I think we're stretching both decency and logic when we transform the tragedy of the West Virginia miners into a ringing condemnation against, of all things, Wal-Mart. They had no hand in this, and they should be left out of it.
And gut reactions aside, the actual claim simply isn't true: plenty of folks think applying to and working at Wal-Mart is a perfectly good future. Yes, better even than mining. That (and depressed local economies) explains why it's tougher to become a clerk at some of their stores than a student at Harvard. Folks have different occupational ideals and opportunities, and a combination of background, luck, personality, and preferences intermingle to get them their jobs. I'd much prefer working at Wal-Mart to being a trucker, yet my mother always idealized the latter lifestyle. And I simply couldn't do mine labor. Meanwhile, lots of my friends think being a writer sounds excruciating.
There's nothing intrinsically awful about retail work, and nothing more awful about working for Wal-Mart than, say, Target, which seems to largely escape progressive scrutiny, mainly through effective deployment of blue state tropes and a focus on classy, faux-designer products. Plenty of folks I know who'd never enter a Wal-Mart readily admit their dependence on Target.
Moreover, lefty knowledge workers --myself included -- are quick to sympathize with the belief that retail work in big box superstores means a slow death for the soul. That's not only an empirically questionable stance to take, it's a dangerous one. The coming economy will be characterized by a sharp rise in service sector work, and if we project the attitude that all these employees are trapped in trivial, awful jobs that should nevertheless be a bit better compensated, we'll be easily defeated by Republicans willing to honor and validate the work but not improve the lot of the worker. Voters pick up on nothing so quick as condescension and pity for their lifestyles, even when it comes wrapped in sympathy and perched on a populist platform. Given the realities of the coming economy, we'd be well-served to try and make service sector work honorable, not just adequately compensated. And that campaign starts in our own heads.
