People Today... Well They Scare Me

reply to post by theendisnear69

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When we had the gas shortages in the early 1970's, I worked at a truck stop on graveyard shift and was a full time University student.

The truck stop I worked at was one of the largest in the country and due to truck drivers not wanting to go through Los Angeles in the daytime traffic, it was extremely busy during the night. We had many rows of islands and it was not unusual to have trucks backed up 5 and 6 deep on each of the islands.

Due to it's size and location we were allowed to give twice as much fuel as other truck stops to stop them from tying up traffic in Los Angeles. Instead of being grateful we were giving twice the amount of diesel as other stations, the customers (truck drivers) became so dangerous we were issued tire thumpers drilled out and filled with lead to be used for self defense. So many truck drivers drove off without paying we had to start hanging flags on their mirrors and were told if they drove off with a flag to stop and chase them down. We would all run after them as they exited the lot and hit the sides of the tractor with our thumpers leaving large dents to teach them not to steal fuel. I was shocked by how many truckers attempted to steal their fuel.

I think what I experienced was a great example of what to expect in really hard times. We saw everything from the drive offs to truckers pulling guns on us to get out of paying. Even though the problem was not the price but the shortage of supply the drivers used it as an excuse to justify stealing fuel. I learned a lot about human nature. I'd say as many as one in twenty of the truckers would attempt to steal the fuel even though we were giving twice as much as other stations. I was also constantly offered bribes of cash or drugs to give them extra fuel multiple times each night.

What people really are as opposed to what they pretend to be, becomes painfully clear when they don't get what they want, when they want it.

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Oh, and I forgot to apologize. I get really upset when I can't get a good cheese danish. Even though they always sell out early in the day, the stores never stock extra, so you are not entirely innocent Nobody wants the damn berry ones.

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Here's the thing, and although I don't work in retail, I see this all the time anymore, people will yell and scream when what they want isn't there for the taking, and if they have something that does not suit them, and want to return the item. Just today I was Walmart, standing at the quickie check out line, and right across was a picture salon. There was a woman there with two daughters, who each had a kid, even though they were just teenaged, and the woman is screaming at the lady that she didn't get the photos she ordered. the lady explained to her that she herself picked out the package, and it was he responsibility to ensure that she had the right ones. I see this kind of behavior all the time. I think it has to do with several things, one being the electro-magnetic field that surround Earth is changing, for we are coming to the Galactic Alignment soon, and another is that with the economy so low, and scarceness of jobs, that people are afraid if this paycheck may be their last. I can relate, I live on SS disability, and I don't know if my check will be there either.

In a situation X, most people around you will lose their very minds. Once the store shelves are empty, people will kill you for your shoes, you money, and whatever else you may have. Police will be no help, nor will fire departments, or an social services, all will be down and closed. Soldiers on the streets will demand papers at every turn, and people who are hungry, or need medicines will be herded to the camps. There will be much shooting in the cities, and the dead will be on the streets, for everyone to see, and some will even eat of these, if this is allowed to happen. for myself, I cannot see any way we are to avoid disaster, especially with some religions praying hard for it to happen.

Perhaps I'm the reason the store is out of stock. My husband and I only shop every 3-4 months, and when we do its a doozy. We each grab a cart and fill it to the brim, and then just buy our produce weekly at the farmers market. We also found out the grocery store (something they don't tell you about) gives you a 25 dollar gift certificate if you spend over 200 hundred dollars, so the mass shop actually saves money in the long run.

So needless to say, ppl groan when they get behind us in the lineup, and its amazing what a simple smile can do. Instead of giving them negativity back, treat them kindly, put yourself in their shoes. Its hard for someone to be rude when you're smiling and polite. Usually by the time we finish checkout, our whole lineup is laughing and conversing. It goes from a dreary wait, to moments of laughter.

I agree with your statement, but at the same time, this disaster only affected a small part of the country, thus leaving the rest to help out the gulf coast. If something were to happen where EVERYONE was screwed, and we were all 110% positive no one was coming to help because everyone is in the same situation, i think over-all moral will be shot and we will have ourselves some country-wide rioting. Every man for himself.

Good thing too, i sure could use a new TV...

