Kevin Marshall's America
From its early days as a niche hobby to its expansion as a part of everyone’s daily life, the internet has catered to those with a slightly unconventional sense of humor. Some of it was due to previous constraints and conventions being sudden lifted, bringing together folks that otherwise wouldn’t find others with whom their sense of humor or particular interests jived. Along with this newfound sense of identity and freedom came anonymity and free license to be harsher, ruder, and crueler. As the internet has grown in acceptance and popularity, humor that was of a less kind nature has not only stayed with us, but perpetuated into an accepted form in the digital landscape.
With that, I’d like to talk about a site that is popular with many of my friends: People of Wal-Mart.
“People of Wal-Mart” is a collection of pictures and testimonials that capture the strange, wild, outrageous, and sometimes disturbing clothes and behaviors of the store’s customers. A quick look at the site and you’ll see men walking the aisles with no shirt or shoes, a young mother wearing what appears to be a thong as a bottom, a homeless man dressed in a faded rainbow of clashing colors, and morbidly obese individuals in skin-tight leggings amongst other outrageous images. It is typical of internet humor in the 21st Century: user-generated, observational, coincidental, and sarcastic.
Also, cruel.
I’ve had this conversation before with friends of mine. For the most part, my concerns were written off with a simple statement such as “you’re taken it too seriously,” “you need to lighten up,” or “you’re thinking too much.” All three are ridiculous since those that really know me can testify to the fact that I rarely take things seriously and I rarely think. So for a long time I was content with simply not going to the site.
Ridiculing the downtrodden & less fortunate: America's new past-time.
However, a recent conversation with a friend sparked the need for me to revisit the argument. I searched “People of Wal-Mart” on Google and saw a link to the site with its tagline: “a collection of all the creatures that grace us with their presence at Wal-Mart.”
Creatures. I can’t emphasize that enough: not simply weirdos, or oddities, or freaks. Creatures! This provided the evidence for (and the crux of) my argument.
It is that idea – that these individuals are somehow sub-human simply because of their unfortunate lack of fashion sense or bizarre tendencies – that I find particularly shocking in its readied acceptance and prevalence. We chastise our children for pointing and laughing at the misfortune of others in a public setting, and yet we sit under the guise of anonymity doing the same thing but on a much wider scale. Shouldn’t we be better than this?
Look, I’m not trying to preach at anybody. I’m the last person to feign complete innocence when it comes to mean-spirited humor. Like you, I’m an imperfect soul. I’ve been known to poke fun at the misfortune of others. I’ve made jokes about the personal and professional failings of celebrities, since they tend to be such easy high profile targets. I know that despite their high level of exposure they are still real people that are suffering, but they are also in industries that reward them with excessive (and often undeserved) wealth. They have, for the most part, accepted public criticism and the potential to become a punchline as a consequence of their fame. It doesn’t excuse or justify the behavior, but I have at least given myself the time and opportunity to reconcile whether I’m okay with participating in open and public ridicule.
The people of Wal-Mart are not celebrities in a traditional sense, nor is there anything voluntary about their exposure to our judgment and scorn. These are people going about their day assuming their mundane activities and decisions will be put forth for public consumption and ridicule. Yes, a lot of them are dressed in an unfashionable manner, have a terrible haircut, or want for shoes. Yes, some of them are wearing wholly inappropriate attire and should know better. But are these really punishable offenses? And if they are, is there any sense of ill will behind these actions that justifies our reaction?
I could be accused of being a bit reactionary, but I honestly believe that the vast majority of the people highlighted on this site fall into two categories: the poor and the mentally ill. Their lives have taken more than a few unfortunate turns, and though it may be funny, the ridiculous nature of their attire and/or appearance is only a symptom of a much larger problem or disease.
Patronizing “People of Wal-Mart” really isn’t all that far removed from ridiculing the handicapped. I myself would normally scoff at such a comparison, except these, too, are often victims of circumstances beyond their control. And it’s obvious from viewing some of the photos displayed on the site that some of them may have disorders that resemble – or are – mental handicaps.
