Diaz Sr. tells us what we should know about Walmart

The Rev. state Sen. Ruben Diaz sent out an email today titled "What you should know." His emails are usually full of bold statements, so I hope he continues to use this title.

In the first of hopefully many "What you should know," Diaz tells us that he supports bringing Walmart to New York City. He says that a Walmart would be great for the poor Hispanics and African-Americans in the city because of their bargain deals, but because many of them can't get out of the city to shop, they miss out on the deals, and specifically the Black Friday deals from last week.

By the Rev. Senator Ruben Diaz

The Rev. state Sen. Ruben Diaz loves Jesus and Walmart.

While the City’s poor residentswere the losers of the week, Walmart was the big winner.

The local, state and national mediahave reported that, in terms of sales, this past Thanksgiving weekend wasthe largest in history.

"Black Friday," as thesales date after Friday is called, generated an unprecedented 52.4 billionsin sales, providing an enormous boost to the economy. Despite thefiscal crises, consumers spent an historic amount of money on “Black Friday.”

Shopping centers, supermarketsand all types of stores were overcrowded with people, including rowsof consumers who either slept or stood in lines for more than 48 hoursprior to "Black Friday."

Despite reports of fights, insultsand pepper spraying, because of the astronomic sales, “Black Friday”was a blessing for Walmart. “Black Friday” provided the opportunity ofthe century for the nation’s poor to take advantage of the bargain pricesfor clothing, household goods, food and other items sold at Walmart.

However, because the family ofSam Walton, the founder of Walmart and Sam’s club, has not been allowedto build a store in New York City, the City’s poor residents who couldnot afford to travel to a Walmart store, were not so fortunate.

I understand those who oppose buildinga Walmart in the City. What I do not comprehend is why the City’spoor, mostly Hispanics and African-Americans pay the consequences? Becausethey could not benefit from these mega bargain sales, they were the biggestlosers. However, despite major opposition in the City, theWalton family still reaped in major profits. Clearly, oppositionto Walmart does not extend to the average person. There was no evidenceof any major boycott, including the City’s poor residents.

Although I deplore the violentincidents at some at some Walmart stores, I congratulate Walmart and Sam"s Clubs for their astronomical sales. However, I feel muchmore sympathy for the City’s poor who failed to benefit from Walmart’sbargains.

I am the Rev. Senator Ruben Diaz and this is what you should know.