Preven is a new oral contraceptive that has been approved by the FDA. It is a “morning after pill”, meaning it will prevent pregnancy if taken within 72 hours after sex (although it is most effective if taken within the first 12 hours.)
Unlike RU-486 (the “abotion pill”), Preven does not enduce an abortion. Instead, it prevents the cell from ever attaching to the uterine wall. Most medical sources agree that a pregnancy begins when a zygote attaches to the uterine wall. Even the big right-to-life lobbying groups in Washigton define life this way.
However, lots of Christian groups don’t understand how Preven works, and have been opposing Preven in any way they can. Due to this pressure, Wal-Mart has decided to not stock Preven in any of its pharmacies. This is the first time Wal-Mart has ever singled out a drug this way.
In many rural communities, there are few pharmacies available. Wal-Mart, however, is just about everywhere. If Wal-Mart were to sell Preven, many women could get access during the narrow window of time when the drug is effective. Women who do not get this pill on time will be much more likely to have unwanted pregnancies or unnecessary abortions later.
I feel Wal-Mart has made a bad decision. It will deny women’s access to birth control, and it will increase the number of abortions. Because of this, I am boycotting Wal-Mart until the decision is reversed, and I urge any of you who feel the same to also shop elsewhere.
I agree with StrTrkr. You should write a letter to the Wal-Mart Corporation, telling them exactly why you will no longer be shopping in their stores. I don’t know how much it will help, but it’s a start.
Not to start any kind of debate, flame war, etc., I just want to point out that a lot of groups do understand how it works, but they believe life begins the moment sperm meets egg.
(I don’t share that point of view but I probably still won’t boycott Wal-Mart because they’re cheap and I’m broke )
“I hope life isn’t a big joke, because I don’t get it,” Jack Handy
I agree with Str Trkr (hmmm, star treker what an intresting name )
You have to let Wal-mart know
1)That you are boycotting them ( otherwise they will just think “hey I wonder where that strange quadell is”) and
2) Why you’re boycotting them so they can change it.
quote:
In many rural communities, there are few pharmacies available. Wal-Mart, however, is just about everywhere.
The above is one reason I will not go to Wal-Mart. Fortunatly, I live in Los Angeles, where there are no Wal-Marts except in a few far flung suburbs. They know they can’t compete in the city, so they purposely target rural communities and put the Mom and Pop places out of business. And then they impose their will on those communities.
I’m also disgusted with the censorship of music that goes on there. If the record companies had any balls, they would refuse to edit the music and sell by mail order in communities that can’t buy CD’s anywhere but Wal-Mart. I bought a 2CD live Metallica set at a used record store that turned out to be the Wal-Mart version. It is unlistenable. Instead of just deleting the offending words, they insert these annoying beeps. I can’t believe the artists allow this to go on.
P.S. I bet before he even gets the letter, Dave Glass is scratching his head, thinking “I wonder where my Quadell’s been lately… we’ve been keeping all his favorite items in stock…”
Quadell –
I feel yore pain. Wal-Mart sucks and I hate shopping there. Poor selection, poor service, predatory tactics, moralistic product censoring – you just gotta love 'em.
What makes it worse is exactly what you cite – in most rural communities, they’re the only game in town. You go there or you go without. And if its after 5pm or on a weekend, Wally world’s about the only thing OPEN in town.
To give you an idea of how pervasive this phenomenon is – how completely the Son of Sam has penetrated the rural market, I’ll bet I live less than 30 miles from Quadell. Yet, Wal-Mart has effectively isolated me in a one store town. If I don’t want to drive 30 minutes to the city, I’m stuck with Sam’s Choice.
C3, boycotts usually do not work. However, they are effective in that the participants know they are not personally supporting the target’s offensive behavior. Quadell may not change Wal-Mart, but he can be confident that his money isn’t going to support a policy he finds abhorrent.
Also, I find it ironic to call what Wal-Mart does “free enterprise”. Wal-Mart does business according to the 800 pound gorilla rule. They’re very sucessful, and similar to Microsoft in that regard.