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Generic prescriptions are SO much cheaper than name-brand.
We paid like 70 cents for one of mine the other day.

"Hello there. Can you find out if there are any extra cases of Hot Pockets
back there in the storage freezer please ?'
"No!"
"What do you mean "no" ?
"No I can't."
"What do you mean can't ? Can you just check ?
"I can't cause there ain't any."
"How do you know there isn't any ?"
"Cause some other customer asked the same question two hours ago."
"Then why is the sign still up saying, "Get 2 Hot Pockets for a Dollar?"
"I forgot to take it down. So what !"
"You know melon-face, you just wasted alot of my time."
"Are you talking to me?" "Are you frigging talking to me ?"
"Not only have I been talking to YOU, but I'm ready to kick YOU"s a$$."
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Attention Shoppers : Rumble In Frozen Foods. Rumble In Aisle Five.

But see, if you are thinking about getting a new TV, you really DONT think its all over and that we are all screwed. You are actually expecting that things will go back to normal and that there will be electricity and broadcasting again.

If you really thought that we were really well and truly screwed, looting TV's would be the last thing on your mind.

It's not just grocery retail. I worked for a major retailer for about 5 years, (I'll call it Gordstrom), and the people there are the same. Out of Uggs? Time to throw a fit. No Coach selection? I'm gonna cuss you out. It's pathetic really, that we are a soceity that is that self-centered that we cannot deal with being told no....

I have three comments:

1) Don't the stores in your area offer rainchecks? I tend to shop the sales (my motto is, "If it isn't on sale, it doesn't exist!") and therefore stock up on the items I buy. Of course, sale items often sell out early, but the stores in our area offer rainchecks when that happens. So what if I have to wait a week for the item?

2) I think sometimes employees get yelled at because shoppers really want to yell at the big, impersonal corporation that isn't meeting their needs, and for the moment the employee personifies that corporation. In many modern stores, it's not like you can walk up to the store owner and ask "Why aren't your carrying strawberry flavored whatzits anymore?" The only available employees, when asked such a question, often come across with an "I don't know and I really don't care" attitude - which, while perhaps reflecting how they truly feel, is not what the customer wants to hear. And let's face it, it is pretty maddening to drive across town to buy an advertised item and then find the store doesn't have any left (or worse yet, never had any).

While it might not earn you brownie points with your employer, one approach might be to sympathize and say something like "I know, it frustrates me too, they never order enough of the sale items. Why don't you call our customer relations department in (whatever city the head office is in)? They might even send you a gift card for your trouble!" The good part about that is directs the customer to vent in a constructive manner, to someone who might actually be able to make amends. Of course I realize that would never work with some customers (particularly the "mean drunks" that come in after a certain hour).

3) Personally, I think if everything goes to hell in a handbasket, there are those who want to try and survive at all costs and those who don't. At my age (late 50's) I can't imagine living without electricity, instant communications, running water, well-stocked stores where food is available and other trappings of modern life. Let the young try to survive if they want; I just hope that whoever kills me for whatever they think I might have does it quickly and relatively painlessly. Of course, I truly hope that society never breaks down to that degree, but seriously, if it does, a lot of people are not going to want to live (and if they believe suicide is always wrong, as I do, they may still be hoping for a quick death when it comes at the hand of someone else).

Of course, part of my reason for feeling that way is that personally I believe it's wrong to kill anyone (although maybe you get a pass if you are defending someone else) and I also believe that many (if not all) souls reincarnate, on this or some other planet (and personally, I'm sort of hoping for a more enlightened planet the next time around). So maybe getting killed, while not something to wish for, is not as bad as it might seem if it gets you out of a world gone crazy and into a better plane of existence. Maybe Jesus told people to turn the other cheek because he knew that even if someone smites you to the point of death, it just gives you a head start to the next life or next dimension or whatever. If you have that outlook, you really don't worry much about what's coming because no matter what happens, it will all work out in the end, and any discomfort along the way is only temporary.

reply to post by theendisnear69

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To me this screams of an over-priveliged society.

Remember when things hadn't moved too fast for Human evolution and we actually had to make do with a harvest that was in season?

The world is moving too fast, and the Human mind is not able to keep up.

