Wal-Mart: Save Money. Live Better?

Today a friend of mine told me about her awful experience at a Chicago-area Wal-Mart. She had holiday portraits taken of her one month old daughter. Upon looking over the proofs, she selected an image of her daughter laying on her back, smiling. She was told by the Wal-Mart photo studio employees that they could not legally sell her that particular picture because her daughter was was in the "dead baby pose." Yeah, you read that right, the DEAD BABY POSE! She was extremely upset by those words. I told her to file a complaint with Wal-Mart management. The supervisor she spoke with said she was dumbfounded by the employee remarks. Needless to say, my friend was refunded her money.

Now, I was somewhat shocked to hear this, but then again, part of me thought, "Well, what do you expect from Wal-Mart?" From the corporation's unfair labor practices, to the widespread discrimination, and the sexual harassment, Wal-Mart has earned an F in my gradebook. If you don't know what I'm talking about, I suggest you do a little research. I highly recommend you read The Big Squeeze by Steven Greenhouse. He dedicates a whole chapter to the misdeeds of Wal-Mart.  I also recommend watching the documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. (You can watch it for free through Google Video!) The website WALMART WATCH is also an informative source for up-to-date news on Wal-Mart business practices.

After hearing about my friend's experience, I searched the Internet for any information regarding Wal-Mart photo policies. I stumbled upon the story of the Demaree family of Arizona. In 2009, Lisa and Anthony Demaree had taken a digital memory stick to a local Wal-Mart to be processed for printing. They had returned from a family vacation and wished to print copies of their photos. However, the family found themselves in a world of trouble after a Wal-Mart employee felt that some of the photos were inappropriate. To quote the Examiner: "The photos were of their young children at play and in the bathtub. An employee of the Wal-Mart store where the Demarees took the photos to be processed notified authorities of the photos. The photos, however, were not child porn, but simply the type of photos that most Americans have taken of their children when they were babies or toddlers. The Demarees not only had their children taken, but the children were examined for sexual abuse."

According to Dustin Gardiner of The Arizona Republic, after the police were involved,  the Demarees were unable to see their children for two weeks and "did not regain physical custody for a month while the state investigated." All sexual abuse charges were eventually dropped. The parents sued both Wal-Mart and the state of Arizona. It appears that the case against the state was thrown out, as under AZ state law, "individuals or parties seeking to sue the government must file a notice of claim 60 days before their lawsuit," while the "attorney for the Demarees waited only five days." (azcentral.com) I was not able to find any information regarding the outcome of the case against Wal-Mart, which leads me to wonder if the case was settled outside of court? The Wal-Mart Corporation does have deep pockets...

On a lighter note, as much as I dislike Wal-Mart, I am thankful for the numerous laughs I have been given by www.peopleofwalmart.com!
What, what? Double butt!

Tell me, how do you feel about this?