Posted on Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 9:15 a.m.
Ypsilanti woman upset by her mom's photo on People of Walmart website
By Cindy Heflin
An Ypsilanti woman who saw her mother's picture on the website People of Walmart, said the photo is an invasion of her mother's privacy, WJBK in Detroit reported.
The website posts unflattering photos of people shopping in Walmart stores. "You can't be safe in a store while you're shopping? It upsets me," Melanie Wheeler told the television station.
Comments
Taz
Mon, Feb 21, 2011 : 3:08 p.m.
Well...if reality jumps up and smacks you in the face. Learn to dress appropriately and you won't get your picture on the People of Walmart. Problem is that they aren't just going to Walmart (contained), they leave there and go somewhere else and then the rest of us get to look at it too!
Carole
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 2:55 p.m.
What ever happened to the fact that folks used to be sued for taking pictures of individuals without their permission. I am a photographer and this was instilled in me from the get go -- you ask permission to take photographs -- just common kindness. To the individual who stated, just get over it, how would you like it if it were you.
15crown00
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 6:44 a.m.
ANOTHER lawsuit in a lawsuit happy nation. Over reaction to but it mildly Forget it and GET on with life.All kinds of things are more important. Write a letter to Bentonville Ark.. i bet you get some action.
OLDTIMER3
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 1:58 a.m.
If the woman in the trench coat is the one the complaint is about, I personaly don't see anything wrong with the way she is dressed with the cold temps and wind we have been having. I'll bet she was warmer than most.
Ann English
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 1:33 a.m.
It could have been worse. Imagine such a Picasa Web album site on the Internet last summer, when there was a tornado in the vicinity. The tornado siren near this Ellsworth Road Walmart sounded, soon afterward the Public Announcer said that Code Black was in place (everyone take cover, a term usually reserved for hospital patients), and no one could take anything to the checkout lines, for all the employees were going to the back of the store. We could go there too, if we wished. We could have left without buying anything. That situation was enough of an injury without adding insult by publishing photos of it on the Internet.
smokeblwr
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 1:53 a.m.
Uhhhhhh.....what?
rrt911
Sat, Feb 19, 2011 : 12:15 a.m.
Do we really have to spill the beans and tell her that shopping in Walmart IS in public? Cuz it's kind of a public store--I'm just sayin'
snoopdog
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 11:53 p.m.
watch what ya wear when your going there. dress so no one want to take your picture ! Good Day
dexterreader
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 9:38 p.m.
As others have noted, the internet is a public place, as is WalMart. It's tough to find privacy in this world anymore.
nimbus123
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 8:26 p.m.
That photo was not bad at all.
Ignatz
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 8:12 p.m.
As I never go to Wal*Mart, let alone shop there, I appreciate seeing the circus within on the site. Of course, this is not the only place where people look, um, unsual. It seems to be an American trait.
TrueBlue90
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 6:39 p.m.
I live near that Walmart and go there quite frequently - they do have some good deals! - and I would be very offended if my picture ended up on that website. I don't want anyone anywhere taking my photo without my knowledge. I don't dress trashy or weird, and look pretty normal, but who knows what those slimeballs with cameras consider weird or picture-worthy?
Bertha Venation
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 6:32 p.m.
That picture wasn't bad. I've seen a lot worse in Walmart! At least she wasn't wearing spandex, and was properly covered. But if you don't like the picture.... clean yourself up a bit before you go out.
MisterAngryBear
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 5:53 p.m.
PoWM -- Where folks who would never be less than totally indignant at a joke that made fun of African-Americans or Jewish people can go to laugh at people for being poor/overweight/having bad fashion sense/not going to a fancy college or not developing the right kind of cultural capital. Political correctness is miles wide, but only inches deep.
Forever27
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 6:28 p.m.
You're reading way too deeply into PoWM. It's a site that makes fun of people for what they look like in public. which is a personal choice, unlike race and poverty (most of the time). It's not a blast on Walmart in particular, because for people to get those pictures, they have to actually patronize a Walmart. It's customers making fun of fellow customers.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 5:19 p.m.
