Dear Walmart,
We’ve had a good run for many years now and have seen each other through good times and some tough times. As good as our relationship has been, I think it’s time we start seeing other people. It’s not you. It’s me. No, actually, it IS you.
In the beginning, you seemed to appreciate me. You always said, “Hello” and “Goodbye” when we met or departed. You were always friendly to me and seemed to appreciate my equal part of our relationship. Now, I don’t feel like an equal. You promised me that when you moved in that it wouldn’t affect relationships I had with others. Those days are gone. It seems that lately, you have become cold to me. You no longer greet me with a friendly smile and upon my departure, you are cold and calculated. Once you ran off the other competitors in town, your demeanor changed. I ignored it for a decade or more, but with each passing year, you seem to take advantage of my dedication to you.
I’ll admit that you were kind of like a drug. You provided me most of the things I needed. Early on, I ignored the pleas of your suppliers who claimed you took advantage of them. I ignored the fact that you put many of them out of business by purchasing your products from foreign manufacturers. Some of my friends lost their jobs because of you, but I stayed true to our relationship. I’ll admit some fault there. I hope they forgive me. After all, I was addicted to saving a buck. It was for the family. Now, there aren’t any others because you ran them all off. I was dedicated to you despite how you treated me. Some days, it bordered on being an abusive relationship when you would make me wait forever to get what I needed. I feel like our relationship has become simply transactional.
All the money you make never seems to get back to our home. Sure, you give the kids a token allowance, but beyond that, you keep all the money for yourself and spend it on your own selfish desires. It seems like everything you do anymore is for your own convenience and not for mine.
You used to provide me with what I needed, but now, I’m not so sure. It seems like more and more, you just want me to have the things YOU want me to have and not just the things I need. You’re so controlling. Time and again, I ask you for things and you are indifferent to my needs. It feels like you just want one thing from me. And now, you’re taking away one of the things necessary for my safety.
It’s all beyond that now. What matters most is your failure to appreciate my basic need to protect myself and the family. In your arrogance, you fail to provide for my safety by making irrational decisions with input from your new friends. You think I won’t leave you but you’re wrong. You can’t control me anymore. It may take some time, but I’ll find someone else who appreciates me for who I am.
Once your dad died, everything changed. You started hanging out with new friends who didn’t share our same values. These are the same friends who won’t be seen with me and my family but yet, you bow to their demands and ignore my needs. Who do you really care about? Your dad would have never allowed you to make the decisions you have nor would he have listened to people like your new friends. The very things he stood for are now the opposite of what you used to believe or so I thought. Sadly, his integrity died with him and apparently was not instilled in you.
You can have your friends and I’ll take mine. Your new friends think we’re scum, but we’re the very people who made you what you are and now you thumb your nose at us. I thought you were one of us. Maybe you were, but not anymore. We are the heart and soul of your prosperity and you have taken advantage of our goodwill for the last time. We’ll get over you, but it may take some time. Today is the first step. I’m packing my bags and moving out.
I’ll be cordial. I might even be seen with you on occasion when I need something that I can’t get anywhere else. Beyond that though, we’re through. It’s been a nice run. It could have been good, but it’s time we see other people.
Don’t be surprised when you see me out with others. They never stopped being who they were. They’ve always been my friends even though I abandoned them for you. Maybe I never really knew you all along but I can say for certain that the person you have become, I don’t like. We’re through.
Goodbye Walmart. It’s over.
Sincerely, A Deplorable