Melanie Wheeler vs 'People of Walmart'

'People of Walmart' Photo Angers Melanie Wheeler

Melanie Wheeler, of Ypsilantl, Illinois, is angry that a photo of her mother appeared on People of Walmart. Here's the People of Walmart photo that caused the fuss, captioned "She must be a member of the Canadian division of the trenchcoat mafia."

Melanie Wheeler and her mom want the photo taken down from People of Walmart, but cannot do so themselves. Perhaps ironically, by going forward, Wheeler associated herself and her mother with the site, whereas before there was no way to identify the woman in the photo, unless the viewer happened to know her in real life.

• Is 'People of Walmart' the Best Website Ever?
  

Do people have a right to not be photographed in public? No. Basically, once you go out into public, you have no expectation of privacy. You were photographed by several surveillance cameras on your way to work today, in fact.  A stranger can take a photo of you and print it or post it online if they want; they can't sell it to an agency or anything, but can still distribute it.

That said, it was really only a matter of time before someone found a photo of themselves or a family member on People of Walmart and got angry. In a case like this, you'd have to contact the site administrators and ask for the offending image to be removed. Apparently People of Walmart honored Melanie Wheeler's request in this case.

If People of Walmart upsets you, then do not ever look at Vice Mag's Do's and Don'ts.

Melanie Wheeler asked Ron Savage of WJBK, "You can't be safe in a store while you're shopping?"

Check out the second video, in which the lawyer accidentally disses the subjects of People of Walmart as well.