Every week there are 100,000,000 people who shop at the supermarket committed to providing their customers with the lowest prices, Wal-Mart. According to Global Insight, the regular American family can save $2,500 a year by shopping at Wal-Mart. This widely known supercenter may be accepted in other communities, but here in Johnson County it is frowned upon. Why the idea of saving money on everyday necessities for your family is a bad thing is hard to understand!

Many families here in JoCo may be financially stable, but are striving to save money in small ways and are being insulted for these choices. People have a tendency to relate Wal-Mart to the stereotypically “white-trash” people, but in reality many common folk are just taking advantage of the low prices. The relation to the stereotype is mainly due to the amount of views on the YouTube video titled, “People of Wal-Mart.” The footage in that video come from small towns in Indiana where people may live like that, but we live in Johnson County, the 81^st richest county in America, right behind Orange County, California. The people you see at Wal-Marts in this area are just like you and me.

The shoppers of Wal-Mart see it as a better option than paying $2 more for the same product at a “higher class” store like Target or Whole Foods. Wal-Mart carries multiple name brands, the same products available to customers anywhere else. Yes, it is true that they have their own brand, Great Value, which is cheaper, but it is to the same quality as the name brand products. Why would you not choose the less expensive one?

If those people who are insulting people who shop at Wal-Mart here in Johnson County actually stepped foot into one of them themselves they wouldn’t see people sagging there pants or people wearing derogatory articles of clothing. Instead they would see a traditional mother or father or family shopping for groceries. Also, if those people shopped once in Wal-Mart and compared their receipts from other stores their perspective would be changed. Saving money shouldn’t be a source of shaming.