The Beating Heart of Rockwood,
In yesterday's Sunday Oregonian, a feature article detailed the "decline and disdain" of Portland's Rockwood neighborhood in east Multnomah County. Although many of the article's points were well made, its over message is not what ruffled my feathers.
The article discusses the 2003 closure of the Fred Meyer Store at 181st Aveneue quoting, "many saw the neighborhood's heart stop beating." Fred Meyer, a big box retailer is the beating heart of a declining and impoverished neighborhood? Why is it in this city that Wal-Mart is considered inherently evil and Fred Meyer not only gets a free pass but is regarded as the beating heart of our neighborhoods?
The same week this article was published the Willamette Week ran a cover story assault on Wal-Mart from the top on down. Had a Wal-Mart been located in Rockwood rather than a Fred Meyer it no doubt would be blamed for its demise. I can see the headline now, "Wal-Mart becomes the stake through the heart of Rockwood."
In yesterday's Sunday Oregonian, a feature article detailed the "decline and disdain" of Portland's Rockwood neighborhood in east Multnomah County. Although many of the article's points were well made, its over message is not what ruffled my feathers.
The article discusses the 2003 closure of the Fred Meyer Store at 181st Aveneue quoting, "many saw the neighborhood's heart stop beating." Fred Meyer, a big box retailer is the beating heart of a declining and impoverished neighborhood? Why is it in this city that Wal-Mart is considered inherently evil and Fred Meyer not only gets a free pass but is regarded as the beating heart of our neighborhoods?
The same week this article was published the Willamette Week ran a cover story assault on Wal-Mart from the top on down. Had a Wal-Mart been located in Rockwood rather than a Fred Meyer it no doubt would be blamed for its demise. I can see the headline now, "Wal-Mart becomes the stake through the heart of Rockwood."
posted by wormwood at 7:28 AM
1 Comments:
Good point. There is no question that the services offered by a Wal Mart would benefit the residents. In this neighborhood, the demographics are really not attractive to boutiques anyways. The problem with the unspoken classism underlying Wal Mart opposition is that it really harms low income residents the most.
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