CEREAL MONOGAMY - My Dads Strip Club working with Jon Burgerman and the Wal-Martyrs
14 February 2003 Nottingham UK
A comment on the marketing of love and romance,
held in ASDA Supermarket Nottingham UK (part of the Wal-Mart chain).
Rejected lovers returned themselves to the shelves and waited patiently
for their next partner next to the price of a cheap quick fix divorce.
Hanging around their necks were the ASDA discount stickers usually
seen on goods going rapidly out of date.
Little bits of folded paper featuring love poems were hidden amongst the products around the store.
'Don't give your heart to Wal-Mart'
'Don't be a slave for the minimum wage'
Opening the paper revealed an article published in the Observer in Jan 03. Wal-Mart has faced persistent claims that it is anti-union, and revelations of 'sweatshop' conditions in some of the Third World factories supplying its products.
http://www.observer.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,882102,00.html
To close the evening one of the Wal-Martyrs told a worker he wanted to declare his love and he was allowed access to the public address system. Wearing a ' WHOOPS! Was Married now Divorced' sign around his neck James announced he had fallen in love. A crowd of staff and shoppers gathered in anticipation as he declared:
"I was married and now I'm divorced and I have had a difficult time recently. But now I have fallen in love and I want to tell you all that I'm in love with Asda / Wal-Mart and I want to tell you why."
- He went on to give his reasons including:
- I love the fact that they employ children to make the clothes
- I love the fact that they spray chemicals all over our food
- I love the fact that they pay their workers really really low wages
It was at this point the microphone got cut off, but he was given a hearty round of applause by the crowd who had gathered.