I’ll be the first to admit that Wal-Mart is a very efficient marketing mechanism. Anyone who has followed their stock price can tell you their tactics have been very profitable. They also bring discount store shopping to many tiny markets which otherwise wouldn’t have it.
I’m a believer in the invisible hand. People do vote with their feet. If Wal-Mart wasn’t doing something right, they wouldn’t be so ubiquitous. However, we had to give something up to get a Super Wal-Mart in every podunk town. Local, independant variety stores are virtually extinct.
Economically, it’s probably better this way. But culturally and spiritually, I think we’re losing something we can’t replace – a sense of local identity. I bothers me that the US (and the world, for that matter) is becoming one big homeogenous landscape of McDonalds, Wal-Marts and Gap stores.
Is this thread enough of an outlet for your Walmart boycott?
I shop at Target often. But when they don’t have ice cube trays and there’s nobody to ask where the heck they are, I go to Walmart. So I just reduce my Walmart shopping to half of what it used to be. I have forgotten what exactly gave me the anti Walmart attitude. Let’s face it, you can’t avoid buying products that may be produced in third world countries under poor working conditions. We don’t make much clothing in America.
The reason I choose not to shop at Wal-Mart is, (besides for the fact that Wal-Mart is tacky) because someone I know was kicked out of the store for their appearance, i.e., because they were carrying a biker helmet.
Bear in mind that this guy is a Harvard graduate and stuff, though Wal-Mart would have no way of knowing that…
I’ve boycotted WalMart for about 10 years now because of the way they have consistently killed the downtown areas of small town after small town across the land and run countless merchants out of business. They are evil.
Of course, the members of the Walton family consistently make up several of America’s very richest people. My passing on buying a few lightbulbs or whatever; really, they couldn’t possibly care less. But at least I can say with a haughty sniff that I wouldn’t be caught dead in there.
I hate to defend Wal-Mart, my company’s largest competitor, but I must respond.
Wal-Mart builds a store in a rural community. People choose to shop there because it’s cheaper, better selection, whatever. In other words, Wal-Mart provides them what they want. Small town business folds. People now say “That damn Wal-Mart is running our downtown out of business!”
Note to local small businesses - if you want to stay, compete! Provide people what they want. Note to community - if you want your downtown small businesses, shop there! Stop going to Wal-Mart.
Pippy - do you think Wal-Mart is the first store to kick someone out for appearance?
On the music issue, I would hardly call it censorship for them to refuse to carry certain CD’s. Should they be required to? Why not XXX videos, then? If some recording companies caved and provided “cleaner” versions of their works to Wal-Mart, your complaint should be with them for their lack of balls.
Quadell, I’m not familiar with the Preven issue, I’ll have to look into it.
As far as small businesses competing - unfortunately Wal-Mart has the buying power to price their stuff much lower than local businesses can possibly hope to compete against. And if the locals can compete, Wal-Mart can underprice everything & absorb the loss.
Guys, you’re confusing public vs private censorship. The first amendment only forbids censorship by the government; private parties are still free to censor if they choose. Any business is free to refuse to stock any product it doesn’t want to sell. The proper behavior, as you’ve all discerned, is to shop elsewhere.
If Wal-Mart offends you with its tackiness (as it does me), shop at Target ! Much less aw-shucks tackiness, a good selection of semi-designer items, and still low prices.
I remember during a visit to Maui a few years ago; some locals told me they were ver happy that KMart was finally coming there. When I asked them why, the response was that the local merchants were just too damn expensive, and KMart would bring some much needed competition.
Wal-Mart has the right to sell, or refuse to sell, any legal product they want. Legally, they don’t have to sell Preven, or Nirvana albums, or whatever. But there are consequences.
I vote with my feet. If enough people disapproved, and stopped going there because of it, they’d change their ways.
By the way, the bad publicity of a boycott may often be more effective than the boycott itself. I’d like to know how to raise a more effective stink. Either way, even if it’s completely ineffective, I won’t shop there. I don’t need the stuff they sell that badly.
It may not be what you have in mind, but the “42 Things To Do” is pretty funny.
If you go to Alta Vista and enter “Walmart” in the search, the list of related searches has a catagory for Wal-Mart Sucks. Maybe one can help out. “Strength In Unity!”
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