The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do. To return the shopping cart is objectively right. There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart. Simultaneously, it is not illegal to abandon your shopping cart. Therefore the shopping cart presents itself as the apex example of whether a person will do what is right without being forced to do it. No one will punish you for not returning the shopping cart, no one will fine you or kill you for not returning the shopping cart, you gain nothing by returning the shopping cart. You must return the shopping cart out of the goodness of your own heart. You must return the shopping cart because it is the right thing to do. Because it is correct.
A person who is unable to do this is no better than an animal, an absolute savage who can only be made to do what is right by threatening them with a law and the force that stands behind it. The Shopping Cart is what determines whether a person is a good or bad member of society.
Personally I think shopping carts are the penultimate litmus test. Returning a shopping cart requires effort, albeit a miniscule amount of effort. The ultimate litmus test is litering. It requires exactly zero effort to not throw your trash on the ground or out your car window. To me, littering practically screams, “I don’t give a shit about anyone but myself. I have the self control of a toddler at bed time and I want everyone to know it which is why I throw my shit on the ground like a total fucktard.”
I’m not really a confrontational person but I have rolled down my window and yelled at people for throwing their cigarette butts on the ground. You would think some people were raised in a goddamn barn.
I may feel a little strongly about this issue.
But there is a penalty for littering. Some people might refrain from littering not because it’s the right thing to do, but because they don’t want a fine.
The lack of repercussions for being a scumbag and abandoning your cart is what makes it a good test.
If you’re offended by a cigarette butt on the ground, holy fuck, you should have been around in the 70s. We have come so far and so fast.
When I was a kid, chunking your fast-food trash, any trash, out the window was perfectly normal. The sides of highways were covered in trash.
Further to go, of course, but I’ve seen solid progress.
I live in Sweden; rarely do I ever see a shopping cart just sitting in the parking lot. Can’t remember a time in the last decade.
I figure it’s mostly an American thing we’re too European to understand.
You think so? Are Americans really more lazy/inconsiderate people? Some other reason why this might be more common there?
Are Americans really more lazy/inconsiderate people?
American here. The answer is emphatically “yes”.
I don’t think you’ve ever left the country then
You need to travel more then
Well that’s disheartening. Why do you think that is?
American Exceptionalism/Individualism
I dont think so. It’s just that I’ve been in several EU countries, and Ive never encountered this issue here.
I think the real reason might be that majority if not all supermarkets require coins to unlock the shopping cart.
Sorry, I’ve become confused about what you mean by “here” or “there”, and where you are based.
You mean coins are required in America? Because not in Sweden. They used to be, like 20-15 years ago. But they removed that. Not sure if there was a law that came into effect or something but… not anymore with the coins. Carts are free to take into the store without coins. Still, everyone returns them.
I still do it without coins because that’s what I’ve done in my entire life. Like, not returning the cart never even entered my mind as a possibility (it’s still not one).
I’ve seen some un returned carts sporadically, but I’ve always assumed that there was some emergency.
On the Internet however? I’ve seen people argue that not returning carts is good for the economy because there’s people whose job is to return those, and if we did return the carts they would lose their job. Which is… Stupid to say the least.
Right, let’s all become murderers so we can create homicide detective jobs… Makes perfect sense. 🙃🙄 Very silly argument indeed.
Sometimes I just feel like people like to argue for the sake of arguing. Or that they don’t fully understand what they are saying.
Mostly Americans who don’t travel say this because they haven’t experienced lazy people in other countries. I’ve seen plenty of dumping of trash, destruction of natural places, etc in other countries.
Probably more in the continental Europe, right? Or further east? I feel like Scandinavian people are quite clean and take responsibility for trash. We have a good community system as well I think. Garbage is collected and disposed.
I dunno. Sometimes it bothers me how people don’t sort their trash correctly in the correct bins, like how hard is that? But at least they bring it there, right? 🤷♂️
Scandinavian people are quite clean
HA! The Norwegians have terrible air quality because their mountains clog smoke in valleys. I noticed this when looking up the UKs and spotted my English city had better air quality than lots of Norway. Swedish hobgoblin motherfuckers.
