Is globalization killing local culture?

Globalization only affects local culture when the local people allow it to do so. The Chinese can choose to eat at McDonalds, the Mexicans can choose to shop at Walmart, the Europeans can choose to drink Coke. And they do so en masse. Nobody forces the global culture on anybody. Ultimately, people vote with their pocketbooks. If people want American products, they will buy them. If they collectively decide not to buy them, the American corporations will not be profitable in that particular area, so they will leave.

What do you mean by "local culture"? Is culture something that, like obscenity, one can't define but knows when one sees it? But I assume your definition is more explicit: art, language, customs. Although I have a hard time trying to imagine a Texan wearing a kimono, I know a Texan who eats sushi, so maybe bigger changes aren't far off. But, whatever happens, I don't think they will be "bland" - because communities have always adopted new ideas and incorporated them into their existing way of life in unique ways. Take Mayan people for instance, who adopted some of the symbolism of Catholic Christianity, but wove it into their existing belief system in ways that would make it almost unrecognizable, say, to a Catholic from Boston. Globalization isn't covering everything with a beige blanket. What's more, increasingly, some people (and peoples) are fighting back!