I find it particularly frustrating when the most vocal proponents and patrons of this site – most of them good people otherwise – have never found themselves in a position where they were living below the poverty line without the ability to rely on financial support from their parents or family. Although most would deny it, enjoyment people take from the site comes from a very classist perspective. In that case, I’d argue that “People of Wal-Mart” is potentially more than just lazy and questionable; it’s 21st Century bourgeois snobbery disguised as sardonic fun. Worst of all, it’s just plain mean.
The vast majority of us (and I include myself in this statement) visit sites like “People of Wal-Mart” and don’t take the time to stop and think about what it is we’re really looking at. We want to watch the pratfall without thinking of what injuries might be sustained. I don’t want to be the one to lay the stereotypical liberal Irish Catholic guilt trip on you, my dear and appreciated readers. All I’m saying is
maybe before we visit and propagate sites like “People of Wal-Mart,” we should take a moment to think about what we’re really looking at and what our reaction says about us as people. As evolved and educated as most of us like to think that we are, we owe it to ourselves to at least put the question out there and make sure we’re okay with the fact that we’re participating in an exploitative and possibly discriminative form of entertainment.
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42 Responses to People of Wal-Mart
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STALK ME
I am pissed at this post!
-derryX
PS. I’m not really pissed at this post. haha
Actually I stopped visiting People of Walmart a while back because it started getting inappropriately mean spirited. When it first started, I thought alot of their one liners were clever, but, like you said, it’s become just flat out mean. And, like you, I’m not a perfect soul; I make humor at the expense of others, but I never intend it to be mean spirited. If it is interpreted as such, I go out of my way to apologize and clarify the intent behind my banter.
…I somehow feel that a post about Chat Roulette may be coming soon…
I agree. i heard about the site a year ago. i can proudly and honestly say i have never been to the site.
If public ridicule and shame can entice some of those people to cover up so that I don’t have to see them when I shop at Walmart (ok I don’t shop at Walmart but there are other serious reasons for that) than so be it. Why assume that people who go out looking ridiculous are living in poverty? Lady GaGa doesn’t live in poverty and if that Walking-Freak-Show was in Walmart, Target, Norstrom’s or Dillards I’d be tempted to snap a pic.
That being said, the tone has gotten rather mean and the thought of seeing another enormous person in a mini skirt and platform stilettos is stomach churning. Engrish.com is rather funny and much tamer.
Great blog. I commend you for speaking up and going against the grain on this. I feel the same sentiment and it’s difficult to express to others.
(Caveat – I hadn’t visited the site in a couple months, I just kind of forgot about it.)
I have no problem making of fun of peoples’ CHOICES. Like the killer mullets and skullets often featured there. Or the woman on the mobility scooter towing a freakin’ goat (?!) down the aisle.
Yes, there are a lot of low-income rural locations featured here, so the site does tend to take on a classist tone. But I remember having no money in my early 20s, I still knew not to look like that.
A professor once told me that laughter is a social corrective. While I agree with what you’ve said here, this is the meaner-spirited cousin of the “Do’s” and “Don’ts” found in nearly every women’s magazine, and Blackwell’s List. In some ways, this is a social corrective – telling the majority of people ‘If you don’t dress this way, you can consider yourself normal…or more normal than THIS guy.’
In humor, there’s often a component of pain, and there’s almost always something entertaining in the extremes. That’s what this site has tapped into. Every once in awhile, our nastier instincts need to be brought into the spotlight and scrutinized. Bravo.
I’ll be you anything Gabourey Sidibe’s character in Precious would have been featured on this site had it not been an Academy Award winning film.
I’m not a fan of People of Wal-Mart, either, for some of the reasons you mention. If it were possible to photograph the ugliness inside some physically attractive people, you could build an entire blog around a store that caters to well-off people. But it’s easier to make fun of the poor, the overweight and the poorly dressed, isn’t it?
(p.s. I’m not a perfect soul, either.)
Really nice post. I fully concur.
Kevin,
Thank you for echoing my thoughts!
