I'm not on peopleofwalmart.com.

My daughter just sent me a link to this site. Oh. My. Goodness.

I know! Isn't that the most wonderful site to never be on? Talk about never needing that kind of "fifteen minutes"! I wasted quite a bit of time running through the archives on that one. :D

MerryMary, you owe me a new keyboard.... and a bottle of bleach (..I cannot unsee some of the photos)

Oh, that's too funny! Thank you - I think.

When I first saw that site I tell you..I could not not close my mouth from hanging open.
People sometimes amaze me..and terrorize me at the same time!

Wow. Just wow. Ok, that and BWA-HA-HA and EWWW and the same time.

OH. MY. GOD. Funniest thing ever. I've bookmarked it for future laughs.

Like a train-wreck.

Exactly Will. You know it's gonna be horrible to look at but you just can't help gawking.

OMG! Ithink I saw those people when I worked at Walmart!

Is it me, or were there an awful lot of people on there from Florida? Does that mean anything? Or was it just coincidence?

I saw several from Kentucky & trust me, they're true!

I'm gonna need my meds to sleep tonight.

My favorite up here in the NY/NJ area are teenage girls/women who think it's okay to go out in pajama pants. Ugg boots usually complete the outfit.

How can you not know when your bare bum is hanging out? I'm assuming it's accidental. It has to be accidental. No one would actually, purposefully...

Oh, dear.

If you ever see my picture on that site, hunt me down and kill me.

Please...

OMG. OMG. O.M.G.

Sometimes a laugh really does you good.
And, while the pictures are horrifying...the captions are wonderful!

"I’m confused, and none of its good. The hair says 1940’s, the shoes say 55 year old man, that shirt says I’m a male figure-skater, and those shorts are not saying anything because she is suffocating them to death."
:D

There is something haunting about the site. I've shown it to a couple of people. We mean to look at a couple of shots & wind up spending a LOT longer. I don't know how it manages to suck me in. Maybe like a horrifying accident scene?

Georgia is also well represented on the site. My son graciously shared it with me. It's hilarious!

Oh my. Had to send that link around!

Wow, I mean that in the worst kind of way.

I don't know about you folk but that hotttt grandma in the tight black outfit and no teeth kinda turned me on.

The thing about these pictures is that I can't figure if they represent a case for faulty evolution or a case for entropy. Both scare me.

I'm laughing and shaking my head and ... Oh. My. Goodness!

Our Walmart seems very tame now, I guess it's too chilly here most of the time for undies and fur boots...and bare bums. LOLOL

This site surfaced on another board I'm on as well, and what I think is -

1) People have the right to look and dress however they want to. You may not like it, or it may not conform to current ideas of fashion. But hey, it's a free world, and diversity is good.

2) Some of the people featuring on the photos are obviously mentally ill, and I don't think it nice to laugh at them because of it. On the contrary - it's a sad situation.

3) I don't think it's nice to snatch photos of people not consenting to images of themselves being published wide over. This is not very far from your neighbour hiding behind their curtain trying to snatch photos of you. Especially not if that neighbour posted them on the internet. "Defamation" is a word that comes to mind.

The only thing that could justify this site is if it was an arts project; some kind of digital installation. But now it's just a digital age freak show - a way to confirm for yourself that "at least I'm 'normal' (or, should it be 'successful', what with the obsession on success?) compared to those people", and to get a laugh at the expense of others.

If you all think I'm too politically correct, robbing you of a good laugh - please do. I too was amazed, before it turned sour in my mouth.

ETA - I also mean no offence. But this is just how I react, and I decided not to sit on it, this time.

Message edited by its author, Nov 5, 2009, 3:20pm.

@24

I'm not exactly sure what to say to that. Having a schizophrenic brother I can't help to think I should know better considering the life of isolation and public derision he endures. For THAT I have to give a nod to you in reminding me that we're all human and have issues.

On the other hand some pictures are clearly people who are making 'bad choices in clothing and decorum' and we're laughing because they really are funny.

Not sure if that makes it any better but........

I appreciate your honesty and bravery to tell it like you see it.

Very true, Busifer. Sometimes we are too eager to point fingers without knowing the entire picture. (Myself included)

But on the other hand, there are people who think that they look good. I shake my head at those people.

It's less a matter of style and fashion, and more a matter of not looking in the mirror.

Most of those people are either looking for attention or just don't care.

There is a definite disclaimer on the site that they do their best not to post photos of people who are obviously disabled. Of course, when it comes to mental illness, it's not necessarily obvious, so they have a bit of a hard time there.

#24 -- I agree that there's something not very nice about posting photos of people online without their knowledge or consent. The more I think about it, the less I like it. Of course, some of them obviously knew they were being photographed, and some of the more flamboyant types (who chose their outfits precisely to get attention or a reaction from people) probably wouldn't mind. Still, a lot of it is pretty cruel.

I agree that some of those people wouldn't care. But what I don't like is the combination of images and those captions. To me it's the captions that takes it from a general interest or art project or social commentary site and into defamation.

BTW I'm sure a lot of those people DO look in the mirror, and what we laugh at is that their sense of self is so skewed.

I'm so glad nobody was around with a camera the time I drove the 180 mile round trip to rescue my stranded neighbour while still wearing my snoopy pyjamas and with my hand bandaged up from where I cut off a bit of my thumb the day before. I stopped at two service stations and I hate to think what they might have said about me if someone had snapped a photo.

But...if I had a racoon or a pig, an iguana, a chuhauha and a rooster or a llama that I could dress up as the easter bunny I would definately take them shopping with me.

#24 - I guess shows like Cops and America's Funniest Videos fall in this category, too.

Robert Burns said,
"Oh wad some power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as others see us!
It wad frae monie a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion."

The issue I have in our Walmart, is that it seems to have become a family destination. Kids run around the store unsupervised. Do the parents think they look only with their eyes if they're not reminded?

Heh, both shows are syndicated on swedish TV, and yes, I think them horrible too. The things people laugh at is often the stuff that is painful or embarrassing. I just can't stand it, it gives me the creeps.

That that kind of crap is marketable globally is even creepier. To me it's proof most humans really don't think all humans are equal, whatever they say when others are listening; that it's OK to laugh at people who fall outside the norm or who are willing to embarrass themselves hugely for money.

But, then, even my husband thinks I'm overreacting.

There are more than a couple of things on there that I wouldn't consider terrible to wear. Sure, it doesn't look great, but it's no huge crime against fashion. Then there are the people who seem to be just not caring.

#34

Perhaps it is because people want to laugh at Americans?

It could be ;-)

(But I wish not...)

I think the point is that people should be embarressed to dress the way they do sometimes.