GROCERY SWINE

I think there are numerous ways in which our country's celebration of the individual is unhealthy and counter-productive. One of them is clear to me whenever I go grocery shopping. There are two behaviors of many shoppers who demonstrate this. The first is those lazy jerks who, having either picked something up they no longer wish to purchase, or whose children have grabbed something from the shelf, leave it wherever they are when they change their minds or discover their little darlin's behavior.

Now, if it's a bag of rice or a can of soup, the only damage is it creates extra work for the folks working in the store. I suppose I shouldn't say "only damage" as even the creation of extra work translates into greater cost and, eventually, higher prices. Even worse, though, is the tendency of those who decide they no longer wish to purchase something which needs refrigeration, to leave it next to the potato chips, where they happen to find themselves when their befuddled minds finally comprehend the shallowness of their culinary desires.

Add to that the folks who buy things they don't really want, but wish to "try out", and then return it after they've given it a go, and you've got some large ancillary costs that have to be passed on in order for expected profits to be realized. This "trying out" behavior isn't limited to grocery stores, btw, but we'll stick to that option for now.

There's another thing that truly irks me. I'm not saying I lose any sleep over it. In fact, generally by the time I've left the parking lot I've forgotten about it. That may be why it's taken me years to reach the point where I can remember to say something about it. But it does make my blood boil a little when I see it happening. It's not as egregious, but it's somewhat related to the practice of perfectly healthy people parking in handicapped spots (even if they've managed to con their Doctor into helping them get a handicapped placard).

What I refer to is those who, having transferred their groceries from the shopping cart into their vehicle, now feel it is their right to leave that shopping cart in the parking space next to them. Most of these people are actually thoughtful enough to place the front wheels onto the median strip that divides the parking lot, but some will even leave their carts just sitting next to them, right in the middle of a spot. I suppose this wouldn't matter much in an area which saw little traffic, but in a busy store it can be a bit of a problem.

What bothers me about this is the message, which is "My time is more important than yours. My convenience is more important than yours." I can't figure out how much of this is sheer laziness, outright stupidity, or semi-pathological sociopathy. I'm inclined to think it comes from a culture which is increasingly slanted toward the "me-first, you never" mentality; a belief that life is a zero sum game and you have to grab all you can get or someone else will take it and you'll be left holding the bag.

This is, undoubtedly, a theme I will continue to harp on as I touch on other subjects in my curmudgeonly quest, not to right all wrongs, but merely to anger those who commit these wrongs and - perhaps - spur others to action in calling people to task when they exhibit these piggish qualities.