How much more hypocritical can you get?

Ypsilanti Woman Upset over Photo Posted on "People of Walmart" Website

Have you ever heard of this website?
What website?

It's called People of Walmart .
Ohhh, that website. Story lead fail.

Elitist reporter note: How about this instead, “Have you ever heard of People of Walmart?” Seriously, it’s not rocket science people!

People take pictures of shoppers and post them online so others can make fun of them.
Yeah, we know. And it’s funny.

However, one metro Detroit woman wasn't laughing when her mom popped up on the site.
"You can't be safe in a store while you're shopping? It upsets me," said Melanie Wheeler.
Now, it’s not in this story, but it is in another one I read about this – the woman who is bitching saw this picture while she was on the site because she is a regular viewer of the site.

So, you’re telling me it’s a double-standard … you can laugh at other people’s moms when they’re on the site, but if someone snapped a picture of your mom, it’s time to get upset.

I sat down with the Ypsilanti woman. She told me her mom's picture is on the "People of Walmart" website. The caption reads "A member of the Canadian division of the trench coat mafia".
The other story I read also said she was upset because the site refused to take it down. I frantically searched Google and the People of Walmart site to find it and was not lucky enough to do so. I searched on the terms of the caption, the location, everything. So either my internet-searching powers aren’t working today (and if that’s the case, just shoot me now) or they did, in fact, take it down. (Random note about my internet-searching powers – they are not at full-strength because I am, in fact, at work.)

Wheeler said her mom was shopping at the Ypsilanti Walmart on Ellsworth Road, but did not realize someone had snapped her picture and was shocked to find it on the internet.
Okay, well, look, sweetheart let’s break this down.

• It wasn’t a picture of you. Be grateful for that.
• Don’t you know that, as children, it is our job to make sure our parents don’t go out looking like complete fools in public? I try, but if my mom ends up on People of Wal-Mart, I’m just gonna laugh and write my own caption.
• Obviously your mom was comfortable enough with herself to go out looking like a complete moron (I’m guessing since I haven’t seen the picture), so quit getting your panties in a twist.
• You read the site. You appreciate the humor. You are such a freakin’ hypocrite.

"The picture's of … like the back of her right shoulder, so they were doing it … about stomach level where no one would see that they were holding a camera up to do it," Wheeler said. Uh, yeah, that’s how most of them are taken. Thank you for stating the obvious.

"She was upset about it. Her first reaction when I told her was I want the picture taken off. Can you do it? And I'm like no, I don't run the website."
Well, sweetheart, why did you tell your mom? Just let her live in her blissful ignorance.

I spoke to the night manager at the Ypsilanti Walmart. He said Walmart has nothing to do with the website and that Walmart in no way supports the website.
Of course Wal-Mart (yes, Virginia, it’s actually got a hyphen and a capital M) is going to claim they don’t support the site. Because they don’t. But I guarantee you a large number of employees get a kick out of it. Probably on the computers at work nonetheless.

Wheeler said that, in her opinion, these pictures are different than those taken by paparazzi on a public street or sidewalk.
Yeah, cause, um, these are funny.

"The thing is if you take a picture of someone in public, they're in public," she said. "My argument is you're in a Walmart. We have no privacy shopping? … So, I could go into any store and take a picture of anybody or their children and put it up on a web page."
Um, no, you don’t have any privacy shopping. You don’t have any privacy just walking down the street. You don’t have any privacy when you’re at a restaurant. Once you walk out the doors of your hallowed home, you give up any and all rights to privacy. (At least as far as I’m concerned.) By the way, have you ever seen paparazzi pictures of celebrities while they are out shopping? Of course you have, because I have too. I know I’ve seen pictures of Britney Spears buying pregnancy tests at Walgreens (*shudder*) – not so sure about Wal-Mart, but I’m sure they are out there. Probably of Britney, no less.

Wheeler said what would give her satisfaction is to have her mother's picture taken down from the website.
I do believe it’s been taken down. Cause I can’t find it, no matter how much I want to see it. If any readers happen to have it – share!!!!

The other story I was reading is that she’s waging a war on this and trying to make it illegal to take pictures while people are shopping. Umm… good luck.

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And now, just because I could – I have included some of my favorites taken right here in Kentucky. These are courtesy of the People of Wal-Mart site, and I in no way accept credit for them.