I feel like I’m the devil’s advocate of this post. Observational humor, is exactly what it’s name implies..an ovservation. Yes, it’s cruel and mean to call someone white trash, fat, hick, etc…however much of the humor of the world is based on the recognition of a difference between human beings, and the explotation of said recognition.
Observe any stand-up routine and you’ll see that most comedian’s acts are riddled with this humor. It may be directed towards themselves, gay people, black people, woman, etc….but it’s still the same flavor just a different color.
Is it wrong…maybe, but it’s just the nature of humor. One can disect anything that’s humorous and see that the hilarity comes from someone being at some sort of a misfortune (allbeit class, circumstance, situational.)
The irony of it really, is that the same people who are being targeted on this website, are probably ridiculing the celebrities they see on t.v. or the people walking around Walmart in a suit/tie. It’s a revolving door, and rather than watch it spin, just go on through.
Also, and my final point is this: It’s not what’s on the website that’s offensive, but what the reader takes from it that is truly the issue. I look at these photos and laugh when someone wears a thong to get grapes…not because my mind instantly jumps to “poor trash of a lesser human being,” but because it says “oh my god, I can’t believe they wore a thong, that’s NUTS!” The emphasis is on the act of it, and not the social implications.
I view it as good-hearted chuckle, but of course I’d also be the first person to volunteer to carry the groceries out for the grape-buying-thong-wearing-cat-lady…i.e. My mom.
“If public ridicule and shame can entice some of those people to cover up so that I don’t have to see them when I shop at Walmart (ok I don’t shop at Walmart but there are other serious reasons for that) than so be it. ”
So, Danielle, what you’re saying is that we should publicly ridicule and shame people into performing desired behaviors? So, when I see the 20-something, skinny blonde in her miniskirt just covering her rear, Uggs and tank top, should I take her picture and post it there, too? I don’t really want to see her belly button ring and I think Uggs are hideous. Or, does it not apply to her because that look can be seen in magazines and has become socially acceptable?
I’m not perfect by any means but, I think people need to follow the rule “if you wouldn’t say it to their face, you shouldn’t say it at all.” It’s one thing to think it to yourself but why do we need to post anonymous criticism of people on the internet? It’s not much different than posting an anonymous, offensive comment on a blog. It’s cowardly. If you wouldn’t walk up to the person in the store and say it then you have no place putting it on the internet.
People of Walmart honestly disgusts me. It has no purpose other than to make people feel better about themselves by putting other down. Unfortunately, though, I think that problem spreads farther than this website.
Isn’t assuming that all of these people are poor just stereotyping them? If we look past that, it’s a site mocking these people for their choices, which puts it in the same league as a certain site looking down on hipsters. Do you hold the same disdain for that site?
Your article has caused me to reconsider viewing this site and joking about it with my coworkers. I agree that is cruel, in retrospect. Thank you.
However, is looking at these pictures and judging on that evidence alone that these are disadvantaged or disabled people, whether you mock them or not, really different from the behavior you deem cruel? My parents raised six kids on a single income, yet we were always presentable.
This is a thought provoking post, and a great reminder that we need to love all of our neighbors, not just the well dressed and behaved.
I grant it is likely mean-spirited, but I think it is in many ways a counter-attack to perceived slights. There has been a sensibility over the last 10-15 years that there is a “real America” and then enclaves of some other sort of not-quite American. The “Real” Americans shop at Wal-Mart and go to church and vote Republican and live by common sense and the sweat of their brow. Unlike those liberal city folk with too much liberal arts education clogging up their brain and not enough Jesus in their life.
People of Wal-Mart is the counter-propaganda to that argument. The notion that once you get a few miles outside of your ethnically diverse urban area/college town full of Thai restaurants and independent bookstores that there is nothing but obese semi-literate trolls wandering around Wal-Mart in their sweatpants and stained Garfield t-shirts looking for things to hit gay people with.
People of Wal-Mart is for a certain group of people what listening to Glenn Beck is for many of the people seen on PoWM.com. A chance to have someone re-affirm your worst fears and your deepest hatreds about the people who you feel are trying to attack you.
