For those who hate stereotypes....

You're wrong!

OK, I thought about stopping there. Probably would make for a popular thread, LOL, but I'll elaborate I suppose.

I just left the Walmart gas station. I went inside to pay, because I cut up my debit card the last time they charged me an overdraft, and I haven't used one since. I haven't had any credit cards for almost 3 years now.

First story....
Anyhow, so I went inside the station to pay, and this very cute little blonde girl comes in. Tight bluejeans, perfect body, top kind of cute, but also obviously something she put together for herself. Hair pulled back, pretty face, but a couple blotches, and she looks at me with a certain inquisitive look. Had I not been a married man, she obviously opened the door for a conversation, and she was happy to have been noticed by me.
*Ok, to the stereotypes. My first impression was that she was young, poor, a little trashy, troublesome, easy, probably living with some guy, but not a good relationship. That was my 5 second judgement of her, and yes, all that went through my head as I decided whether or not I would say Hi to her, or compliment her in some way. I decided not to, but when I left the store I drove around to get another look at her. Sure enough, beat up late 90's model Hyundai, missing a headlight, scroungy looking hispanic boyfriend in the passenger seat with one foot on the dash and no shirt on, she was the one pumping gas, and the one driving, and as I drove past she winked at me. Not only am I good looking, I'm also a dead-eye at picking at someone's character.

So, that wasn't to brag, but my first impression, the stereotype I cast her as, was important. I didn't flirt with her because of my snap judgement. What if I had? What if meth-head boyfriend came in and decided to get jealous? What if she flirted back and I paid for her gas and left with her phone number? Lots of headaches there to be had by ol' GRA.

Second story....
Had a surprise get-together at my house today. Bit of a Hurricane Beryl party, but we weren't expecting company. We barbeque pretty much every Sunday, so no surprise that 8 or 10 people would show up uninvited on Memorial Day Monday. We have an eclectic group of friends, and we see everything from ex-cons to sitting mayors and police chiefs. College and pro-athletes are fairly common here from time to time, but not everyone is used to seeing everyone else, and it makes for interesting studies in sociology and human nature, LOL!

So today, two (2), tall, muscular, black men show up at my house with my buddy. Wives and kids in tow. One of my wife's oldest childhood friends was already here with her daughter, and she was obviously a little awestruck at the sight of these guys. She proceeded to ask if they were athletes, what they do, where they work, and then she set into bragging about all the athletes and black people she knows. A little corny, a little uncomfortable, but a LOT funny! The thing is though, she stereotyped them in 5 seconds, and as offensive as it could have been, it was still 100% accurate. Their impression of her was a typical naive, white woman, educated but unexposed, well-meaning, but out of line, etc., etc. Their first impression of her was also 100% correct.

Now, during that conversation, my buddy, who is always an instigator, said this, "Do you just assume every tall black man you see is an athlete?" She started to stutter, but one of them spoke up and saved her and said this, "In this neighborhood... of course. In my neighborhood I look like everyone else, but in this neighborhood I look like I must have been invited, so I must be something." AND, he was 100% correct again! In my buddy's neighborhood, a muscular black man walking down the street is extremely common and nobody would assume he is anything more than a thug, or a landscaper, or somebody's grandson visiting, etc. When they pull up in a new Expedition, at my house in the country, a different assumption is made, and it was the correct assumption.

Let's backtrack a little.

Of course there are often mistakes or misconceptions, and that is where an open and intelligent mind comes in handy.

When I went inside the gas station to pay, I was wearing old shorts, with holes, missing a button, and held up by a zip tie through 2 belt loops, no belt. I had on a camo Napa hat, and a ripped t-shirt. I was paying cash for $20 in gas. I'm sure the girl that noticed me thought I was just like her trashy boyfriend, until she saw me pulling away in a brand new Wrangler, and that is when she winked at me. I'm sure the gas station attendant assumed I was broke, and that $20 was to get me to pay day. He was probably surprised when I didn't buy any cigarettes or lottery tickets, LOL! In fact, he would not have been completely wrong. Without a debit or credit card, that $20 was the end of my cash. Now, I can get some more tomorrow, but for today, he is absolutely right. I don't smoke, but about once a month I do buy a pouch of Redman. I hate the lottery, but about once a month my wife talks me into picking up a couple of tickets with the kids birthday numbers.