I wouldn’t associate air quality with the people being responsible with their trash or returning their shopping carts lol. Maybe I should? 😆
We have absolutely enormous parking lots, and yeah, Americans are lazy and have an abundance of food. Maybe not more inconsiderate, but Hanlon’s Razor comes into play here. If you don’t believe me, just go to any Golden Corral. There absolutely will be multiple families in there where every single person weighs over 250 pounds, even the 8 year old kid.
I remember a girl in highschool that was an exchange student from Botswana(?) was a bit upset that she was too fat to go home after living here for a school year. She’d gained like maybe 5 pounds. As far as all us Americans were concerned she finally didn’t look anorexic.
My brothers and I would run around the parking lots gathering up all the carts rather than go into the store. This was especially fun at Aldi’s cause we got a quarter for each cart, and could get some candy.
Hanlon’s Razor comes into play here. If you don’t believe me
No no, I already believe that. I think that’s one of the most soothing and comforting adages ever. I suppose it’s just not in many Americans’ culture to think in terms of “what good can I be to society during my lifetime/today/in this situation,” rather than “how can I help myself/make the smallest burden for myself, right now”. I dunno.
I remember when I came to America for a few months, twice. I would gain a lot of weight both times. I thought it was quite frustrating. But cheap food really is bad for you.
That’s a cute story about your brothers. ☺️
Is there a version of this that includes something about Aldi and other pay to return shops?
The existence of Aldi carts is proof that there are a lot of people out there with no ability to self govern
But for a potential loss of $0.25 they can suddenly self govern.
It’s also about the inconvenience of having to obtain another quarter.
Maybe we can use this to our advantage.
Every voter gets 0.25$, every public traffic ride nets you 0.25$, every CEO with a company that is net zero also gets 0.25$.
Also plays into the rules only apply if you’re rich, just pay for the convenience.
Aldi’s deal is more about getting people to return carts all the way to the front entrance so that they don’t have to pay employees to retrieve them from the corrals.
Of course, with their parking lots being small to begin with, I’m not so sure it’d make much of a difference (see also: Lidl, with the same size parking lot but no 25¢ locking carts).
I like how this is a funny joke, but also true.
What you get when no one is in charge. There are always people who will abuse a common trust. People will litter within feet of a trashcan or leave a cart a few spaces from a cart corral.
It might be because I’ve been slamming IPAs this afternoon but that’s the best example of “it’s funny because it’s true” I’ve seen in a while.
There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart.
wrong
wrong
no u
I don’t take my ethical analysis from 4chan
I don’t disregard anything based on where it came from, only its content
this claim lacks both entrenchment and testability. anyone should doubt such a claim, but doubly so given it’s known source.
Your ability to interpret hyperbole apparently isn’t testable either given that it seems to be non-existent
To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do.
wrong
wrong
no u
i don’t take my ethical analysis from 4chan.
I don’t disregard anything based on where it came from, only its content
this claim lacks both entrenchment and testability. anyone should doubt such a claim, but doubly so given it’s known source.
Your ability to interpret hyperbole apparently isn’t testable either given that it seems to be non-existent
You’re missing the crucial part where the store is for profit. There’s no reason to provide free labor to corporations.
Ladies and gentlemen, exhibit A
Your misguided attempt at rebellion against capitalism in reality only hurts the grunt that has to pick up after your inconsiderate ass. You think your behavior actually costs the company anything? You think they hire an extra person because of people like you? No. You just make some poor sap at the bottom of the pecking order that much more miserable
Congratulations on making yourself feel righteous at the expense of your fellow plebs
Superbly put good sir… or miss.
No, it’s a job and you’re an entitled prick who thinks it magically happens. Supermarkets where I live make billions. They can definitely afford to pay low skilled workers, of which there are plenty, to do this work.
you’re entirely correct, but what people are also missing is: if the weather’s nice, getting outside and pushing carts is a welcome break to the fluorescent lights and other drudgery of the store…
anyone who’s ever actually worked a retail job will tell you that going outside every once in a while is pretty nice.
picking up trash in the rain sucks, but pushing a cart is leisurely compared to whatever else they’ll have you do.We’re definitely on the same side. What many people see as an inconvenience is a job for many. I once had a boss who’s first company was a trolley collection company, he started from nothing, worked hard and sold it for $1m in Australia.
