Posted by Dinah on December 12, 2011, at 17:36:37
In reply to Re: The Psychology of Occupy Wall Street » Dinah, posted by floatingbridge on December 12, 2011, at 12:26:16
I don't care much for crowds. I'm not phobic like my father was. But it's unpleasant for me. Except Christmas Eve. For some reason on Christmas Eve I often enjoy the bustle.
If I could purchase everything over the internet in a cost effective way, I likely would.
Which also doesn't benefit small business owners. :) I do try to go to local restaurants over chains, and I never step foot in grocery stores that aren't local (though my husband does), and if it's possible I buy at local hardware stores. In short, if there's a viable alternative, I try to take it. It's not just supporting the small businesses. In some ways, you lose flavor when you lose local business. Chili's might have good food, but local seafood restaurants are what make New Orleans special to me. The chain groceries have shelf upon shelf of popular items, and a selection of less popular ones. My local groceries have a few of everything I can imagine wanting and will bend over backwards to make sure I have what I need. I can speak to someone in the soft drink department, who will go check their stock. Moreover, it's the same person next time I return and in a short while that person will know me. :)
Hmmm... I need to except Whole Foods there. I don't go there often, but I do step foot in it, and there are some things I can't get elsewhere.
I have no real nostalgia over small bookstores. My recollections are of places with limited stock, where you pretty much had to want what was there because there was no real way to know what wasn't there. I was delighted with the first Barnes & Noble, and thrilled out of my mind when I found Amazon. Imagine wanting to find a book on waterfalls, and having the pick of every book on waterfalls now in print, and quite a few not in print. Mmmmmm.....
On the other hand, if I were to meet with harassment on a trip to a chain store, I'm just stubborn enough to stand in solidarity with that chain store and patronize them deliberately.
poster:Dinah
thread:1004340
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20110926/msgs/1004820.html