So, that gas station attendants stereotyping of me wouldn't have been too far off, at least not today. Tomorrow, I'll be in a suit, supervising a team of investigators and corresponding with law enforcement task forces, and the attorney general's office, and nobody that knows me in that capacity would be able to imagine me in the capacity the attendant saw me in. Those athletes that were in slacks and button up shirts today will visit their old neighborhoods sometimes, and they will dress different, and talk different, and act different. My buddy the instigator will be on the phone later with his Mom and Dad speaking fluently in 3 completely different languages, and reading Russian classical literature during the commercial breaks of the Heat game. Tomorrow, he will put his Master's degree to work as he always does, in his capacity for the University where he works. But today, he was a grungy, white, redneck, in a jacked up F-250 Diesel, but he happens to have a little black daughter, and many millionaire friends, and an advanced education, and a childhood spent in the USSR.

Since this is a rant, here is my point. Stereotypes are accurate. Like it or not, argue til you are blue in the face, but our first impressions are usually close enough to count. Sometimes we learn a lot more about a person and we unravel their layers, but we should embrace and trust the stereotypes. They are accurate, and important, and we have evolved the senses and skills to be able to judge someone in 5 seconds or less, so why do we try so hard to ignore those judgements?

In the movie, "Girl with a Dragon Tattoo," the bad guy says people will ignore their senses and put themselves in grave danger to avoid offending someone. It is probably true. All our senses scream one thing, but our political correctness tells us to ignore it and act like we didn't notice. Stupid.

Stereotypes are important embrace your own, and embrace everyone else's too!

reply to post by getreadyalready

Nice post, informative with some good wit and observation. "last 20.00 to get to pay day" I have been there before!

They are accurate, and important, and we have evolved the senses and skills to be able to judge someone in 5 seconds or less, so why do we try so hard to ignore those judgements?

I think because we(people with some degree of empathy or care for fellow humans) are aware of the unfairness and injustices sometimes done to people via stereotyping. It is similar to profiling, and I think we, out of respect, want to extend a fair assessment in our encounters with others. You are right though, we are sometimes brilliant in how we can sum up so much info in a matter of seconds. Info like mannerisms, clothing, body language, facial expressions, voice tones etc.. This ability serves us well and imo is part of our innate survival wiring, to avoid danger, to seek out friendship or more, or just to make a moment easier or less complex.

I liken the stereotyping to judging also, and I say that because I feel that it is natural for judgement to bubble up in our brain, but it is our humanity that determines what we do with the sensation, as in not let it necessarily be the end all reaction. Sure there is truth in stereotyping, otherwise there would be no word for it. It has it's place both within the individual and society, but knowing that sometimes there are exceptions is key too.

Anyhoo, your post made me feel like I was right there experiencing it, so well done on conveying a situation. Have a good Memorial Day man!

Peace

This is the cold, hard truth:

Stereotypes are stereotypes because there is a certain amount of truth to them. If there wasn't a grain of truth to them, they would cease to exist and other stereotypes would replace them.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist

I liken the stereotyping to judging also, and I say that because I feel that it is natural for judgement to bubble up in our brain, but it is our humanity that determines what we do with the sensation, as in not let it necessarily be the end all reaction. Sure there is truth in stereotyping, otherwise there would be no word for it. It has it's place both within the individual and society, but knowing that sometimes there are exceptions is key too.

After all that story I told, this is the important part surmised. It is natural, it is often very accurate, and it is important to at least admit and consider, but it is equally important to not overreact. We have to realize there are exceptions to every rule, and every stereotype, and we have to realize people are complicated and even if your judgement is accurate today, it might be totally wrong tomorrow.