Sounds like they need to unionize and get paid enough to make it worth it then. There’s no moral obligation to do labor for corporations for free or under paid.
Lol “moral obligation”. You don’t do it because you’re obligated. You do it because it’s nice for the worker, and for the other customers who don’t want to navigate around your abandoned cart
I never said I don’t return carts…
there’s no reason to provide free labor
I never said I don’t return carts
Me thinks there is a contradiction afoot
Are your saying you provide free labor for no reason?
Reading must be difficult for you. Yes I am saying I provide free labor for no reason.
Humans are stupid animals and we do a lot of things for no reason.
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If your cart catches a breeze and dents my car then you’re now providing profit to a body shop. Putting your cart away is about not costing random people hundreds of dollars. And it saves the teen making minimum wage from chasing it down in the snow.
Fuck the grocery store, of course. But if you want to screw them over then there are better ways to do it, and with less collateral damage.
I never said I don’t return carts. I just don’t believe there’s a moral imperative to provide free labor for corporations
In a thread about the labor of returning carts.
I agree though. Never work for free
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Where I am, to unlock a cart, you have to insert a coin, and afterwards, to get the coin back, you have to lock the cart to another cart (that’s hopefully part of the pile). It mostly works.
They stopped doing this at a lot of places, but after years of having this coin system it seems people are decently behaved.
But i’m certain it’s a matter of time until they realize they can just stop giving a shit.
They do this at one particular store here. They also pay really well, have incredible prices, and let their cashiers sit in chairs while they check groceries. I like that store.
Aldi?
Yep!
That’s how it should be.
Aldi’s (used to?) do it in the US, but it’s the exception.
I’ve seen a lot of places here drop this system. I have no idea why. Then again, you could also just go to the info and get a plastic thing to unlock them.
They stop doing it often because it gets homeless people coming to the store specifically to return carts that people didn’t return so they can collect the refund.
“Oh no, we accidentally provided an opportunity for homeless people to make some money! This must be stopped IMMEDIATELY.”
It’s probably even worse:
“Ew these dirty bums are scaring away customers and I might lose money. This must be stopped IMMEDIATELY!”
I really don’t think it’s the reason where I live. People just return the carts in general and we don’t really have homeless people as a visible issue
I would hope someone realized it accomplishes nothing except being a mild annoyance for customers. Most people return the carts anyway and it doesn’t really stop anyone from stealing them if they really want them (or rather buying them for ~1 euro).
I’m not so sure. It’s a really small push but people from places where it exists only in some places and where in others they don’t return the carts it seems to be working. Here they are returned, but we are so used to the coin system that it might be leftover from that. Anecdotally I’ve noticed people leaving them wherever more if there’s no coin system. But also my area has a lot of first generation and very recent immigrants so they might’ve never been with the system to begin with. Or it’s a cultural thing. Dunno. Might be all the reasons.
Based on your username, I’m going to make the wild assumption that you live in Finland. I’m old enough to remember when we didn’t have this system in Sweden, and stray shopping carts was never a problem back then. Anectotal and my memory may be a regional thing, sure, but where I live, most people would just put the carts where they belong because it would break the societal norm if they didn’t. And my point is just that this system probably costs more than it pays off for the stores that uses it.
I do think there’s regional variation. In general, we don’t have this system in the US, except for a few grocery stores that are US divisions of European companies. I’ve lived in a few different areas in the country, and in some areas it seems like very few people return their carts and just leave them wherever, while in other areas, people are more conscientious about it. I rarely see a stray cart in the grocery store lots where I live now, for example, but when I lived for a few months in another city, it seemed like everyone just left the cars where they wanted.
I think there’s kind of a peer pressure thing going on, too - people start doing one or the other, and everyone else follows. “He didn’t return, why should I?” vs “Oh, she returned her cart, I should, too.”
Sorta “broken window theory” for shopping carts heh. Unreturned carts cause lawlessness that makes it seem more okay to leave the cart.
Leave it in the “Reserved for Law Enforcement” spot
Chaotic good?
