Art Gallery of Mississauga's 2018 Auction Night at the Square One Mall
April 26, 2018
I am always polite and pretty formal with the staff in Walmart, even when I ask them how they spent their holiday or if their daughter/son/mother-in-law (yes I ask about people's lives!) is OK or coming soon or graduated from high school.
I have very little interaction with the Indian tellers or managers. I have trouble communicating with them not just linguistically but culturally as well. I prefer the sweet Portuguese lady (I speak French and Spanish so I can get around her language shortages) and a lovely Russian Orthodox woman whom I wish "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Easter" during our Orthodox holidays. Her English is accented but excellent.
These past couple of days, some of these usually friendly tellers were a little "off." They were slow to answer my questions and unusually pushy as though to get me out faster.
I was confused. Then I GOT IT!
Walmart must be reacting - belatedly - to the police report filed by the Art Gallery of Mississauga's director Mandy Salter a couple of weeks ago on the unfounded accusation that I displayed antagonistic behavior toward a couple of the AGM's artist exhibitors. I have documented this here.
I shop at the large Walmart for the fresh produce and dairy that they bring. Walmart has been given a "low class" status, and I have never seen any of the AGM's latte sipping, white wine preferring elitists shopping there.
Actually, I have never seen them in the crowded mall. The gallery is about fifteen minutes (walking) from the mall's entrance and since no-one walks anymore, about five by car. There is a pretty good "food court" there as well as half a dozen sandwich and snack places.
News Flash: They don't really like to go there!
What would they do with the cacophony of languages spoken in the mall (by shoppers and salesmen)? And how much patience would they have with that English-as-a-Second-Language speaking Indian teller, whose countrymen's arts they portray with such "connaissance?"
Walmart has about 85% of its workers as Indians, and the rest are a mixture of blacks, whites and a few Chinese/Filipino. Almost all of its frontline staff and managers are Indians. So they pay attention to communications from other agencies around the mall that there is a "a woman on the loose who doesn't like the multi-culti folk."
Who cares in Holt's, The Bay, Laura's, or David's Tea! Who cares really!!
There are more pressing dangers around the mall now, like muggers , pickpockets, store robbers, etc. There is a small band of vigilante police walking in pairs around the mall every day. For people like me? I doubt it, although such a reaction from multi-culti Mississauga will not surprise me.
Today at Holts, I was looking for a gardenia scent and saw a young saleswoman filling in a log. I walked around and waited for her to finish. Then she turned around and asked "Can I help?"
She was heavily pregnant!
"Oh! You must be ready to have the baby any minute now!"
"In July."
"Well I won't bother you too much. Can you tell me where the gardenia-scented perfumes are? Someone at The Bay said you had a new collection here."
This young woman walked me around the store showed me a couple, then told me one that she preferred which had a mixture of flowers.
"What are you having?" I asked her.
"I preferred not to know."
"Oh. Of course! I never used to ask! It is lovely to have a welcome and loved baby!!"
"Yes," she replied wth a sweet smile.
I wished her all the best and left.
So does such a store really care about negative mail concerning an innocent shopper, and believe some corner agency sending it out? I think not.
I suspect ordinary folk are a little uncomfortable about all that "art" on display.
Walmart only paid attention because that is the multi-culti way for a multi-culti staff.
"No racists allowed here!"