That was the gist of my point, so hopefully it came across that way. I put this in rant, because I get annoyed with all the foo fooey stuff about ignoring stereotypes and profiling. One of my buddies often says, (he is black), and he says, if he gets robbed by a a black man, he sure as hell wants the police searching for a black man. He doesn't want them randomly searching kids and grandmas.

Originally posted by AnIntellectualRedneck
This is the cold, hard truth:

Stereotypes are stereotypes because there is a certain amount of truth to them. If there wasn't a grain of truth to them, they would cease to exist and other stereotypes would replace them.

Thanks! Again, that is the perfect concise statement to sum it up.

And, with a name like "intellectual redneck" you ought to understand perfectly, LOL! I can certainly identify with that.

Good post. I agree. Stereotypes represent a survival instinct. If you sterotype inaccurately, you die. The fact is people intentionally wear uniforms to telegraph who they are. It's not wrong to react to the uniforms. Baggy pants, hat on backwards, walking with a swagger is a uniform. So are tattoos on the face, tramp stamps, and hair styles. You only get into trouble if you react to a racial stereotype with a decision that hurts a person, such as not hiring someone because of their race only. The rest of it is perfectly reasonable. If I walk up to a guy in a dress white Naval officer's uniform, no matter what race he is, I know I don't have to worry. Put the same guy in baggy pants, and I will worry. If that's considered "raaaaaacist" screw you. It's my life I'm trying to keep alive here.

And it can be very funny. I'm old, have a droopy mustache, and usually wear one of those droopy hats (like a sailor hat except with the brim turned down, usually with advertising. What are those called?) Anyway, it's because the top of my head will burn. And I wear old scuffed cowboy boots and an old shirt falling apart and Levi jeans. I'm clean, but not exactly dressed for the country club. Oh, and I only shave every three or four days, so I can look a bit scruffy over all.

So I'm gradually getting away from the Big Bank that has horrid policies and a CD became due. I decided to bail on the Big Bank and put split my money between a very solid local bank and a credit union. Both of these guys have done very well through the recession. I walk into Local Bank and this very prim and proper young man about my daughter's age asks "how he can help me" and I see him give me the once over. I figure there are half a dozen security cameras trained on me at this point, silent alarms rousing sleepy security guards to take notice just in case. Since stereotyping is mutual. this guy wore a white shirt, black slacks, and a thin black tie and spiky hair and shoes with tassles and I swear he was gay. You really don't need to be gay to have gaydar. Also, to be fair, he was well spoken and obviously college educated. He was an "officer" of the bank.

So here we are two guys staring at each other stereotyping each other, and i say I want to open a CD. I'm thinking, "This guy is at least a friggin' metrosexual if not an outright fruitcake if he doesn't live with his Mom." and he's thinking, "This guy is a right wing redneck who probably just slaughtered a pig this morning after target practice at the range using Obama posters." He asks me how much I want to put in and I say "450." He says, "I'm sorry, sir, but our minimum deposit for a CD is $1,000." He smiles with what I thought was a bit of a sense of condescending superiority, but I might be wrong.

I'm sorry, and please forgive me*, but I relished the answer and stretched it out a bit. So I said, "I meant 450 thousand. More than that and you break the FDIC limit, so I have to split it up a bit to avoid that." And he said,

"Yes, sir."

* Please forgive me. I know a lot of people don't have that, but they don't have brand new Jeep Wagoneers like the OP's either.

I just follow a simple piece of advice.

To thine own self be true.

reply to post by schuyler


Perfect example!

You looking the way you look and about to drop a big deposit, and him looking the way he looks, and probably making $12 an hour.

By the way, I've got some great investment ideas.........

I love the Dress Whites too. When I lived in Ft. Walton Beach, there was nobody nicer than the people in uniform. This being Memorial Day and all, that is a great sentiment to share. I used to stop at the door to the grocery store or Walmart and marvel at the men and women taking their hats on and off as they entered and exited. It was so refreshing to see such great manners! I agree with you 100% on the uniforms. If I am ever stranded in a dark alley, and I see someone in a military uniform, I'll be very relieved!

Great stories, well written.