We need to desperately put on the brakes.
We need a retraction of globalization.
We need smaller communities.
We need to be more self-sufficient and focus on creating (growing) what we all need for our community.

People have become far too detached from what makes us Human; producing our own food, relying on each other for survival, community spirit, family values, appreciation of our environment.

The way we currently live is turning us all into dependents. Dependent on the state, the government, the laws decided by few, the whims of another nation, the whims of an oil producer...

Send me back in time by a few hundred years and I'd probably be a happier person, living in a little village surrounded by people I know, spending my days tending the farm and socializing in the local tavern with a community I grew up in.

Imagine the possibilities if we went backwards, with the technology we now have. It would be truly remarkable.

reply to post by detachedindividual

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Ahhhhh you sound like a person thinking of abandoning big fat overbloated rotting society and going to live on or start your own organic farming community.

This is the key. Those people in those organic farming outfits are gunna be what makes or breaks us, I think. I'm going to live at an organic farm or two (depending on what my superkoolrawk bands are doing) this spring/summer.

I think that the S must hit the F if we are to learn, because lying cheating murderous government ramsacking the world while leaving us "free" to become fat and sick state and corporation dependent imbeciles rolling in our own filth doesn't teach the majority of us a lesson.

I don't think "endtimes" is about the end of humanity. Revelations... I mean if what's in a name is so appropriate, then end times are not the END of life on Earth, but the END of an era of lying, cheating, murdering, death, famine, disease, and global chaos... but for things to be ~Revealed~ for 99.9 percent of the population, it has to become ALOT more obvious. Turning on the television as I now do because I'm just trying to keep certain uncomfortable thoughts at bay, it would seem as if everything was better than ever! You look at an ad mentioning anything about "tough times" and it's all smiles and cheers because everyone enjoys being frugal and living on Ramen noodles and # food, while buying cheap # that breaks within a month. I seriously watch television as entertainment now, not because I find much on TV appealing... but just to watch and laugh at just how ridiculous things have become.

I think music laughter love and the good people fighting the good fight in the countryside growing all natural food are the only things that will save us. Don't stock up on guns. Stock up on knowledge and a good network of places you can go and sustain yourself when or even preferrably before the # gets too crazy. I am blessed, seeing as how yes I live near chicago... but I'm right on that line where the suburbs end and the rolling countryside and forests begin. So I doubt it will get too riotous here.

Oh and to the OP, did you ever think about asking someone when they ask "How hard is your job really?!" in that condescending manner "How hard is your life that you have to verbally assault my intelligence for not being an all knowing guru who can magically wave my hands and make more stock appear?"

Some people don't understand kindness and mistake it for weakness, which will on occasion agitate them more. "I can't have all these WEAK people in my way!"
Some people you just gotta stand up to because somebody's gotta do it to them, and the more people who don't take no guff from that guy/girl being pissy about super trivial things, the less they will be enabled to act that way. People who act that way usually don't think what they are doing is wrong, and most people nowadays have been so demasculated and made docile by social standards and other things that this behavior just goes unchecked. In a professional setting, you should expect professionalism from both sides of the transaction. If you are not getting professionalism in return, don't be a pushover. That's hard to actually do nowadays, especially since you might get fired if your boss is having a bad day, and you can't just get fired from a job now and expect to be able to find another in a week like a year ago.

That last part is where the system gets ya! Damned if ya do and damned if ya don't! Amazing how when you look at calamity and chaos these days, the way it all goes down.... doesn't it just seem a little too perfect to you?

We are being led towards something kind of serious (as serious as life can be {enter eastern philosophy 101}.... I'm speaking in human terms here) which I think is unavoidable. BEING LED. Talk about freedom...

"We need a leader!" they say.... or a grocery store... or else they will willingly cause havoc and in turn lose everything because they were... led here in the first place????

Wow. I wish I was completely unaware sometimes. Good post... as good as talking about all of this could possibly be.

Maybe you should blast the song "You Can't always get what you want" Rolling Stones over the soundsystem whenever they strike. I can't imagine how anyone could get mad about one item when they can get literally hundreds of thousands of different products in one place. Buy something else and go about your day and don't stress yourself or increase anyone elses' anxiety.

