Reverend Billy in Vallejo,CA
By J.M. BROWN, Times-Herald staff writer
THE REV. BILLY TALEN leads the Stop Shopping Choir through the
Wal-Mart
parking lot in a Wednesday demonstration. The New York-based group was
asked by local unions to perform outside the store. Photo: J.L.
Sousa/Times-Herald
Traveling New York City performance artists who demonstrate against
large corporations swooped down on Vallejo's Wal-Mart on Wednesday to
bolster local efforts to keep the company from growing in Solano
County.
Wearing a tan suit complete with a tele-evangelist's pompadour, the
Rev.
Billy Talen and about 20 members of his Stop Shopping choir led a
cheeky
but colorful protest outside the store, singing anti-corporate theme
songs that mimicked a religious revival service.
Community activists and union leaders hailed the performance as a
creative addition to their campaign to stunt Wal-Mart's plans to build
in Vallejo, American Canyon and several other cities.
"Standard tools of protest don't always work," said San
Francisco lawyer
Mark Wolfe, who described Talen's demonstration as a "peaceful,
non-confrontational" way to spread the message about what
Wal-Mart
critics see as the company's unfair labor practices.
Wal-Mart manager George Dias said the protest did not disrupt his
store's operations and he did not ask the group to leave. "They
have
their rights just like anybody else," Dias said.
Dias declined to comment on the group's claims that Wal-Mart pays
unfair
wages, drives out smaller competition and pollutes the environment.
Customers gawked and snickered at the choir, and few seemed to pay
attention to the yellow flyers, handed out by demonstrators, that
decried Wal-Mart as a scourge on taxpayers.
"It was tacky," Suisun City resident Wilma Lewis said of the
protest. "I
love Wal-Mart. I will be coming back."
Lewis said she didn't care about concerns that Wal-Mart's low prices
hurt small businesses because "mom-and-pop" retailers often
charge too
much. And low-paying jobs are still jobs, she said.
"The times we live in we have to save as much as we can,"
Lewis said.
"It may not be the best-paying job, but it's a job."
The Stop Shopping choir is also known to heckle Starbucks, which
successfully pressed charges against Talen for disrupting business at
one of its coffee stores near Los Angeles, said Wolfe, who represented
Talen. Talen elected for a brief jail stint instead of paying a $100
fine, Wolfe said.
The choir's director, Savitry D., said the group chose to demonstrate
in
Vallejo out of support for local unions who are fighting what she
called
"predatory practices" that are "classic Wal-Mart."
She said the choir
purposely "blurs the line between performance, activism art and
religion."
"(We're here) to cheer up the activists," she said.
"They need energy
and support. (Wal-Mart growth) is going on all over the country."
A local grass-roots organizer said the performance complemented a
growing sense of public activism in Vallejo that includes recent
dissent
about the waterfront and downtown redevelopment plans.
"It's a new approach to getting the word out because it's
different - it
gets people's attention," said Stephanie Gomes, co-chair of the
Vallejo
Waterfront Coalition. "That's what it's all about."
Gomes said Wal-Mart may be popular for its low prices, but citizens
pay
in the end through higher taxes driven up by low-paid workers seeking
government assistance.
"Vallejo is stepping up to say that we want what's right for the
city,"
Gomes said. "People are feeling empowered (to say) this is what
we're
going to stand for."
Comments and faves
sheltie ranch (85 months ago | reply)
a state survey shows wal mart heads the list of the top 10 employers in arkansas whose workers are receiving state aid.thedepartment of services released figures showing that 3,971 of walmart44,368 employees in arkansas, or 8.9 percent of its work force, receivepublic assistance io some kindthe state of arkansas was next with3,004. this was printed in the fort smith news paper.thought you like to know.sheltie ranch.
Spanktacular (84 months ago | reply)
when you can buy all the toilet paper, ketchup, a garden hose, pants for junior, a bag of tube socks, and groceries you need, and all at the lowest price for your family, it's difficult to shop with a political over practical conscience. different tactics are needed, but this ain't it.
shopping at wal-mart needs to become more of a hassle than not shopping at wal-mart. small business coalitions, major television campaigns promoting local color and flavor over the homogenized blandness of wal-mart, organized complaint filings against wal-mart stores for health code violations, against surly employees, against unsafe shelving, etc. make it uncomfortable for wal-mart to do business and make it uncomfortable for people to shop there. this corporation succeeds on low price and convenience, not on political awareness.
ms25echo (79 months ago | reply)
maybe since wal mart employes more people than anyone else in the country it would only make sense that more people that work there are on goverment assistance insurance is offered at a reasonable rate to employees it is the goverments fault for making it so easy to recieve handouts
pigletpiglet and sandy-es added this photo to their favorites.
Edward Betts (47 months ago | reply)
Thanks for licensing this image as CC-BY! Your choice of a free license has allowed us to use your image in Wikimedia Commons. The image is now used to illustrate the Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping article on Wikipedia.
andjohan added this photo to his favorites. (19 months ago)