(MintPress) – Penn State University economists have conducted research that links the presence of Wal-Mart stores in a county to the number of hate groups present in the area. The study, published in Social Science Quarterly, looked at the correlation between socioeconomic factors, social capital and religious affiliation and found strong links that the aforementioned variables can have bearing on the number of hate groups.
The study concluded that “both social capital stocks and religious affiliation exert an independent and statistically significant influence on the number of hate groups, as does the presence of Wal-Mart stores, holding other factors constant.” It found that the number of Wal-Mart stores in an area was a better predictor of hate group participation than low education, unemployment rates or high crime rates.
Stephan Goetz, regional economics professor at Penn State, said the correlation starts when some small, family-run businesses are forced to close when Wal-Mart stores open in their community. Stores close when they can no longer be competitive with the lower prices and inventory offered by Wal-Mart.
In turn, families that were forced to close their store move away from the town. While that may not seem consequential at first, Goetz noted that many small-business owners are part of community and civic groups that foster civic engagement. Without those group members, Goetz said community cohesion suffers and dissent groups can form.
“While we like to think of American society as being largely classless, merchants and bankers are part of what we could call a leadership class in a community,” Goetz said.
The researchers are quick to point out that similar situations could occur at a number of big-box retailers, such as Home Depot, K-Mart and Target. But they say Wal-Mart had much more data available on it than other retailers, making the study easier to work on.
“We doubt strongly that Wal-Mart intends to create such effects or that it specifically seeks to locate in places where hate groups form,” the researchers said.
Goetz added, “We’re not trying to pick on Wal-Mart. In this study, Wal-Mart is really serving as a proxy for any type of large retailer.”
As Wal-Mart grows, so does influence
That’s not to say Wal-Mart has not had its issues with instances stemming from racial undertones. In 2009, after an African American woman switched checkout lanes at a Wal-Mart and allegedly cut in front of other customers, the woman said she was hassled by a white customer and store employees and was called racial slurs.
In 2010, at a New Jersey Wal-Mart location, an announcement over the store’s public address system ordered black customers to leave the store. The store was unsure if a patron or rogue customer made the announcement of, “Attention, Walmart customers: All black people, leave the store now.”
As Wal-Mart continues to grow across America, hate groups are on a significant rise as well. In 2012, Wal-Mart plans to open a minimum of 210 stores across the United States, and the store now captures more than half of all grocery spending in 29 major metro areas in the country. A study done by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) showed that the number of hate groups in America increased dramatically between 2000 and 2011, from 602 to 1,018.
Researchers also point out that Wal-Mart stores practice “religious priming,” a practice of promoting attitudes and behaviors seen within a particular religious group or denomination. The research showed Wal-Mart promoted Protestant values such as savings and thrift. In studies of religious priming, researchers had participants review and identify with words they valued, such as Bible, gospel and Messiah. Those participants also tended to support racist attitudes against blacks.
Wal-Mart has also used advertising to lure particular groups to its stores, despite the fact some of those groups have strong ties with racism. In 2010, Wal-Mart purchased the terms “Tea Party” and “Rand Paul” as part of its Google Adwords campaign.
A study by the University of Washington’s Institute for the Study of Ethnicity, Race & Sexuality showed that members of the tea party tend to exhibit more intolerant attitudes toward minorities, particularly blacks. Of those surveyed, 73 percent of tea party supporters believed blacks would be better off if they only tried harder and 72 percent disagreed that “generations of slavery and discrimination have created conditions that make it difficult for blacks to work their way out of the lower class.”
“The data suggests that people who are tea party supporters have a higher probability of being racially resentful than those who are not tea party supporters,” said Christopher Parker, director of the study. “The tea party is not just about politics and size of government. The data suggests it may also be about race.”
Rand Paul, son of current Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul, has had allegations of racism lobbed his way after taking a position that opposed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and saying that privately owned businesses have the right to segregate its employees.
Also facing criticism in the past is Wal-Mart’s subtle but questionable separation of products for certain ethnicities. An Ohio Wal-Mart came under fire in 2010 for creating a “black section” in its book department, separating black authors and writers from all others. Again in 2010, many came out against Wal-Mart for selling a black Barbie doll character for significantly less than its white counterpart. The black doll was on clearance for nearly 50 percent less.
“Wal-Mart has clearly done good things in these communities, especially in terms of lowering prices,” Goetz said. “But there may be indirect costs that are not as obvious as other effects.”