Poor Wal-Mart can't catch a break. It's attacked by labor unions and Democratic politicians, and now it's even being disparaged by people who wanted it to come to their neighborhood:
Fort Wayne NAACP president Michael Latham said Wednesday he will call on shoppers to boycott the new Wal-Mart at Southtown Centre when it opens next week if the store doesn't remain open 24 hours like every other in town.
[. . . ]
Latham said it smacks of discrimination. He plans to relay his concerns to Wal-Mart officials and picket next week's grand opening if they don't address his concerns.
“It is sort of a slap in the face to the customers who live on the south side of town,” Latham said. “I believe the stand we are about to take is the right stand, and if I have to stand alone I'll stand alone.”
If the boycott actually happens, what might the result be? Well, Wal-Mart might not make the money it wants to and cut back hours even further. Maybe it will even discover that the decision to locate on the southeast side wasn't such a good one after all. It is being asked to behave not as a business, which operates by providing a good or service people want and making a profit in the process, but as a government or social service, which must always make sure it is being "fair" by treating each client (rather than customer) precisely equally.
Where does such a kooky idea come from? Partly from city government, which moved heaven and earth to redevelop the decaying former Southtown area. If southeast-area residents are told by the city that they are not merely customers who have the ability to spend their money where it does them the most good but clients who have the right to have quality shopping in geographic proximity, how can we blame them for demanding even more?
I hasten to add that all of us, including me, are inclined to occasionally support things -- even push them -- though common sense and our normal philosophical inclinations might suggest otherwise. One of my blind spots is downtown. The memories I have of walking through it during open-lunch hours in high school are such an important part of my Fort Wayne experience that I tend to support anything I think might bring downtown back. Same kind of issue anywhere else, I'm likely to be more rational and less emotional about it.
