Wal-Mart takes over
After last year’s renovation, Wal-Mart is looking to expand within Fargo even farther. According to a recent Forum article, corporate representatives were in talks with residents of south Fargo to discuss the possibilities of building another super center near Interstate 29 and 52nd Avenue South.
These talks met with criticisms from locals. This is understandable. How many Wal-Marts does the city actually need?
It’s scary to consider that there wouldn’t be much to stop Wal-Mart from traveling to any city or town in the country and offering a sizable amount of money for a suburban plot of land and building a super center not more than a block away from homes and schools.
Having a Wal-Mart closer to your house isn’t anywhere near the danger of living near a convicted sex offender or under power lines, but it can make many people uneasy to know that in the business world, big corporations can drive a stake through the hearts of small-town entrepreneurs.
An additional huge Wal-Mart would bring several changes to south Fargo. For one thing, traffic would likely increase through the area. This would congest the streets and raise the risk of traffic accidents.
Traffic wouldn’t be the only nuisance for homeowners. There would also be a lot more noise. The loading dock at any Wal-Mart super center is very busy, particularly in the earliest hours of the day, when most people enjoy peace and quiet.
These are issues Wal-Mart has dealt with many times in the past. According to a newspaper in Bristol, Tenn., after the construction of a Wal-Mart, residents were upset about the noise from the store’s refrigeration system and idling tractor-trailers waiting at the loading dock, flood-water runoff and parking lot lights that would shine onto the yards of adjacent homes.
In Layman’s terms, after the store was up and running, nearby locals would wake up to blinding parking lot lights and three inches of standing water in their front yard, but at least they would be able to get color reprints for nine cents apiece.
I hope the day never comes when Wal-Mart officials feel the need to construct an additional super center in north Fargo to make it more accessible to college students. For one, because in many cases, I don’t trust big business. Their effect on the economy is haunting. Secondly, I would never want a large corporation invading my home in an effort to make my shopping habits more convenient.
Every time I see a super center construction site, I am reminded of the closing scene in “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” when Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine gazed at the frame of the Death Star and plotted their domination of the galaxy. I can’t help but wonder if Lee Scott is standing near a window in a star cruiser and watching satellite feeds of his retail stores sprouting across the country and laughing maniacally.
Columnists' opinions do not necessarily reflect the views of The Spectrum