I sort of sympathize with the 'embarrasee' here. We hear alot from conspiracy theory cranks about the POTENTIAL abuse of the internet/surveillance etc by the "government". But the worst ACTUAL abuse seems to emanate from our more mean-spirited or exhibitionistic fellow citizens, via sites like the one described ( or by cyber bullying, 'sexting' etc.)
xmo
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 5:08 p.m.
Sounds like someone needs to look in the mirror before they leave the house! If you do not want to appear on the "People of Wallmart site" don't go into Wallmart!
StrongFire
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:45 p.m.
This is a good example of the "Streisand Effect". <a href="https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Streisand_effect" rel='nofollow'>https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/Streisand_effect</a> I wonder how proud her mom is that she went to the television media with the story.
EyeHeartA2
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:15 p.m.
Dang....I wish I would have though of this when Bill Riney was handing out hot dogs at the Ypsi Wal-mart. Oh well, there is always next summer for a little.....photography.....candid photography
alan
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:42 p.m.
She went out in public dressed like this and was seen by hundreds of people. Sue all of them. Thanks for the link, the caption was the best part.
breadman
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 8:30 p.m.
She only dressed that way so someone would see it then be bothered by it. Dress so you fit in the crowd not stand out................
Hmm
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 4:17 p.m.
That's usually the best part of that site the captions...
grye
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:37 p.m.
Who cares.
sun runner
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:30 p.m.
While the picture does appear to have been removed from the active site, Google Cache preserves it for all time. I did some digging and turned up the offending picture. The first thing I noticed it that it appeared on the site in late February of 2010. Yes, 2010. As in almost a year ago. Ms. Wheeler is a little late to the game on this one.
youmeuu
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:30 p.m.
<a href="http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gETXkWGrVewJ:www.peopleofwalmart.com/%3Fp%3D10134+A+member+of+the+Canadian+division+of+the+trench+coat+mafia&cd=24&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com" rel='nofollow'>http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:gETXkWGrVewJ:www.peopleofwalmart.com/%3Fp%3D10134+A+member+of+the+Canadian+division+of+the+trench+coat+mafia&cd=24&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com</a> Is where you can see the picture.
Arbuckle
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:26 p.m.
If being on a silly website is the biggest thing in life that you have to worry about I'd say you're doing pretty well. Grow up, dress appropriately in public, finish your wah burger and french cries, then move on.
Hmm
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:15 p.m.
I went to PoWM and I didn't see the post so they must have removed it. Sad as I wanted a good laugh. If you don't want to be made fun of don't go out in public wearing extremely clashing colors, clothes that are three sizes too small for your frame, long MULLETS, or anything else that is outside of "normal". I'm sorry she saw her relative on there but again no one has to be nice and no one has to respect your feelings if you chose to go out in public looking ridiculous.
Forever27
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:11 p.m.
Why was Ms. Wheeler looking at Peopleofwalmart.com in the first place? Oh that's right, to make fun of other people. Apparently it's not so funny when you're the subject of ridicule. As smokeblwr said, if you don't want to be made fun of for looking ridiculous in public, don't look ridiculous in public.
drut_ferguson
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:04 p.m.
Thank god Fox 2 is there to deliver hard-hitting, relevant news stories about the bemulletted denizens of our local Walmarts. Who cares about state budget crises or the challenges facing Detroit when there are obese people in spandex pants being wronged by a website which will now get several thousand more hits thanks to this story? God bless you, Fox 2! Keep fighting for the little guy! I mean "little" in the figurative sense, of course.
Mr. Ed
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 2:59 p.m.
And were surprised by this story. I thought all the pictures of the stars of Walmart came from Ypsilanti.
Top Cat
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 2:56 p.m.
A sad commentary of the times that a website exists solely to ridicule people.
Forever27
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 3:27 p.m.
you haven't spent much time surfing the web, have you?
smokeblwr
Fri, Feb 18, 2011 : 2:53 p.m.
While nobody wants to get made fun of on the internets, this is the world we live in. Going shopping in a store IS a public place and if you are embarrassed to be seen on the internets wearing something you wore in public to the WalMarts then maybe it is time to reconsider how you dress in public.