My heart goes out to Christine Rousselle. Imagine working at Walmart and having to spend “hours upon hours toiling away “serving a “questionable clientele” she considered beneath her dignity to serve.

She was forced to observe alleged misbehavior on the part of some recipients of financial aid. She describes “generations of families” appearing at her cash register to buy food, of all things. She also was subject to rude behavior of people ignoring her while on their cell phones. Can you imagine this happening outside a Walmart?

To what kind of hell was this young woman subjected? Customers actually felt sorry for her, that it must be “tough to stand on a mat all day.” Our plucky girl replied, “Well it’s a job,” denigrating as she may have considered it to be. When a customer suggested that women in line ahead of him should be treated to “steel drums and cement,” she remembered “why I vote Republican.” I was unaware the Republican platform has a plank written by Tony Soprano.

She concludes that “something is terribly wrong.” I agree. It is wrong to present gross exaggerations as the norm. It is wrong to impugn those less fortunate with anecdotal accounts colored by personal prejudice. It is wrong to condemn an entire system based on the perceived abuse attributed to an undetermined fraction of its participants. It is wrong to pander to the most selfish instinct of human nature by seeking scapegoats to advance a political agenda. It is very wrong.

Tom Foley
Cumberland Foreside