123 points
*

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.

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6 points

Is there a version of this that includes something about Aldi and other pay to return shops?

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14 points

The existence of Aldi carts is proof that there are a lot of people out there with no ability to self govern

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12 points

But for a potential loss of $0.25 they can suddenly self govern.

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2 points

Also plays into the rules only apply if you’re rich, just pay for the convenience.

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5 points

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).

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-30 points

You’re missing the crucial part where the store is for profit. There’s no reason to provide free labor to corporations.

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43 points
*

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

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9 points

Superbly put good sir… or miss.

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-3 points

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.

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-6 points

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.

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14 points

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.

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-2 points

I never said I don’t return carts. I just don’t believe there’s a moral imperative to provide free labor for corporations

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1 point
Deleted by creator
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35 points

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.

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26 points
*

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.

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17 points

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.

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3 points

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.

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14 points

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.

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14 points

I figure it’s mostly an American thing we’re too European to understand.

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7 points

You think so? Are Americans really more lazy/inconsiderate people? Some other reason why this might be more common there?

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3 points

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.

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4 points

I like how this is a funny joke, but also true.

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-5 points

To return the shopping cart is an easy, convenient task and one which we all recognize as the correct, appropriate thing to do.

wrong

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2 points

wrong

no u

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0 points

i don’t take my ethical analysis from 4chan.

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-4 points

There are no situations other than dire emergencies in which a person is not able to return their cart.

wrong

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2 points

wrong

no u

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0 points

I don’t take my ethical analysis from 4chan

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6 points

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.

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10 points

we had two sizes of shipping cart… and the store was too understaffed

That’s the store’s own damn fault.

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4 points

More head office but yeah. They also changed the checkouts from Linux to windows and decided self checkouts could only have one human attendant.

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8 points

Don’t be a lazybones

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2 points
*

That hero is going to actually get shot one day.

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1 point

Isn’t his vest bulletproof? I hope we don’t find out

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-6 points

I’m curious? Do you also do this at Costco? The one I usually go only has two corrals and they are on the extreme sides of the parking lot, everybody leaves the carts between parking spaces. Abby other store I definitely put the cart in it’s place

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26 points

Leave it in the “Reserved for Law Enforcement” spot

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