We've all been there.
You go out to the grocery store or a big-box retail establishment, and maybe you're in a hurry. You spot what you feel is a great parking space, one that is close to the front of the store - only to find a shopping cart placed right in the middle of it, or halfway on and off the curb, which makes getting into the spot iffy.
Obviously, there are only a couple of viable options in this scenario. You could get out and move the cart out of the way and then park your car (which you likely couldn't do if you were alone), or find another space that might not be so close. As you contemplate what to do next, something else crosses your mind:
"What stupid, lazy shopper left this cart here??" you grumble to yourself while painting a thin smile on your face in the event people are passing by and staring at you.
I have never judged anyone based on race, gender, or political affiliation, nor anything else for that matter. I will, however cast judgment if you leave a shopping cart in the middle of a parking lot. pic.twitter.com/aAc01CZZX0
— C. Dawg Knight (@C_Dawg_Knight) May 9, 2024
My Thursday thought
— USMC Lady Vet 🇺🇸 (@Arkypatriot) October 24, 2024
At what point are you considered extremely lazy that this is as close as you can get your cart to the cart corral and just leave it there?
Did something happen?
Was there a rapture all of a sudden or you had to run for your life? pic.twitter.com/DYWY4klj1f
While finding a shopping cart put in a parking spot is indeed annoying, I admit I haven't given it much thought beyond mumbling a few choice words under my breath before moving on.
But as it turns out, people are quite passionate about this issue, so much so that there has been much written about shopping carts over the years in terms of their supposed symbolism, what returning them allegedly does or does not say about the person, etc.
There's even an entire YouTube page and Twitter/X account (@CartNarcs) devoted to making videos confronting shoppers who leave their carts in places other than the cart corral.
There is also something called the "shopping cart theory." Elon Musk sparked discussion about recently it after he stood in solidarity with those who believe that what people do with their shopping carts once they are done with them is the "ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing":
Trust those who return the shopping cart pic.twitter.com/u7s7CNdsxq
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 26, 2024
This is a meme of sorts that some say started around the time of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in America in 2020, when going shopping to get the necessities was quite an exasperating experience, to say the least.
I have... mixed thoughts on the topic. I agree people should return their carts, and definitely should make doubly sure that in the event they can't or won't they are NOT left in a parking spot, especially the areas marked for handicapped persons:
Don’t even get me started with the lazy assholes that put shopping carts in the handicap parking instead of the cart corrals pic.twitter.com/ThV7N04CaB
— tripodsgarage (@tripodsgarage) October 26, 2024
While I make it a general rule of thumb to return the cart to the corral, I confess that sometimes I don't. Usually, when I don't it's because I either feel unsafe, or my back is killing me and I have just flat run out of energy to walk another step after making a full grocery run, or because I had to park so far out of the way that I'm not going to walk 10 miles to put the cart up.
In those cases, the cart is not placed in a parking spot and certainly not anywhere else where it would prevent others from getting a spot, or anywhere it would ding another vehicle.
I don't think my exceptions to the shopping cart theory make me a bad person but opinions on that no doubt vary. ;)
That being said, there is absolutely no excuse for what the lady (the first one) did in the video clip below:
The shopping cart is the ultimate litmus test for whether a person is capable of self-governing. pic.twitter.com/dekQZH3M8g
— Dash Cam Owners Aus (@DashCamOwnersAu) April 3, 2023
This, on the other hand, I can get behind:
🥴 There’s a lot of unpack here. First, this driver parks in the return shopping cart spot. 🛒
— 🚨 Rusty Surette (@KBTXRusty) August 21, 2024
SECOND, someone went straight Level 5 petty and left their cart in front of the car. 🤣 💀
📍College Station
📸: Jess Mathews pic.twitter.com/8QeedA1CwQ
Your thoughts?
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