Blue Owl Brewing
It Is Not for People of Color
RECEIVED Thu., Jan. 11, 2007
Dear Editor,
Can we please stop saying that people of color are the only reason that the Wal-Mart idea sounds like a good idea in the Northcross Mall space [“Postmarks,” Dec. 29]? Can we? In New York City, there are two Kmarts in Manhattan. Clearly, traffic isn't that much of a problem, and race has nothing to do with those decisions. Apparently, white people shop there, too.
There happen to be white people in Crestview. That's it. Those of you who are so gung ho over Wal-Mart because it's "for the brown people" ought to consider why no people of color are pushing for the Wal-Mart to be off Airport Boulevard or Chicon. Or wait, how about 183 or 290, since all the rest of them are off I-35 and 71? No, they wouldn't want the Wal-Mart there, either, because then the Campbell, Zavala, Martin, Kealing, etc. communities would have to deal with Wal-Mart sucking the income out of their communities without putting much back in them.
The fact of the matter is that Wal-Mart is not a community store and therefore doesn't belong in a community. Period. Whether there are people speaking a variety of languages, or just one, a huge store doesn't belong in a residential community. That's why we folks here in Austin support local businesses: to fill in the gaps between residential and commercial zoning.
Can we please stop saying that people of color are the only reason that the Wal-Mart idea sounds like a good idea in the Northcross Mall space [“Postmarks,” Dec. 29]? Can we? In New York City, there are two Kmarts in Manhattan. Clearly, traffic isn't that much of a problem, and race has nothing to do with those decisions. Apparently, white people shop there, too.
There happen to be white people in Crestview. That's it. Those of you who are so gung ho over Wal-Mart because it's "for the brown people" ought to consider why no people of color are pushing for the Wal-Mart to be off Airport Boulevard or Chicon. Or wait, how about 183 or 290, since all the rest of them are off I-35 and 71? No, they wouldn't want the Wal-Mart there, either, because then the Campbell, Zavala, Martin, Kealing, etc. communities would have to deal with Wal-Mart sucking the income out of their communities without putting much back in them.
The fact of the matter is that Wal-Mart is not a community store and therefore doesn't belong in a community. Period. Whether there are people speaking a variety of languages, or just one, a huge store doesn't belong in a residential community. That's why we folks here in Austin support local businesses: to fill in the gaps between residential and commercial zoning.
Stephanie Webb