I did originally want to find problems with it, but you summed it up. We do make mistakes from time to time, and thats when its good to have an open mind.


But I also believe stereotypes are true in most cases. And I don't see anything wrong with "judging".

To form an opinion or estimation of after careful consideration

We do it. Every second of every day.


Snap judgements should be reserved however, for those who find their opinions to be right more often than they're wrong. This comes with experience and observation, not from the multitudes of movies and TV shows and jokes that exist to amplify broad range stereotypes.

People should be "judged" on an individual basis.


For the record, I have been wrong

reply to post by getreadyalready

unfortunately a small flaw in your reasoning, stereotypes in terms of appereance work only for initial impressions.
And usually most people will only show you what they want to unless they have not the intelligence other wise. I use other peoples judgments to my advantage as their preconceived notions are often inaccurate. this is how I make my living, nothing illegal mind you but advantageous none the less. because of my exercise in being inaccurately judged, my brain has been trained to look deeper for other social cues. a game of charades if you will. thus I have been afforded a great many opportunities not given to those who can't peer deeper.

reply to post by Forevever

Snap judgements should be reserved however, for those who find their opinions to be right more often than they're wrong. This comes with experience and observation, not from the multitudes of movies and TV shows and jokes that exist to amplify broad range stereotypes.

People should be "judged" on an individual basis.

That is a GREAT addition!

If a person makes their initial impression based on past experiences and known facts and gut feelings, then they are probably going to be somewhat accurate, but if they are basing their stereotype on TV shows and Movies, then they'll likely be VERY wrong!

Maybe that is where some of the discomfort with stereotypes come from? Movies take common stereotypes and then make caricatures out of them, and then people take those caricatures and believe real people are like the caricature. It is like a double exaggeration and it doesn't work.

reply to post by werethefugawe

unfortunately a small flaw in your reasoning, stereotypes in terms of appereance work only for initial impressions.

It is true that it only works for initial impressions, and it is sometimes wrong, but I think it is right a lot more often than it is wrong.

And, I don't mean to imply it is just the outward appearance or dress of a person. We can take in a lot more information in 5 seconds than what we realize. Posture, where a person stands in a room, whether or not they make eye contact, and for how long. Do they stand near the door, or near the back of the crowd. Do they push to the front and seem used to being in charge or important. Do they pay at the pump, or go inside to pay. No matter what type of clothes they wear, are they clean, pressed, mended. Are their teeth good. Do they focus on one task and avoid interacting with others. Do they intentionally interact with others. Do they look out the door or window a lot. Are their hands or face wrinkly, calloused, dirty fingernails, or soft hands. Is the haircut fresh or time for a new one. Did they do it their self. If they speak, is there an accent, drawl, slang or good grammar. Is there anything that seems like a mismatch in their appearance, such as perfect salon hair with dirty clothes, or speaking down to the crowd with slang, but perfect posture, set jawline, and nice car.

There are many things we absorb in those first 5 seconds, and we don't think about it all, but it still contributes to our impression. I can pick a doctor or a military man out of a crowd about 90% of the time just based off posture and jawline. And, more usefully, I can walk into a bar and point out the 10 most likely girls to come home with me, and it has nothing to do with the way they are dressed. In fact, it is usually counter-intuitive to the way they are dressed. It has a lot more to do with posture, eyes, and mouth/jaw.

We've all been wrong, but we are right more often than we are wrong.

reply to post by getreadyalready


I understand about common everyday judgements, I.e. those that have little consequence on whether we are right or wrong. I just assumed that since you were taking time to post a rant, that it was more than stereotypes that are trivial. I was talking about those that have greater consequence such as making living or to a greater extent survival. yes on the most basic level of social interaction where social cues are obvious (like the settings and examples you gave above), they are hardly worth argueing about as they seldom harm another person and in my opinion are not worth a rant.

reply to post by werethefugawe


Hypothetical.

Say I meet someone that wants to apply for a job where I still have connections and could pull some strings. We are just passing as we enter or exit a restaurant and have a mutual friend, and they have 60 seconds to sell themselves to me and get a referral. It is both trivial and potentially life-altering at the same time, and it happens quite often.

