Voting With Our Feet -- And Our Dollars

Several years ago, during the inclement months, my sister-in-law and I loaded our strollers and walked our preschoolers around the local mall before the shops opened.  We had good conversation and our little ones had a chance to get out of the house.

The only problem was the shop displays, which we noticed grew increasingly skimpy with the change of weather -- and the onslaught of new fashion trends.

One particular shop was especially offensive.  As their displays worsened, we paid a visit to the mall office.

The manager was pretty diplomatic.  He knew what we were talking about and explained that he did not allow his own teenaged son to go to the mall -- for indecency reasons.  He also warned us that the shop in question was part of a national chain, with plenty of money and with lawyers scrutinizing the company's actions to ensure they were always within the legal bounds they pushed.

Exasperated, we asked what we could do.  "I don't know," he shrugged, "but don't try picketing.  That kind of campaign just drives in more business.  Nobody wants to be told what to do."

We wondered if there were any community standards of decency; we live in a conservative community, yet all three shopping centers in our valley have branches of the same shop.  We determined that, even if that chain carries the best price or the best product, it was too expensive; disintegrating the community's standard was not worth it, at any price.

Another local community fought hard to keep a Walmart from being built in their exclusive neighborhood.  Citizens signed petitions and tried to zone the land to disallow the store they figured would degrade their town.  Walmart's lawyers bulldozed through all opposition and the store was rapidly built anyway.  Like the previous corporation, Walmart knew their customers and used their clout to get placement.  The only way people can actually stop them is to make it unprofitable for the stores to be there, but leaving the area to shop is inconvenient and the effort may even cost more.

Over the years, I have often wondered how many of the petition-signers stuck to their guns -- and how many of them shop (or work) at their local Walmart.  Whatever people say with their mouths, these businesses know where their money comes from.

We vote with our feet -- and our dollars -- every time we make a purchase.  And sometimes it's a moral issue.

This is also true about the clothes we buy.  If we refuse to pay for certain items, they will disappear from the stores -- because merchandisers will quickly see they're losing their own shirts.  As it is, the indecent tops or short shorts and skirts that are out of the question at full price somehow sell out at rock-bottom sales, which means somebody traded money for them.  This keeps them around.

Buying short skirts or revealing tops and expecting to "band-aid" them modest with decorative slips, leggings or undershirts tells the people who market to us that their wares are acceptable -- and they have the receipts to prove it.

Making modesty a reality means developing the cheerful maturity to live it, even when others won't.

Railing against indecency makes for ugly railers and entrenches the problem deeper, just like picketing those pornographic store displays.  Likewise, deciding to justify or join in with inappropriate fashions because they're convenient sends a clear message, just like the Walmart folks knew they'd get from the people who claimed not to want them in their town.  Our actions tell who we really are and what we truly value.

We have to have the courage to stand up and be counted for decency.


We have to vote with our dollars and with our feet.

And with a smile.


Photos from sxc.hu.