Jason & Bob (12 & 13) – Thanks for bringing that up, since I wrestled with it for some time and knew someone eventually would call me out on it.
I sort of explained it in the post without directly addressing it – this is a site that highlights really poor choices that relate from impaired judgement and the fashion choices of the less privileged. It’s pretty much their mission statement. I don’t feel it’s jumping a gun, unfairly misrepresenting, or misinterpreting things to look at these people and say that they’re poor and/or have impaired judgement. I also didn’t note that they were all mentally disabled, per se, just that there were some that clearly were.
If I look at a picture of men in tuxedos at a gala, I can assume that they do have some consistent means of income. Granted, they could be homeless men that are for whatever reason dressed up and snuck in, but what’s the likelihood of that?
When the humor comes from behavior or dress that is totally within the control of the person to change, that’s one thing (and something that can be hard to determine from just a photo). When it’s just LOL, UGLY PEEPUL!, it’s nothing more than stupid high school BS. Thinking about the situation, I imagined it outside of the context of the internet. If there was someone from your school or workplace who was overweight or had bad skin or something, and somebody took pictures of them in trashy clothes and posted it all over your school or workplace with snarky comments, what would you think of the people who did it? Who you label them brilliant satirists or vapid scumbags?
I have been to the site one time, and looked at a few of the photos. They are all very outlandish, because in the time I have lived in the areas that are “focused” (Texas for example), I have never seen anything like what they post. I also think it’s cruel to poke fun at someone for what they look like, wear, etc. simply because it makes you feel good.
I explained my desensitization of some offensive things to a friend as having grown a thicker skin when I was younger and made fun of constantly simply by how I looked. At 6 feet tall, lanky, bucked teeth, and bad hair in jr. high/high school, I was made fun of relentlessly. I dislike it when people gossip & do the same thing now. I may think to myself, or mention it to a friend, that I can’t believe someone is wearing “that” in public, but also say that they’re braver than I am, as I am quite the coward.
Thanks for mentioning this intelligently, Kevin. When I saw the comments on the site, they’re so profane and not much better than the site itself.
Kevin, your post on this has made me reconsider my opinion of People of Wal-Mart, but only to a certain degree.
I can’t help but recall a story my father told me about when he was a child, growing up in rural Arkansas on a cotton farm, five siblings, in a 2-room farmhouse, with literally no money. They may have only had two outfits to wear, but those clothes were washed daily and their shoes shined.
My point is that social/economic class does not limit our cleanliness and how we choose to personally display our apparel. In my opinion, how we present ourselves in public is sending a message as to how we want to be treated. Now I don’t condone anyone verbally spewing negative and nasty comments to strangers, but have we all not formed an opinion of someone (warranted or not) based on how they choose to present themselves? It’s human nature.
KM,
Great post and interesting dialogue. I have seen the site a few times but it makes me uncomfortable….literally. My office is a stones throw from a WalMart Supercenter and I will stop in at off times when I need a random canned good or toiletry. The photos on the site and the in person experiences are very similar and it does not feel good.
Cruelty is never in good form regardless of the intentions.
If these people were wearing rags, that’s one thing. But 99% of them (maybe not the woman in the picture you chose) simply choose ridiculous clothing and accessories. They could have bought something else to wear instead. (And I don’t think you’re taking the site too seriously.)
Kevin, are you kidding me? Exploitive? With some exceptions, many folks who dress this way are getting exactly what they want: attention.
Before you slam the site, take a look at it, pretty stinkin’ hillarious! You don’t think most of the clowns pictured on this site want people looking at them? I think the site sums up WalMart perfectly: it’s an awful company that has forced thousands of American companies to relocate their mfg overseas all in the name of $ and attracts strange and unusual people. Anyone who patronizes that place is a chump – what other store in America treats its customers like criminals by demanding that they produce a receipt before they leave the store? They’re a bunch of sheep, meekly letting some minimium wage “greeter” rifle through property that they just purchased and actually own…but oh, “we’re just checking to make sure the clerk didn’t overcharge you.” Anyone who buys that line is a fool, but that’s what it takes to be a Wal-chump.
i think the chick in the picture is stealing produce. honestly. people who look like that dont care. they dont. they dont care what they look like or they would dress nice. i dont wanna hear that they cannot afford t, while they are smoking 8 dollar packs of cigarettes. a new shirt and pants at walmart costs as much as 2 packs of smokes so stop it!