Of note I'd like to say that recently they have been blasting marching band patriotic music for Prince Obama's coronation.

[edit on 12-1-2009 by bubbabuddha]

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Well, I've seen people's attitude to resources, once the obligation to be fair or nice or good has been taken away from them. I play a game called World of Warcraft, which is basically about war and gathering resources. When people are not required to act in a decent way, because of the anonymity of the internet, they will lie cheat steal and kill to get what they want, and laugh about it afterwards. If the situation becomes every man for himself over in the US, i believe this is what people will be doing, as their true nature surfaces.

reply to post by bubbabuddha

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Exactly that's the thing, they can't get the exact thing they want. They need their nutty buddies! They just can't setle for honey buns.


Note to all: The majority of the time I am very courteous to the customers, They are not yelling at me because I was impolite to them, they are yelling because they had a minor inconvenience.

It's really sad that our society has come to this point.

With a looming depression, we most certainly won't last very long.

How about people form other countries? Do you guys experience the same outrage, over such a minor inconvenience?

reply to post by theendisnear69

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Not to worry. The people who throw temper tantrums about no hot pockets will be the first to perish. These people are most likely the people most ill-equipped and unprepared on an emotional and intellectual level to take care of themselves should the shtf.

reply to post by Blaine91555

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Yup, inconvenience brings out the worst in us.

And i'm sure things have gotten alot worse than the 70s ya know? I can't imagine what people would do today if we couldn't get gas.

Definitley not walk. That would be exercise.

I was just joking... i wouldn't be out looting tv's i would be doing something usefull, like stock piling supplies... but not tv's. just a joke.

I have never personally done this, but I have listened to my father throw a terrible fit on the phone when a particular lotion that he normally buys had been out of stock for weeks and weeks on end. I was baffled.

Is there a particular age range that tends to throw more fits than others.

In my father's case, he is one of the main bosses at work so he's used to people listening to him and doing what he wants. I cannot help but think that this is a factor in how he treats people that cannot give him what he wants when he wants it. But I was shocked to hear him react that way.

Not only will people throw fits when the shelves are bare and they cannot get their addictive processed foods, but the ones that do not die quickly because they don't know what else to do will probably kill to get anything they can get their hands on if/when tshtf.

At that point, it will no longer matter that those are the same people that called everyone else crazy for preparing for the unknown.

A few tips:

1. Never tell anyone what (if anything) you have ever because not only will strangers in the grocery store have no problem doing whatever they have to do to get something...anything, but in desperation, friends can become your enemy. They are only your friends when they laugh at you smugly or blow you off because they think you're batty for stocking up...then...when they show up on your doorstep when Wal-Mart is empty and you turn them away because you can only ration enough to feed your family...that best friend can and most likely will turn on you....becoming just like that stranger in the store screaming at you when they don't get what they want.

2. Protection~I'm talking guns and ammo. Seriously. When droves of people that can't get their hot pockets go looking for food, you better be prepared to protect your garden, garage, storage area against those unprepared.

3. Try to get off of processed foods. People that are addicted to flavor enhanced, highly processed, low nutrition foods are going to have a seriously hard time if things go badly in this country. Learn to grow a garden this year.

American's are spoiled brats. And I can say that because I am one. Not a spoiled brat, but an American. They are so accustomed to getting whatever they want, whenever they want it, that the thought of not being able to get something (aka instant gratification) is nearly unfathomable by the majority of American's.

If things do continue to go down hill in this country, 90% of the population is in for a very rude awakening when MOST of the things they won't will not be on the shelves, if the stores are open at all.

reply to post by Illusionsaregrander

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I agree that people will probably get nicer as times get harder - unless, of course, it gets really hard. Starving people aren't nice.

These discourteous louts are basically people who've had it good over the last few years of prosperity, pampered by wealth and consumerism, used to the endless abundance and multiple options that a rich economy provides.

As things get nastier, they'll soon learn to keep a civil tongue in their heads. On the job market, it's already happening.

But if I were you, theendisnear69, I'd try to get myself a more secure job before the crunch really hits. Most service jobs, including yours, are going to vanish into thin air.