So, appearance will be important, maybe 50% of the equation. Clean, put together, pants aren't thugged out hanging below the ass, nor erkelized up around the teets. Shoes are tied, not wearing a hoodie in July, nor a wife-beater in January, etc., etc. Next will be the greeting, confident, throaty, voice projects appropriately, eye contact, firm grip either in a handshake or embrace, maybe a smile even if just for second. Next comes posture, erect, but not aggressive, appropriate amount of personal space, engaging but not intrusive, speaks directly to me, concisely with proper grammar, etc. Equally important is our mutual friend, what type of person are they. Then comes a little bit about what is happening at that moment. If it is 12:30 on a weekday, are they already drunk, or are they on break from another job? Did they just roll out of bed, or is their day halfway over?

So, my 60-second impression of them is going to either get their foot in the door for something they seek, or it is going to get blown off, with a follow up rebuke to our mutual friend that put me in that situation.

This happens to me at least once per month, and the results are about 50/50.

Also, on a related note, sometimes I actually see someone so polite, and hard-working, and thoughtful, that I walk up and strike up a conversation and see if I can help them into a better position. It happened just last week. After 3 visits to a little chinese kiosk, there was always this 30-something year old man there waiting to make deliveries. He could have just sat there and waited, but instead he always stood up, his clothes were pretty wore, but clean and buttoned, and fitting properly. Everytime we would approach he would stand up and greet us, and compliment my sons, and stand by, and after we had food, he would always offer to help get us anything we need. He wasn't a waiter, and he wasn't getting a tip, he was just genuinely polite and interested. After seeing him react this way over and over again, on our 3rd visit, I asked him how long he had worked there, and if he was looking for full-time work instead of the part-time, and I referred him to a job that paid about triple what he was used to, and had benefits.

I knew he was a high quality individual in the first 60 seconds, despite his appearance or his current situation.

There is something more to our perception than just the obvious appearance and conversation. There is something intuitive that we all notice, even if we don't admit it to ourselves. I can guarantee that if I don't like a person the first time I meet them, I will probably never like them.

reply to post by getreadyalready

There is something more to our perception than just the obvious appearance and conversation. There is something intuitive that we all notice, even if we don't admit it to ourselves. I can guarantee that if I don't like a person the first time I meet them, I will probably never like them.

yes, what they post about, and how they try to bring attention to their looks, status, the intelligence of their friends can give you much insight into a persons true character. Ego is so unflattering.

Thats all I see here, a bunch of hot air, and my guess is you gave off some sort of signal to the woman, or she wouldn't have winked.

*shrugs* What can I say, except that I'm grateful not all mods and LEO's are cut from the same cloth.

(and I don't mean the astrology sign for those of you who do not realize LEO, is an acronym for law enforcement officer.)

reply to post by WhisperingWinds




Would you rather I recite text books? I post my perceptions and personal experiences when I think others might be interested, or when I have a point to make. If I were doing it to stroke my own ego, it would be in real life, not on the internet. Anonymous compliments, although appreciated, are not all that exciting, LOL!

If I knew another way to post my experiences and perceptions without putting myself center stage, I'd be happy to do it. Just kind of hard when my experiences happen to center around me.

ETA:
By the way, no longer a Mod. Lost my Federalihood.

Originally posted by getreadyalready
reply to post by WhisperingWinds

 

Would you rather I recite text books? I post my perceptions and personal experiences when I think others might be interested, or when I have a point to make. If I were doing it to stroke my own ego, it would be in real life, not on the internet. Anonymous compliments, although appreciated, are not all that exciting, LOL!

If I knew another way to post my experiences and perceptions without putting myself center stage, I'd be happy to do it. Just kind of hard when my experiences happen to center around me.

ETA:
By the way, no longer a Mod. Lost my Federalihood.

edit on 29-5-2012 by getreadyalready because: (no reason given)

Too late, you just stereotyped yourself, with sharing your experiences.

