So I hit a post about a store clerk buying an apple....

[catnhatnh]

....he is apparently on his break and buying the apple for a snack...posters go crazy on a range of subjects from "should he be tying up register time?" to why he should either steal the apple or the apple should be given to him free....I read the first 40 or so responses and NO one suggested what I routinely do for people in that position...they are on a break of never more than half an hour-more likely 15-20 minutes-so get this-I let them go ahead of me-they NEVER have more than 2-3 items and usually have the cash for them in hand....If you are truly a democrat,you get past the shit about how the item should be free from the store-it AIN"T....He should prepare for his break ahead of time- he DIDN"T...And he's taking time it line-TOUGH TITTY...A real democrat KNOWS about working and lets the guy by him...it's 3 items,it's paid for cash, and it's not even bagged-he's heading for the break room...if we lack even this little sympathy for hard working people than we have indeed lost...

[Mythsaje]

1. He's sacrificing his own time to buy the damned stuff...

what the heck difference does it really make to the people in line?

Geez, what a joke.

[WI_DEM]

2. Why are we starting a second post on this subject?

I thought there was a good range of responses on that post.

[catnhatnh]

4. Really?

like I said I stopped at about the 40th reply...no one said what I did and I can't see for the life of me how a supermarket apron made him somehow a lesser human to be questioned and second guessed....

[WI_DEM]

5. ok

so why not add your response to that thread? since nobody said what you did? By the way, my response in that thread agreed with her that they should have allowed the man to go to the head of the line.

[catnhatnh]

8. OK...

...I guess I did not get that far...and I do apologize to you sincerely...the original thread pisses me off because you know that these people are in the "speed lane" with an item limit, and I've never seen one of them loose it when any of the following happens:

1.Person in line actually has 59 items-11 discreet and 48 cans of cat food,but insists all 48 are just "one item"....
2.Pays by check-though intention to do so by no means means they have prepared for this-The checkbook is brought out only after a total is given.They need help to spell the stores name and to be told the date....
4.they have 22 items but explain they are two orders and need separate checks and bagging...

and it goes on and on...In short I found the original post insulting and the replies indicative of some ambivalence here...

[catnhatnh]

10. A. She never said that.

and B. Your only response said NOTHING like that...

[TomInTib]

3. Thank you. Some of those replies were just creepy and condescending.

No compassion at all.

[Lars39]

6. No one stopped to think that his job at the grocery might be his 2nd

or even 3rd job. That he could be penalized or even fired for taking too long on a break.
He might have gotten his break time late to begin with,
and now he's going to be really pushing it to get his assigned tasks done before his shift is up.
He might not be able to work late, because if he does he screws up his other job(s) or transportation arrangements.
That his sick days are probably non-existent.
That he probably has no health insurance or any other benefit with this job or possibly the 2nd and 3rd job.

[dflprincess]

7. I do that - tell the clerk to go ahead of me.

Not because I'm a Democrat so much as because I worked in a grocery store when I was in high school and college and I remember having to use break time to stand in line to pay for a snack. I don't recall anyone telling me to go ahead of them.

[Fridays Child]

9. The more difficult the struggle to survive...

...the more animalistic and predatory the behavior. And we don't ever turn it off. So, even if the people in front of him aren't on a deadline, they wouldn't think of letting him go ahead.

Every time I wonder about what drives this sort of human behavior, I ask myself how it fits in the template of competing for resources. We start working to acquire life-sustaining resources from the very first breath we draw. After that, we either cooperate or compete for what we need/want. And, when those resources become more and more limited, the distinctions between cooperative and competitive models of behavior become startlingly clear.

[Cats Against Frist]

11. You guys are fucking psycho

and though I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT, the apple thread, I believe, will come to be known as when GD "jumped the shark."

[catnhatnh]

12. I really believe it is pertinent...

the original "lady in line" wants him promoted to the head of the line while she rails against the machine...some want him to steal the apple or for the store to give it to him...I merely suggested that instead of yelling or railing or abetting the proper course was to move him one spot up the line...I have done so and seen others in front of me who have seen my action pass the worker on...worst case he is one spot forward,best case he is next in line without yelling or pontificating,,,

[Katherine Brengle]

14. LOL!!! "a thread which will live in infamy..." n/t

[flvegan]

13. Actually, the original poster stated this:

"i said loudly to the people in line that all this man had was an apple -- could he please be moved to the front of the line." which kind of backslaps your "NO one suggested what I routinely do for people in that position...they are on a break of never more than half an hour-more likely 15-20 minutes-so get this-I let them go ahead of me"

SO, not to defend the original post, as I have issues with it anyway, I'd say that this post lacks merit.

You want to know what a REAL Democrat does? What a real librul does? If they have the means, they ring up that kid's apple on their tab, then tell the kid to go enjoy his break, thanking him for doing a good job, being honest (he could have just stolen the produce) and working hard for his future, as he's going to need every bit of that drive to survive this administration.

[Katherine Brengle]

15. excellent response. n/t

[catnhatnh]

16. Well...

...I'm a quiet guy and would never ask those waiting in line in front of me to yield their spots...she suggests all those in front of her yield...I yield my spot and hope to lead by example....does it work-yes,sometimes...does the guy sometimes finish just one spot ahead of me-yep-that happens too...But to push others to yield is at very least forward-can I fairly guess that no one ahead of me has a more pressing time frame???Good manners and good taste says I should be gracious and then accept the outcome...she was right-too much New York there...

[flvegan]

17. Lead by example, I say.

I think that "she" asks folks to let the fella move in front. You yield your spot, and deserve commendation for it. However, expecting others to follow your lead is, as you've seen, a sometimes fruitless experiment. Don't base your good deeds on what others do in reaction. Don't judge others on not following your lead. Take refuge in your action, and hope someone learns from it, and that an Albertson's worker got to eat his apple a few minutes earlier, and enjoyed his/her break, and remembers a kind gesture, AND someday does the same as a habit, as many of us do. Right?

[tinfoilinfor2005]

18. Well, we are democrats, after all...the only place on the web where

you can see a 200+ thread argument over an apple.

Were it a repub thread, the OP would have said, "What should we think, KKKarl?" Karl would have answered, "Steal the apple. Hell, steal the whole damn bag if no one is looking, and if they are, deny it." And everyone would have nodded in agreement and that would have been the end of it.