Politics from the Palouse to Puget Sound

Tuesday, February 28, 2006

Undesirable Social Classes

From the Hearing Examiner's decision, under "Fiscal Impacts":
Testimony was presented [from PARD] regarding a lack of social responsibility of Wal-Mart to the communities, and jurisdictions in which they locate. Suggestions of increased crime, the intrusion of undesirable social classes, low wages, failure to provide medical benefits, were presented in great detail.
"The intrusion of undesirable social classes?" That kind of classism sounds more like 1918 Petrograd than 2006 Pullman. Beginning with Lenin, the Communists in Russia systematically discriminated against people who came from "undesirable social classes", such as the former aristocracy, the bourgeoisie, and the upper ranks of the peasantry.

It was all about "public safety" then too.

Anyone who believes this is about traffic lights, or human remains, or seasonal wetlands, or urban blight, or stormwater runoff, or even deer testicles, is kidding him or herself.

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