I UNDERSTAND THE ARGUMENT, BUT HONESTLY, IT IS NOTHING NEW. I’M PRETTY SURE RIDICULING THE DOWNTRODEN HAS BEEN A HUMAN PAST TIME THROUGHOUT THE AGES! ITS JUST MORE EVIDENT DUE TO MASS MEDIA. JUST BE HAPPY YOU HAVNT ENDED UP ON THE SITE. AND IT IS FUNNY. ATLEAST IT ALLOWS PEOPLE TO MAKE FUN WITHOUT DIRECTLY JEERING AT A PERSON.
These people are such horrible messes.
It’s one thing to make fun of someone because they are fat or whatever, but the people they show are trying so hard to be ‘special’ and it’s good to show off their skewed perceptions of what looks good.
(the)WalMart(s) FTL.
Bravo!! It is nice to see there are still some people in the world that are sensitive to others feelings. I can’t stand making fun of people that are in situations not of their making. Thank you for speaking out.
Whether it be PoWM or any other site, people will judge. It is a different story when trying to please others and not act like the bad guy. I have never in my life met a person who doesn’t judge another person. No one is perfect. The fact that the site gets so many hits and so many comment just goes to show how bad it really is.
I used to view the PoWM site every day for a while. I haven’t been there in a long time, but I can’t sit here and say I didn’t get a chuckle out of it. A lot of the people in these pictures know what they are doing when they go out. Some may think what they are wearing is publicly acceptable, and some just don’t give a damn. To each their own, I guess.
What really gets me is that Walmart hasn’t fought to have the site shut down. At least I haven’t heard about it if they have.
Yes Cassie, I absolutely do! I also think we should add people who wear Crocs in public to the list…and people who wear sweatpants or shorts with crap like “Juicy” written on the butt.
As mentioned, people on that site are looking for attention. If you are going to sport a mullet expect to be laughed at.
BTW, what I find even more insulting is how Walmart treats its employees so before anyone starts pontificating about picking on the supposed poor….think about where you choose to spend your money and support an entity that keeps its employees in poverty and treats them like garbage.
Re: looking for attention. Sure, some are, but not all. To cherry pick the ones that my concern doesn’t apply to is to miss the point (and disregard the fact that I never once said that aren’t people on there just looking for attention).
And Danielle – I see your point, but what do Wal-Mart’s labor practices have to do with the subject of my post, issues raised, and the comments you’re responding to? Not that I mind it being brought up, but your comment reads as if people can’t have a reaction either way without having a stand or opinion on that matter, which is a bit of a jump. We’re talking two entirely different issues – whether or not we can reconcile cruelty in humor and working conditions at Wal-Mart.
I enjoy the humor of the site, but I do agree that I feel bad when they make fun of someone who is obviously poor or disabled in some way. Also, their comments are getting out of hand.
That said, I don’t agree with one of the main points of this post, which is that you think “the vast majority of the people highlighted on this site fall into two categories: the poor and the mentally ill.” Yet, most of the examples you provide as turning you off from the site do not fall into this category.
– Men walking the aisles with no shirt or shoes: This is illegal and also a health concern, so it goes beyond just not being “socially acceptable.”
– A young mother wearing what appears to be a thong as a bottom: Not a matter of mental illness or poverty – a matter of personal choice on what that person wore that day.
– A homeless man dressed in a faded rainbow of clashing colors: This is one that I will give you is very mean-spirited and makes me sad/mad.
– Morbidly obese individuals in skin-tight leggings : Also a matter of personal choice. Even if this person is poor, they spent what money they have on leggings, rather than a different type of pants. Goodwill, Wal-Mart, and even places which provide people free clothing have more options than just leggings.
