Wal-Mart Workers to Exchange Vows at Work

[Rose Siding]

JUNCTION CITY, Kan. -- Paula Alvarez and Dale Thompson knew their friends and fellow employees at Wal-Mart might not be able to attend their wedding because of work. "We decided to bring the wedding to them," Alvarez said.

So Wednesday night, the Wal-Mart Stores Inc. co-workers planned to make register three their altar and exchange vows in the checkout lane where they met and where Thompson later proposed.
...
The couple is not the first to tie the knot at the world's largest retailer. A Boise, Idaho twosome were married in a Wal-Mart garden center last August. In 2003, employees were given an extra break to watch co-workers walk down an aisle of a Missoula, Mont., store.

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/wire/sns-ap-wal-mart-wedding,0,5173207.story?coll=sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

What kind of culture molds itself to low-wage job work schedules like this? If it only happens once or twice, it's novel but isn't this the way losses in quality of life sneak into a position of acceptability?

[Zing Zing Zingbah]

1. Disturbing... n/t

[coloradodem2005]

2. That is just not right

n/t

[tabasco]

3. Wow. I didn't think you could do worse than a drive-thru ...

wedding but these folks are doing it.

[Cobalt Violet]

4. Sick.

Make me puke. I wonder if the Wal-Mart in my state will have a gay wedding. It's legal here. Some how I don't think they would.

[imax2268]

5. talk about kooky...

to each his own...

[Solon]

6. WTF is wrong with scheduling people so they could actually...

Marry outside of work, next thing you know, people will be adopting their employer's name as their family name. "Jennifer Government" anyone?

[gjb]

31. This a classic example of 'false consciousness', or as one of my ...

former teacher said, "the tendency of the slave to erotically identify with the master".

The Walmart employee identifies with the Walmart brand to the extent that he views his own existence as totally dependent on the success of the company's enterprises and gives up control of the most private and human aspects of his own existence in favour of the Lord of the Manor. This is an example of false consciousness as Georg Lukacs understands it; ]

http://www.sozialistische-klassiker.org/lukacs/lukacse02.html

In feudal times the lord was high born, a member of the aristocracy. In modern times he's the Store Manager.

The Walmart wedding is the modern equivalent to the "jus primae noctis" (literally, the right of the first night).

In feudal times this represented the right of the lord to the bride of his servants on her wedding night. In other words the lord had the power over all, even the most intimate aspects of the servant's life, including marriage and all the 'privileges' of marriage. The marriage was not legitimate until the lord (store manager) had sanctioned it.

When people allow their employers to take part in all aspects of their lives and are happy to accept an extra break in the work day as compensation for giving up their right to the privacy, even in the most personal of their relationships then they have accepted their own enslavement.

Welcome to the 12th century!

[C_eh_N_eh_D_eh]

7. Wal-Mart. We own you.

[democracyindanger]

8. "...because of work."

So instead of working to live, Wal-Mart employees live to work.

[Kansas Wyatt]

9. oh fuck.....

Now we will probably see 'Get Married At Wal-Mart' commercials, and Wal Mart will capitalize on economic weddings for the have-nots. Business will boom, and people will declare their local Wal-Mart as a sacred holy temple.

[imax2268]

11. I can see it now...

a nice chapel facade with plastic patio tabels and chairs...

man...please someone wake me from this HELL...!

[Kurt Remarque]

10. maybe they'll start a institution

and people can live there too!

[susanna]

12. It's probably all they can afford on Wal-Mart wages.

Weddings aren't cheap - even simple, easy, scaled-down ones.

[Sir Jeffrey]

13. Believe it or not...

I used to work at a Wal-Mart in Benton KY. During my first month there a couple who had met there also got married. I thought it was a joke at first. They exchanged their vows in the bakery and had the reception in the breakroom. I thought this was the weirdest thing I had ever experienced at work until I read this thread...I wonder how common this is?

[newyawker99]

27. Hi Sir Jeffrey!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Sir Jeffrey]

30. Thank you newyawker99 :)

Oddly enough, as much as I hate Wal-Mart, I can't believe that my first DU post was about the Wal-Mart marriage I witnessed. Scary...

[CatholicEdHead]

14. Kansas

what would we do without you.

[Cronus Protagonist]

15. Wall-Mart Weddings - kinda has a ring to it, doesn't it?

And provides an insight through its social commentary too.




http://brainbuttons.com/home.asp?stashid=13
Buttons for brainy people - educate your local freepers today!

[Rose Siding]

16. Hey, anything to Protect The Sanctity Of Marriage

[Cronus Protagonist]

19. Yeah, at least they weren't gay or anything

I wonder if Elvis was there to sing at the wedding....

[not fooled]

17. ewww....

...well, let's hope their genes don't make it to the next generation.

[Deja Q]

18. Neuter them both. They are a disgrace to the sanctity of marriage. or is

it now the $an¢tity of Marriage?

On the plus side, they can go immediately to the condom section, buy whey they need, then consummate their vows in the bathroom. :eyes:

[AlCzervik]

20. They work at Wal-mart, thats proably all they could afford.

[Must_B_Free]

21. "Walmart always teaches us to do the right thing"

walmart as moral authority...

[Deja Q]

23. Slaves in their corporate world. Nice, huh? By APPEARING to be benevolant,

they are turning something vile into something ACCEPTABLE.

Conquer with off-kilter kindness.

[Solly Mack]

22. Maybe I'm just a snob but

No, on second thought, it's not me. It's them. This is sad.

[MisterP]

24. Shadowrun world, here we come!

[Devlzown]

25. Looks like churches are becoming obsolete.

Wal-Mart will start importing Chinese ministers to perform weddings, deliver sermons, and do christenings. Sam Walton died for our sins!

[Piperay]

26. How 'nice'

"employees were given an extra break to watch co-workers walk down an aisle" :eyes: wonder if Walmart took it out of their pay. x(

[jmowreader]

28. Playing the devil's advocate here

They certainly could have gotten the time off from work. Come on, folks. Wal-Mart is totally evil, but they're not completely stupid.

As far as affordability...who here got married in a judge's chambers because they were broke? How many got married in someone's back yard? Weddings do NOT have to cost $40,000. We all know that.

Now! You try getting a couple hundred people who work at a place that's open 24/7 off long enough to go to a wedding. Can't be done. So...they did this. It's not an IDEAL situation, but it worked for them.

The real loonies were the Boise couple--neither of whom work at Wal-Mart. What a ROMANTIC place to go!

[Buns_of_Fire]

29. May I presume the honeymoon will be held in the Bedding dept.?

:-)