grocery shopping on a sunday afternoon
It sucks. It really sucks. There are few things worse than grocery shopping on a Sunday. For one, I'm usually hung over. Today, however, I lucked out. No headachy nausea pukey grumpiness for me.
But it is always crowded. And for some reason, my grocery store is always crowded with world's grumpiest people. Which is usually offset by the fact that they come straight from church. So there's a crowd of people dressed to the nines with the worst attitudes and manners. And of course, they all bring their kids, who are just so excited to be stuck in the grocery store with a million other people. I mean come on, you just made your kid sit through a hour long (or more) church service where they had to sit still and make no noise. And now you think they'll behave in a damn grocery store? Puh-lease. If you think so, you really shouldn't be a parent. (But then, I think most people who are parents shouldn't be one.)
So to recap, there's always a crowd of rude, grumpy well-dressed people in uncomfortable shoes with no sense of space who think they can just STOP and they won't be run into by the other 500 people trying to get down that aisle. Oh, yeah, with kids. Because grocery shopping is such a fun family outing.
And they scream. They scream at their kids for not stopping when they stop, or for whining because they're bored (duh, numbnuts!), or running around because they have energy to burn. They scream at other people in the store: That was my parking place! Hey, watch where you're going! Hey, get out of my way! And, the worst thing, they scream at people who work in the store.
I saw a woman (in a really ugly hat and terrible shoes) curse one lady up one side and back down the other because *gasp* her free samples of pizza weren't ready. "You should have put some more in while you still had some! Why aren't they ready now, goddammit, now I have to come back to this damn aisle to get my pizza!" Oh, good Lord, lady!
For one, the people who work in these stores are here, on their feet, for over 8 hours. For shit pay. And having to take shit from people all day. They have to explain over and over again to the same people that no, they can't get cigarettes with food stamps. No, you can't use a coupon for Green Giant veggies when you're buying Food Club veggies. And they have to get hollered at, over and over again, by stupid people who can't understand that, in all things, they must play by a set of rules.
And come on. It's a piece of pizza. If you really need to feed your fat face with it, is it that much trouble to come back in 2 minutes? Or wait and chat with the lady who has burns all over her hands because she's been making free pizza all day with the equivalent of an Easy Bake Oven, that keeps shorting out and shooting sparks at her? For CRAP PAY??
And see, this is where I start to really have issues with the concept of free. Not just free samples, though they could be brought into this. But free even and especially as it applies to wealth of social services that are provided to those in need...only to be taken advantage of by people who aren't in so much need. Or who have been raised on these social services and don't see them as a leg up to help yourself improve, but as a right to which they have been born.
You give one person one thing one time...and suddenly it must be given to all people for all time. There's no such thing as a free lunch...unless you and your eight kids all with different daddies who never stuck around long enough to see their faces qualify with the government (which you have the audacity to bitch about!) for free everything. I work damn hard for my money. I've held a variety of SHIT jobs to earn my money. Why can't they? Why can't they go flip burgers, or make people free pizza like I have? Because they don't want to deal with the shit from other people that they'll have to take?
Oh, this double edged sword has such a sharp point. To help, or to enable? And how do we stop it?
But it is always crowded. And for some reason, my grocery store is always crowded with world's grumpiest people. Which is usually offset by the fact that they come straight from church. So there's a crowd of people dressed to the nines with the worst attitudes and manners. And of course, they all bring their kids, who are just so excited to be stuck in the grocery store with a million other people. I mean come on, you just made your kid sit through a hour long (or more) church service where they had to sit still and make no noise. And now you think they'll behave in a damn grocery store? Puh-lease. If you think so, you really shouldn't be a parent. (But then, I think most people who are parents shouldn't be one.)
So to recap, there's always a crowd of rude, grumpy well-dressed people in uncomfortable shoes with no sense of space who think they can just STOP and they won't be run into by the other 500 people trying to get down that aisle. Oh, yeah, with kids. Because grocery shopping is such a fun family outing.
And they scream. They scream at their kids for not stopping when they stop, or for whining because they're bored (duh, numbnuts!), or running around because they have energy to burn. They scream at other people in the store: That was my parking place! Hey, watch where you're going! Hey, get out of my way! And, the worst thing, they scream at people who work in the store.
I saw a woman (in a really ugly hat and terrible shoes) curse one lady up one side and back down the other because *gasp* her free samples of pizza weren't ready. "You should have put some more in while you still had some! Why aren't they ready now, goddammit, now I have to come back to this damn aisle to get my pizza!" Oh, good Lord, lady!
For one, the people who work in these stores are here, on their feet, for over 8 hours. For shit pay. And having to take shit from people all day. They have to explain over and over again to the same people that no, they can't get cigarettes with food stamps. No, you can't use a coupon for Green Giant veggies when you're buying Food Club veggies. And they have to get hollered at, over and over again, by stupid people who can't understand that, in all things, they must play by a set of rules.
And come on. It's a piece of pizza. If you really need to feed your fat face with it, is it that much trouble to come back in 2 minutes? Or wait and chat with the lady who has burns all over her hands because she's been making free pizza all day with the equivalent of an Easy Bake Oven, that keeps shorting out and shooting sparks at her? For CRAP PAY??
And see, this is where I start to really have issues with the concept of free. Not just free samples, though they could be brought into this. But free even and especially as it applies to wealth of social services that are provided to those in need...only to be taken advantage of by people who aren't in so much need. Or who have been raised on these social services and don't see them as a leg up to help yourself improve, but as a right to which they have been born.
You give one person one thing one time...and suddenly it must be given to all people for all time. There's no such thing as a free lunch...unless you and your eight kids all with different daddies who never stuck around long enough to see their faces qualify with the government (which you have the audacity to bitch about!) for free everything. I work damn hard for my money. I've held a variety of SHIT jobs to earn my money. Why can't they? Why can't they go flip burgers, or make people free pizza like I have? Because they don't want to deal with the shit from other people that they'll have to take?
Oh, this double edged sword has such a sharp point. To help, or to enable? And how do we stop it?
posted by Melanie M. at 5:16 PM
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