Thinking

Recently, Wal-Mart has been the scene of a few violent crimes here. The most notorious involves a man who was shot to death by a police officer after he snatched the police baton out of the officer's hands and refused to listen to the officer's commands. The officer shot him four times, twice in the chest, once in the shoulder and once in the head. The man had allegedly been beating his girlfriend in the Wal-Mart parking lot while their young daughter watched. She was reportedly crouched beside her father's truck when the officer shot him.

Other crimes include an attempted rape at a hotel neighboring the Wal-Mart and another domestic situation that escalated into a stabbing in (again) the parking lot.

A second Wal-Mart opened at the opposite end of town, and this has me wondering about a lot about Wal-Mart and crime. I saw a recent news broadcast about how police in Albuquerque respond to more calls from the city's dozen Wal-Marts than anywhere else. Most of the calls involved minor crimes and the police went so far as to arrange a meeting with Wal-Mart officials to discuss what constitutes a situation worth calling police for, versus a situation their own security could handle.

I think I still hate Wal-Mart but curiosity is urging to make a stop at one, to watch the parking lot fill up with people buying cheap plastic crap, to see the new things that are being sold their (a new line of organic products, I hear?) and perhaps spy some hint of just what it is about the place that draws such strong emotions out of people.

I think someone made a movie about this, and perhaps I should just rent the DVD and not bother actually entering the store.