend (although I'm certainly not condoning the latter). My source of outrage at Wally World is a little differently-placed than yours, seemingly.
I appreciate what you're doing on this blog, bro, but this just seems like legalism once warmed-over. Morality doesn't save, morality doesn't bring people to God - it brings people to pride. Period. I heard a great lyric the other day from a hip hop group called Christcentric: "Be sure to make Christ your topic:/I shouldn't have to look hard for Him like He's microscopic."
If you're going to advance conservative political and social ideas on this blog, give it your all and rep it hard. That's cool. But if you're going to rep it for eternal issues, drop the morality and preach the Christ that the most moral people of his day rejected and crucified, and who in turn were rejected by Him in favour of the immoral ones. As a side benefit, you'll look far less weird than ranting about condom placement. People appreciate transparency. Make God's glory and not electability your focus. Morality doesn't play nowadays in the political realm, anyway. Mike Harris, after all, couldn't distance himself far enough and fast enough from the Christian crowd and he did just fine at the polls. Trying to flex "Christian muscle" isn't going to convince anybody of anything in the electoral realm. Nobody needs Christians; all we have ever been and all we ever will be is meat for the lions in the colisseum.
And on that topic, if you're that much into morality and condoms get you all worked up, just be done with it and convert to Romanism already. You'd be far happier.
As a final note, the greatest Premier in this province's history was an "immoral" guy who dropped the F-bomb liberally, loved him some golf and beer and I think he's on his third marriage now. And I doubt there was a more moral dude ever in politics than Bob Rae. Guess morality has its limits, after all.
At Mon Jun 29, 06:09:00 p.m. EDT,
Christian Conservative said…
Well said on just about every point BK... food for thought at least, and in line with a lot of what I've been thinking since this post.
Glad to see you back... we need to meet up for wings sometime. ;-)
At Thu Jul 02, 12:56:00 a.m. EDT,
Blake Kennedy said…
I'd love to get together! Been busy, though: I'm building a house and I'm planning a wedding, but I'm free weekdays.
Make plans to get you and your better wife over some night. I'll spoil you both with some extravagant pasta or seafood dish. Plus, I have several nice vintages chilling delightfully in my new wine cooler! I'd love to crack open a bottle.
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