So much hate for this article almost makes me have higher expectations than usual. There's a certain type of internet commenter who just don't seem to "get" any analysis that goes beyond the surface level, no matter what about. What's so wrong with writing a few paragraphs about how being in a Walmart actually makes you feel? By what exact mechanism does this cause offense and invite low-effort ridicule? Is it the perceived idea that the reader should now feel the same way as the author? (in that case you can easily get more enjoyment out of the article by letting that assumption go..). Is it simply the ostensible inflation of something simple by using an over-complicated style? (I find TFA no more grating than your average Paul Graham or Scott Alexander essay). Is it simply that the author signals in so many ways that they are on the other side of some big cultural divide? (sad, but possible..)
Sure, the article is overwrought, up its own butt, but I also find Walmart unsettling.<p>The unruly, flea-market setup in the aisles vs the prison-like, industrial checkouts. Harsh lighting. Overly ordered + overly chaotic at the same time. It doesn't feel like a place for people.
It's very hard to take this essay seriously. Mostly because it so completely dances around the obvious purpose of a "superstore" that it is hard to connect this described experience much at all to what people actually do in such a store.<p>This essay kind of describes this sort of store as one would describe a walk through the woods. But the purpose of a walk in the woods is so distinct from the purpose of shopping that no comparison can be made.
> I hadn’t stepped in a Walmart for nearly a decade, and it had acquired this transgressive power—the very act of crossing the threshold was as shameful as it was thrilling.<p>I managed to choke down the whole article. Hard pass for me, thanks.
Good grief, people! This is not an article from The Economist. Don't expect that.<p>It's Adrienne Raphel, who visited Iowa City's Wal-Mart during her time at the Iowa Writer's Workshop, getting her MFA:<p><a href="https://www.adrienneraphel.com/about-adrienne-raphel.html" rel="nofollow">https://www.adrienneraphel.com/about-adrienne-raphel.html</a><p>Here's Goodreads on the book she mentioned her parents published:<p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/723969.The_Case_Against_Wal_Mart?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=FfrDdoo9ns&rank=1" rel="nofollow">https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/723969.The_Case_Against_...</a><p>If any of those things seem like scare words to you, you probably won't enjoy the article.