The grocery store receipt that broke my brain at checkout

I watched a 19-year-old cashier explain to a 60-year-old man why he didn't need plastic bags, and it made me realize my own habits were just inherited laziness, so now I'm rethinking every time I've automatically grabbed a bag out of muscle memory, has anyone else had a stranger change their daily routine that fast?

2 comments

2 Comments

emerym361mo ago

I read a study last year that said plastic bag bans cut litter by like 80% in places that actually enforce them, and it made me feel bad about every bag I've ever taken without thinking. @reed.elliot, your Miranda warning joke actually hit close to home because my local store started having cashiers ask if you want a bag before they even scan anything, which is basically a cop reading you your rights at this point. The weird part is, I used to get annoyed when they'd ask, but now I realize I was just mad at being forced to think about a choice I'd been making on autopilot for years. I've started keeping a folded tote in my car door and it's been three months since I grabbed a plastic bag, even on days I forget it and have to awkwardly juggle groceries to my front door. Have you noticed that stores are starting to charge 10 cents per bag now, and that's honestly the real motivation for most people I know?

reed.elliot1mo ago

...and then the kid probably went home and told his friends about the old guy who almost had an existential crisis over a loaf of bread. I swear, next thing you know they'll be judging me for using the self checkout because I'm "supporting job elimination." Honestly though, I'm just waiting for the day a cashier reads me my bagging rights like a Miranda warning. Maybe I should just start carrying everything out in my teeth to be safe.