Just another guy who thinks "hes all that" comes out loud and clear in your OP.

AAAAAaaaannnnnnnd speaking of Wal Mart.....

FUN THINGS TO DO AT WAL-MART

1. Take shopping carts for the express purpose of filling them
and stranding them at strategic locations.

2. Ride those little electronic cars at the front of the store.

3. Set all the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute intervals
throughout the day.

4. Start playing Calvinball; see how many people you can get
to join in.

5. Contaminate the entire auto department by sampling all the
spray air fresheners.

6. Challenge other customers to duels with tubes of gift wrap.

7. Leave cryptic messages on the typewriters.

8. Re-dress the mannequins as you see fit.

9. When there are people behind you, walk REALLY SLOW,
especially thin narrow aisles.

10. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, “I
think we’ve got a Code 3 in Housewares,” and see what
happens.

11. Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn them all off
and turn the volumes to “10″.

12. Play with the automatic doors.

13. Walk up to complete strangers and say, “Hi! I haven’t seen
you in so long!…” etc. See if they play along to avoid
embarrassment.

14. While walking through the clothing department, ask
yourself loud enough for all to hear, “Who BUYS this junk,
anyway?”

15. Repeat Number 14 in the jewelry department.

16. Ride a display bicycle through the store; claim you’re
taking it for a “test drive.”

17. Follow people through the aisles, always staying about
five feet away. Continue to do this until they leave the
department.

18. Play soccer with a group of friends, using the entire store
as your playing field.

19. As the cashier runs your purchases over the scanner, look
mesmerized and say, “Wow. Magic!”

20. Put M&M’s on layaway.

21. Move “Caution: Wet Floor” signs to carpeted areas.

22. Set up a tent in the camping department; tell others you’ll
only invite them in if they bring pillows from Bed and Bath.

23. Test the fishing rods and see what you can “catch” from
the other aisles.

24. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.

25. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and run around
saying,”…I’m Batman. Come, Robin, to the Batcave!”

26. TP as much of the store as possible.

27. Randomly throw things over into neighboring aisles.

28. Play with the calculators so that they all spell “hello”
upside down.

29. When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask,
“Why won’t you people just leave me alone?”

30. Make up nonsense products and ask newly hired
employees if there are any in stock, i.e., “Do you have any
Shnerples here?”

31. Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting up a full scale
battlefield with G.I. Joes vs. the X-Men.

32. Take bets on the battle described above.

33. Hold indoor shopping cart races.

34. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from
“Mission: Impossible.”

35. Run up to an employee (preferably a male) while
squeezing your legs together and practically yell at him ” I
need some tampons!!”

36. Try on bras in the sewing/fabric department.

37. Try on bras over top of your clothes.

38. Attempt to fit into very large gym bags.

39. Attempt to fit others into very large gym bags.

40. Say things like, “Would you be so kind as to direct me to
your Twinkies?”

41. Set up a “Valet Parking” sign in front of the store.

42. Two words: “Marco Polo.”

43. Leave Cheerios in Lawn and Garden, pillows in the pet
food aisle, etc.

44. “Re-alphabetize” the CD’s in Electronics.

45. Make a trail of orange juice on the ground, leading to the
restrooms

46. When someone steps away from their cart to look at
something, quickly make off with it without saying a word.

47. Relax in the patio furniture until you get kicked out.

48. When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker,
assume the fetal position and scream, “No, no! It’s those
voices again!”

49. Pay off layaways fifty cents at a time.

50. Drag a lounge chair on display over to the magazines and
relax. If the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain
that you don’t get out much, and ask if they can put a little
umbrella in it.

Originally posted by EvilSadamClone
AAAAAaaaannnnnnnd speaking of Wal Mart.....

