People of WalMart

[BarTopDancer]

Originally Posted by 3894

So I've been thinking about this and the context. If the site had been called People of Safeway or People of Home Depot or People of Michael's Crafts Store, would I have had the same impression? Yes.

If the photos were taken in Wal-Marts that were not located in such depressed areas I probably would have had a different reaction. Laughing at oddly dressed people (like most of us have done at DL) who have the means to do differently is one thing. Laughing at those who don't is kicking them while they're down.

There's a group on FB about making fun of people who wear Crocs. Event he title is mocking - saying Croc wearers look like a dumbass.

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

There's a group on FB about making fun of people who wear Crocs. Event he title is mocking - saying Croc wearers look like a dumbass.

I think by now most people who wear crocs know they are ugly and accept that fact, and are just fine that people think they choose comfort over style - that in-itself is a statement.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

If the photos were taken in Wal-Marts that were not located in such depressed areas I probably would have had a different reaction. Laughing at oddly dressed people (like most of us have done at DL) who have the means to do differently is one thing. Laughing at those who don't is kicking them while they're down.

I didn't pay attention to the areas these photos were taken in until after one of my Pug friends said one was from her local Walmart. She is not financially depressed at all, in fact she is a fairly well-off farmer.

Again, we're making blanket assumptions about people based on incomplete information. But, we do that with just about everything we do. In general, contempt prior to investigation is not terribly uncommon.

[alphabassettgrrl]

Originally Posted by JWBear

Poverty and the lack of care in your appearance are two separate things.

I agree. Sloppiness is one thing that I personally find unattractive in any income bracket. I get that sometimes you don't feel like dealing with looking decent, but people are going to judge you by what you look like, so keep that in mind.

I don't feel guilty about mocking the celebrities who go on the red carpets in bad outfits.

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

I think the photos and the location where they are taken have an awfully lot to say about the fu<ked up consumerism in this society where MORE is the goal and MORE for CHEAP is the mantra.

The rampant consumerism and the persistant drive for more, More, MORE!!!!!!!!!!!! drives me crazy sometimes. You've got to know when to call it quits, and the constant increase is not natural nor sustainable.

Originally Posted by flippyshark

"Because we can" is a frightening place to put the ethical bar. And it sucked being told I was spoiling other people's fun by even mentioning how unhappy it made me.

"Because I can" is my father-in-law's main ethic. He doesn't understand that some thing you can do might be things you shouldn't do. I disagree that you're spoiling people's fun by asking them not to post pictures of you. I think it's rude of them to post them when you asked them not to.

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

Dude, you really want women in dresses, but you're not wearing a suit? Pssh. Suits make men look awesome but I know they're hot and heavy, so I'd never require it. Just seeing everyone in nice outfits of any kind that fit and flatter would be a welcome change.

I'm not wearing dresses but I'll agree with you that upping the wardrobe would certainly be a nice trend. I'm a girl who wears jeans nearly all the time, but I'm trying to make sure they're decent and fit me.

I'd stayed out of this thread because I was a little nervous about what I'd find. I'll mock people on a very small scale, sometimes, though I feel a little dirty about it. I don't like large-scale mocking unless it's celebrities. They've sort of volunteered to be in the public eye.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl

I don't like large-scale mocking unless it's celebrities. They've sort of volunteered to be in the public eye.

Although, with modern society's penchant for capturing and making public all sorts of random photos, aren't we all being "volunteered" to be in the public eye? Is it OK to mock celebrities on the red carpet but not OK to mock them when they are in Home Depot?

[alphabassettgrrl]

Originally Posted by Not Afraid

Although, with modern society's penchant for capturing and making public all sorts of random photos, aren't we all being "volunteered" to be in the public eye? Is it OK to mock celebrities on the red carpet but not OK to mock them when they are in Home Depot?

I disagree that being in public means that it's ok to post pictures on the 'net. I don't like the intrusiveness of modern tech sometimes.

Celebrities- yes: ok to mock on the red carpet; not ok to mock in Home Depot. Mostly not ok to mock while going about their normal lives. They've got to know people are watching and will recognize them and I often wonder why they do go out looking so awful.

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by alphabassettgrrl

. They've got to know people are watching and will recognize them and I often wonder why they do go out looking so awful.

Probably for the same reason we all go out looking awful on occasion.

[lashbear]

Originally Posted by BarTopDancer

There's a group on FB about making fun of people who wear Crocs. Event he title is mocking - saying Croc wearers look like a dumbass.

Originally Posted by €uroMeinke

I think by now most people who wear crocs know they are ugly and accept that fact, and are just fine that people think they choose comfort over style - that in-itself is a statement.

Now see, here's a group I firmly belong in. I happen to adore my Disney Crocs I bought back during the 2007 trip: the same ones I'm wearing today. I wear them for a lot of reasons: they don't make my [diabetic] feet ache after a long days walking, when I'm camping I can wade right through rivers in them and they'll dry quickly, when my feet swell (as they do a lot recently) the crocs are more confortable to wear than lace-up shoes. Lots of reasons.

I don't care if people make fun of me in private for wearing them. I'll never hear what they say or email their friends, and it's OK. Start up a group that I may stumble across and find my picture there, and no, I won't accept the fact that I've been selected to be publicly humiliated. I will be sad and very angry that people judge and ridicule me publicly for my choice of footware, particularly in an open forum where there is the chance I might see my public ridiculing for myself. Bonus points for that, I guess, especially if I acknowledge on that forum that I am upset about it.

So, should I just stop wearing crocs and wear "nomal" shoes to avoid the right and just punishment for my crime, which is being ridiculed in public? I guess so. The decreased circulation and possibility of losing my feet later in life is acceptable, because, after all, at least I'll "Fit the norm" for now.

...I wonder if they'll mock me for only having one foot?

Originally Posted by Prudence

But people who wear sweatpants to grocery shop? Or who haven't the foggiest clue how to dress fashionably? I might not be able to stop the internal snicker - that's human. But I don't have to snap a photo and post it publicly with the caption "world's lamest people". If a photo of me in a costume-like get-up makes the rounds - hey, I did it to be noticed. When photos of me going about my usual life get posted for public ridicule because I've been judged insufficiently attractive to be in public, that's pretty harsh. There are plenty of other ways I can make myself feel good that don't involve making other people feel bad.

VPM !!

[Not Afraid]

Originally Posted by lashbear

Now see, here's a group I firmly belong in. I happen to adore my Disney Crocs I bought back during the 2007 trip: the same ones I'm wearing today. I wear them for a lot of reasons: they don't make my [diabetic] feet ache after a long days walking, when I'm camping I can wade right through rivers in them and they'll dry quickly, when my feet swell (as they do a lot recently) the crocs are more confortable to wear than lace-up shoes. Lots of reasons.

And, when you pee in gutters along the side of the road and your pee runs downhill where you happen to be standing, the crocs dry quickly too!

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by lashbear

N
So, should I just stop wearing crocs and wear "nomal" shoes to avoid the right and just punishment for my crime, which is being ridiculed in public? I guess so. The decreased circulation and possibility of losing my feet later in life is acceptable, because, after all, at least I'll "Fit the norm" for now.

Only to the extent you desire not to be potentially mocked for your choice of footware. I think we can drive ourselves crazy trying to dress and appear in such a way that no one ever will make fun of us. In the end, you have to wear what you like wearing, like what it says about you, and not bother yourself about the thoughts or comments of others, because someone somewhere will find something wrong about it.