Protesters march from Statehouse to City Hall to oppose retail chain
Columbia City Council originally wasn’t going to talk Tuesday evening about the prospects of a new Walmart downtown.
But the 50 or so Occupy Columbia protesters who marched from the Statehouse to City Hall while chanting and beating drums peacefully persuaded them to alter the agenda. The protesters wanted to explain why they do not want the retailer building an outlet on the site of Capital City Stadium on Assembly Street.
The council decided to let a few members of the Occupy group have their say. Each said that building a Walmart near flood-susceptible Rocky Branch Creek and local stores would be unfriendly to the environment, local businesses and the community overall.
“I’m telling you this will not fly with us,” said one protester. He added that he would see to it personally that they would not get reelected if it were to be built.
“Columbia has a problem retaining young talent,” said Occupy Columbia organizer Travis Bland. “Developing a large box-chain the size of Walmart would detract that youth. We have the opportunity of developing something unique . . . such as a community center.”
Mayor Steve Benjamin responded by saying city officials will further discuss the matter before making final decisions.
“I’m going to ask the city council and the city manager to engage in some various conversations with the prospective developer,” Benjamin said.
Benjamin said the concerns were valid, and that city council wanted to make sure that their policies are consensus of the city.
“We don’t get into the habit of setting things on the table that begins to pick winners and losers,” Benjamin said.
Occupy Columbia, which has been camping on the Statehouse grounds for nearly three weeks now and recently merged with Occupy Charleston, demonstrated a clear objective through its march — breaking the norm of broad, vague demands from Occupy movements all over the world.
“We want to show our discontent with any development that can hurt local businesses or our community, especially the proposed Walmart near Rocky Branch,” Bland said right before rallying the protestors to march.
The people trooped down Main Street fervently chanting “We don’t want no Walmart in our city’s heart,” and “Walmart destroys small businesses!”
Some of them wore anti-Walmart yellow vests, taken from previous Walmart protests, that parodied the retailer’s blue vests. Others beat kitchen spoons on buckets to amp up their noise with defacto drums.
“We try to be resourceful as we can be,” said Jared Marr, a third-year political science student.
They received mixed reviews from bystanders who saw them pass.
“I think they’re exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Larry Campbell of Nashville. “And I don’t think they have a real clear message yet.”
As they strolled by a Chick-Fil-A, one of its employees stood out the door, watching and applauding them.
Cars honked at them to show support, while others beeped so they could move out the way.
As they boisterously boycotted Walmart, Victor Ward of Columbia countered by saying “Y’all give me a job then!” The former New York resident said Walmart provides cheaper prices and jobs, whereas local businesses are not cheap and are not hiring.
“I respect these small businesses, but not everyone can afford them and people need jobs,” Ward said.
Still, Occupy Columbia’s ultimate goal remains blurry.
United Methodist minister and protestor John Culp of Columbia said he’s worried about employment.
“I care about the poor. South Carolina’s a poor state,” Culp said.
Lexington resident Walid Hakim is concerned by the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United ruling, which critics say enables super political action committees to take in unlimited amounts of money from donors.
“It’s really not OK with me giving people with lots and lots of money the ability to influence campaigns,” Hakim said.
Hakim likes the idea of Occupy Columbia’s broad goals and thinks that diversity is crucial for the movement.
“If we had one specific goal that did not agree with everyone, we’d lose that support,” he said. “We need to keep this generalized.”