FUN THINGS TO DO AT WAL-MART

1. Take shopping carts for the express purpose of filling them
and stranding them at strategic locations.

2. Ride those little electronic cars at the front of the store.

3. Set all the alarm clocks to go off at ten minute intervals
throughout the day.

4. Start playing Calvinball; see how many people you can get
to join in.

5. Contaminate the entire auto department by sampling all the
spray air fresheners.

6. Challenge other customers to duels with tubes of gift wrap.

7. Leave cryptic messages on the typewriters.

8. Re-dress the mannequins as you see fit.

9. When there are people behind you, walk REALLY SLOW,
especially thin narrow aisles.

10. Walk up to an employee and tell him in an official tone, “I
think we’ve got a Code 3 in Housewares,” and see what
happens.

11. Tune all the radios to a polka station; then turn them all off
and turn the volumes to “10″.

12. Play with the automatic doors.

13. Walk up to complete strangers and say, “Hi! I haven’t seen
you in so long!…” etc. See if they play along to avoid
embarrassment.

14. While walking through the clothing department, ask
yourself loud enough for all to hear, “Who BUYS this junk,
anyway?”

15. Repeat Number 14 in the jewelry department.

16. Ride a display bicycle through the store; claim you’re
taking it for a “test drive.”

17. Follow people through the aisles, always staying about
five feet away. Continue to do this until they leave the
department.

18. Play soccer with a group of friends, using the entire store
as your playing field.

19. As the cashier runs your purchases over the scanner, look
mesmerized and say, “Wow. Magic!”

20. Put M&M’s on layaway.

21. Move “Caution: Wet Floor” signs to carpeted areas.

22. Set up a tent in the camping department; tell others you’ll
only invite them in if they bring pillows from Bed and Bath.

23. Test the fishing rods and see what you can “catch” from
the other aisles.

24. Ask other customers if they have any Grey Poupon.

25. Drape a blanket around your shoulders and run around
saying,”…I’m Batman. Come, Robin, to the Batcave!”

26. TP as much of the store as possible.

27. Randomly throw things over into neighboring aisles.

28. Play with the calculators so that they all spell “hello”
upside down.

29. When someone asks if you need help, begin to cry and ask,
“Why won’t you people just leave me alone?”

30. Make up nonsense products and ask newly hired
employees if there are any in stock, i.e., “Do you have any
Shnerples here?”

31. Take up an entire aisle in Toys by setting up a full scale
battlefield with G.I. Joes vs. the X-Men.

32. Take bets on the battle described above.

33. Hold indoor shopping cart races.

34. Dart around suspiciously while humming the theme from
“Mission: Impossible.”

35. Run up to an employee (preferably a male) while
squeezing your legs together and practically yell at him ” I
need some tampons!!”

36. Try on bras in the sewing/fabric department.

37. Try on bras over top of your clothes.

38. Attempt to fit into very large gym bags.

39. Attempt to fit others into very large gym bags.

40. Say things like, “Would you be so kind as to direct me to
your Twinkies?”

41. Set up a “Valet Parking” sign in front of the store.

42. Two words: “Marco Polo.”

43. Leave Cheerios in Lawn and Garden, pillows in the pet
food aisle, etc.

44. “Re-alphabetize” the CD’s in Electronics.

45. Make a trail of orange juice on the ground, leading to the
restrooms

46. When someone steps away from their cart to look at
something, quickly make off with it without saying a word.

47. Relax in the patio furniture until you get kicked out.

48. When an announcement comes over the loudspeaker,
assume the fetal position and scream, “No, no! It’s those
voices again!”

49. Pay off layaways fifty cents at a time.

50. Drag a lounge chair on display over to the magazines and
relax. If the store has a food court, buy a soft drink; explain
that you don’t get out much, and ask if they can put a little
umbrella in it.

You have way too much spare time on your hands.

Lemme guess, you're a kid ?

Are you showing us your stereotype?

Be careful, or Karma will punish you by Walmart being the only place you will someday be able to find a job, and you will have to chase out the ones who use all your "good ideas".

reply to post by WhisperingWinds

Too late, you just stereotyped yourself, with sharing your experiences.

Just another guy who thinks "hes all that" comes out loud and clear in your OP.

OK. Fair enough. But as with most stereotypes, that is only a small part of my complicated puzzle! Ogres are like onions, not birthday cakes, onions!