You mention that their attire is only a symptom of a much larger problem or disease. I agree, but not in the context you meant (a personal larger problem). I see the site as pointing out the larger issues in American society. Ok, that is maybe a little overblown, but my point is that each of the pictures that we find “disturbing” relates to a larger social issue. The man not wearing shoes – disturbing because of heath concerns and transmittable illness we’ve dealt with lately. The women showing off their bodies in inappropriate ways – disturbing because those women subject themselves, degrade themselves in those clothes because it is what they believe will get them the attention of a man. The homeless man – disturbing to think of the homeless epidemic in America. So, I don’t see the site as a way to point out the foibles of an individual (I mean, there are no names or faces provided for these people), but as a way to point out the faults of our society as a whole. I mean, my general reaction at that site is “OMG, I can’t believe they think it is ok to dress that way!”, which is really me saying “What has this culture come to?”, not “OMG, that person must be really poor/mentally ill!” Anyone can have money and have all their sensibilities, and can still CHOOSE to dress that way.
Is the site classist? Yes, I would agree with you there. I just don’t agree with the argument that we shouldn’t find humor in the pictures because it is the equivalent of find humor in someone who is poor or mentally disabled.
Lemme follow this up with a story. Last night among the st pattys day revelers an older man that many would classify among these “creatures” came in to the bar by himself and ordered a beer. He turned a lot of heads and got a lot of giggles b/c the normal atmosphere of this bar are wannabe celebrities, and the “beautiful” people of nyc, complete with their overblown sense of self entitlement and elitism, i even got the “what did you let him in for?” remark from one of these people… to which i reply “thats my business, so mind your own”. Anyway this guy sat in quiet, drank his beers, watched King Of The Hill w/caption on our tv and tipped well, caused no fuss and made no attempt to alert everyone around of his presence there, unlike everyone else around him. He left after about an hour and a half and myself and the bartender agreed at the end of the night how much better our jobs would be if we had 100 people like that a night as opposed to the regular clientele.
I think it’s also important to note that the title of the Website is “People of Walmart.” Not “Strange People I Chose at Random One Day.” The message doesn’t seem to be that there are strange people in the world so much as it is “you are where you shop.” In other words, yes you are your effing khakis, Tyler.
Excellent Blog Post. Thanks for taking the time to articulate it.
Ok dude…I was much poorer and much more homeless at one point in my life than many of these people and I could still figure out how to dress appropriately and clean myself daily.
I will laugh, and I will do so wholeheartedly.
Please understand that I also laugh raucously at the ‘upper class’ as well – if not MORE so than these Walmartians.
After all, we are all ridiculous and everyone is worthy of my ridicule.
Kevin: Excellent post. A freak show is hard to look away from, but I get a little uncomfortable with making fun of people based on their appearance.
Sure, I laughed at hose pictures, but I can’t help feeling sad for people who are out on the fringes of what we consider the mainstream.
We put so much value on appearances in our society, and you can be certain that some of these people are treated differently when they go to the store, sit down in a restaurant, or just go about their everyday business.
Some of them could probably get their act together. Some of them probably just can’t help it.
Kevin, good for you for giving this some thought but the same can be said of Facebook or any other social network that connect people. They tend to hide behind the fact that they are anonymous!!! Which in my opinion is cowardly!!
I love PoWM if only to see what Lady Gaga is going to wear next.
Fact is folks in the depression with no money at least dressed tactfully. Some of the crap worn by shoppers at Wal-Mart justifies the comments. If you want to look like an a****** when you go shopping then you should be treated like one
Kevin, well said… but it you shop at Walmart you can afford to buy a bra to wear.
Hey, Jack, this is off-topic, but the dog in your Flickr stream is adorable and adorably named. Everyone should stop what they’re doing right now and go revel in Pop Tart’s cuteness.
People of Walmart is a fantastic web site and I highly recommend it. It showcases people that are products of this country’s failed liberal policies of the last 50 years. What you see at the site are people on public assistance, just the way the socialist left in this country wants it and with any luck, you or at least your children that are being educated by the same leftists, can end up online as well. I would also suggest showing it to your children as a warning of what their adult life might become if they don’t keep their GPA in the 3-4 range.