Patrice Swarbrick
Guest Column
I am the crisis counselor at Edison High School and a licensed clinical social worker in New Jersey. I am writing this letter as both a private citizen and a representative of the Edison community.
I am passionately opposed to Wal-Mart’s presence in our town. There are so many reasons not to allow a Wal-Mart to come to Edison.
First of all, Wal-Mart is a monopoly (which I feel is un-American) and will snuff out many small specialty businesses already struggling to survive. In addition, there are two Wal-Marts within a 10-mile radius, in Piscataway and North Brunswick. Why do we need another?
Our community is unique in its ethnic diversity. Many new immigrants settle in Edison, and Wal-Mart is known to get away with controversial and illegal practices. I feel that we would further enslave minorities by allowing Wal-Mart to do business here. It is also public knowledge that approximately 65 percent of its employees are women, yet only 17 percent of those women are in management positions. The company discriminates against women and has been sued for bias toward gays for improperly firing any employee who is outwardly gay.
The list of issues goes on and on. Wal-Mart refuses to sell the “morning-after” birth control pill but sells guns and ammunition, which frankly, I don’t want being sold right down the street from my home. I have two young children and already feel unsafe with teen violence — which is largely unaddressed — on the rise in Edison. Doesn’t it also seem contradictory that a vehemently antiunion company is moving into a blue-collar town?
We, in South Edison, are primarily of the working class. Most families, including my own, are swimming in debt. We keep buying what we really can’t afford, but we justify it because Wal-Mart has the “lowest price.” Perpetuating capitalistic values by patronizing Wal-Mart only further threatens our democracy and makes all but the upper 2 percent weak.
I truly fear the business of “good old boys” who do not share my values and concern for all people in our great country. Can’t we find another form of industry to build commerce in Edison?
My family and I boycott Wal-Mart and will never step foot in its doors. I fear that my dissent and that of others will be dismissed and go largely unheard. I would like to be notified of the next town meeting that addresses this issue so that I can attend.
Information is power, and I feel we in Edison have been ill-advised. We need the opportunity to be heard. As a role model for adolescents in South Edison, I teach self-advocacy and empowerment. Please don’t let my voice go unheard.
I also must point out that so much energy is going into allowing these conglomerates to build here, yet it has been more than 10 years since the eyesore at the corner of Route 27 and Plainfield Avenue has been addressed. From what I’ve read, the plans are so tentative that only God knows when it will be cleaned up. It seems that only projects that are financially lucrative are given time and attention. Are our priorities really in the right place?
Patrice Swarbrick is a licensed clinical social worker in Edison