Instructions unclear, nailed shopping cart to the wall
Schau wie sie dieses ausgestopfte Gittertier zugerichtet haben D:
I don’t see a stuffed animal?
There is a bit of German internet lore here. Shopping carts are called Gittertiere (grille animals). And there’s also a community Gittertiere on feddit.de where we post grille animals in the wild, living their natural lives (abandoned shopping carts).
This grille animal was “stuffed”, more accurately translated to taxidermied, which I expressed my sadness about.
Gotcha, thanks for the explanation. That’s pretty funny :)
This is a benefit of having kids. You can tell them to go put the cart away for you.
Depends on their age. They were the reason I didn’t take the cart back when they were very little. I didn’t want to leave them in the car and go to the other side of the parking lot.
I choose my parking spot knowing I’ll have a cart to return. Though around here, places with cart corals have a bunch throughout the parking lot.
I choose the one that’s available
Edit: what I mean is you don’t always get a choice of parking spot. Of course I took my cart back if it was within reach. But in the cases it required going too far from the car when I had babies inside, I didn’t.
Grumbling this to myself for the thousandth time in a Costco parking lot, I looked out at the sea of parked cars and realized that the majority of people probably DO put their carts away responsibly, otherwise the dozen carts I saw askew would’ve been a hundred-fold.
On a side note, my grandmother is always thankful when someone leaves a shopping cart by the parking space, because she leans on them to help her walk, and it’s often hard for her to walk the distance from the car to the stall.
Generally though, yes, return your cart psycho
Not returning your cart should be the one and only criteria for the naughty list.
I used to work bringing in carts at a store and it was the best part of my job. I see this as just a cost of doing business for these giant stores that need carts to begin with, although I always put my cart back. I can understand if the thing is way far away though. Who cares? Let them pay someone a fair wage to keep track of them. We know that will never happen though so you need to bring it back to be considerate to other shoppers. Giving the store free labor lol
Same! I loved just putting on headphones and walking around the parking lot collecting carts.
I don’t put the carts back because it was fun for me and I am giving that me an additional 2 minutes out of the building to just not listen to a Karen complaining at checkout.
Thanks for saying this. Folks that get enraged at the cart thing have something else going on emotionally they need to deal with. Like, the world is out of their control and it’s going to shit so their mind goes to exerting any sort of control it possibly can in order to compensate for their general powerlessness. What we need to do is think hard how to affect what change we can and do that and learn to let go of stuff outside our influence.
Interestingly, there was a time not too long ago where there was no such thing as returning your carts. No place to put them, and store employees fetched them. I always return my cart so it doesn’t blow away and smash into someone’s car - but I bet a lot of boomers think nothing of leaving it wherever - because that’s kind of what you did.
I’m sorry but there’s No way even boomers get a pass. It’s been expected to return your cart to the stall for longer at least 30 years. In some places you even had to put $1 into the cart to use it and got it back when you returned it ($1 was also a lot more 25 years ago).
There’s really no excuse for not returning the cart today and anyone who fails at this simple task of self-governance is no better than animal.
But who expects you to return it? The company that owns the store? What if I don’t return it in protest of their corporate greed? Who are they to make me do manual labor for free after I just paid them‽ Back in my day they would load your car for you. Lazy company CEOs are too busy counting money to keep their parking lots in order! lol
Don’t be a lazybones
That hero is going to actually get shot one day.
Isn’t his vest bulletproof? I hope we don’t find out
It’s called the “cart corral”. I just love that.
I’ve heard of golden corral. I don’t want to eat at cart corral.
When I worked at a store we had two sizes of shipping cart and they couldn’t interlock but people would force it anyway or back them in to engage the coin latch. The cart sheds became a total mess and the store was too understaffed and the manager often ended up doing the cars, badly, in favor of pulling people off indoors cleaning or w.e. I often left the cart over a parking separator brick so it can’t roll into cars, but doesn’t add to the jumbled mess in the shed.
we had two sizes of shipping cart… and the store was too understaffed
That’s the store’s own damn fault.
More head office but yeah. They also changed the checkouts from Linux to windows and decided self checkouts could only have one human attendant.
Poetry
I’ve heard of Elf on the Shelf?
