I went out to the destroyer of the american way, Wal-mart, over the week-end. And, of course, it was busy. I just went out to get a bag of dog food and I had to weave clear through the store. The problem, to many morons standing in the aisles talking. These butt-heads seem to enjoy blocking the aisles where people are supposed to walk.
Am I the only person who gets pissed by having to go around these jerks?
You’re not alone. It seems that aisles, doorways, any sort of path is a magnet for people to congregate. I especially hate it when three or four people are blocking a doorway when there’s a spot out of the way just five furshluggener feet away! I’m usually very abrupt as I elbow my way through, and I try to “herd” them towards the empty spot. I have nice sharp elbows, and I know how to use them 
Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
I’m one of those blocking the aisle. Elbows don’t bother me, I can usually land a few back.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
My husband does this CONSTANTLY. I’m always hissing at him to let someone past, not block the aisle, etc. It’s very embarrassing.
It doesn’t help that WalMart’s aisles are just BARELY two carts wide…if they don’t have a display or something in them.
Lynn
Queen of the Pit
The American Store,
Is this not where the older and wiser go to practice being american? so what if the aisle is blocked. get a life!
:rolleyes:
Bingo, Nanno!
OK, when I shop I’m usually rushed and under the gun. But my time pressures don’t equate to obligations for those around me.
In less stressed (more civilized?)places, taking time for others isn’t just a grace note of life: it’s central. It’s instructive to remember that.
Speaking strictly for myself, I greatly admire the American South. It takes awhile, as a rushed Yankee (rudeness= “wasting” someone’s time) to adapt to a slower, gracious awareness that time “wasted” on other people, even in basic courtesy, is never wasted.
IMO, there’s nothing more dehumanizing than viewing other people as obstacles: in person or in cars. My time constraints don’t negate their human right to courtesy and respect.
Basically–chill out. Pause, SMILE and say “excuse me”. Betcha dollars to donuts you’ll get an apology and smile in return. It’s much faster, and much more civilized, than “bulling through”. Hey, make a funny comment like, “it’s worse than the parking lot in here!” or something and you just might find yourself in a casual, civil conversation.
Hostility begets hostility. “Those people” aren’t deliberately thwarting you by blocking “your aisle”. Foolishly, they believe their lives and time are just as valuable as yours. If treated civilly, they will brighten your day with a smile in return.
And not to be pragmatic or anything, but they can also be helpful, as in “do you know where the (blank) is?”
Question: what exactly are you rushing to that outweighs courtesy to others?
Not meaning to bust your chops…just slow down, m’kay? Give yourself and your fellow humanoids some slack.
Veb
That’s really true, Veb, especially about here in the South. If you say, ‘excuse me’ they do tend to look a tad startled, but you’ll usually get a smile and an apology, though not always in the supermarket. I’ve not figured that one out yet…must have something to do with the food-decision- making-progress! Makes one more hostile, maybe.
“Muck should replace ‘suck’. For ‘muck’ is yucky, while ‘suck’ feels very lucky. So, don’t stay stuck on suck, switch to MUCK, today.”
Well, while in some places in the world a simple ‘Excuse me’ might be enough, for some reason here, it doesn’t work.
One day, while going through the store, I had to say ‘Excuse me’ to a lady three times. She was going the opposite way of me, so every aisle I went down, she stood there beside her cart, blocking the whole aisle.
I’ve been polite before, and most of the time, people give me a look like I’m interrupting them from something important (most often, it’s a conversation about family).
Most of the time, I try to go around these bufoons, but other times, I’m in a hurry (everyone is in one once in a while, no matter where you live) and walking around twenty conversations is a bit time consuming.
If you want to hold a conversation, then please make sure you’re not blocking the aisles.
Very nice Veb, and very true.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
I give 'em two Excuse Me’s, then I ram 'em with my grocery cart.
For many people, going to walmart is a social occasion. They go as much for the conversation as they do for shopping. This tends to get in the way of those shoppers who are on a schedule and know exactly why they came to the store in the first place. If you are gonna gab that’s ok, but please do it out of the way of the shoppers. That’s why many of us come to walmart in the first place “shopping.” Novel idea init?
I Wanna Whip Your Cow.
famous C&W song
Yours truly,
aha
I don’t see people simply as obstacles blocking my path. However, it might be nice if some other people didn’t seem to see the world as their private conversation pit. It works both ways, after all. If you want to claim that you are being friendly, you don’t make it more difficult for others to go about their business.
Besides, maybe Daniel’s dog was really really hungery and needed that dog food NOW! The curteous thing to do is not block others.
P.S. “Slow down” get a life" etc. are both a little presumptuous/rude (without intent, I’m sure) and presume that the other doesn’t have something that they would slow down for–LIKE FEEDING A HUNGRY DOG!
Bucky
The real problem here is the department store’s tendency to clutter up all their own aisles with piles of crap that they could never sell if they were stored neatly on a shelf somewhere. There’s that huge, open space in front of the registers in most stores, and the marketing/promotional folks are compelled to fill it with bins full of cheap ducky slippers, cans of potted meat, 100 lb. bags of Ol’ Roy Dog Food, etc. The remaining space on either side of these smiley-face sign laden obstacles is perhaps only one shopping cart wide on each side, and God help you if some moron a few shoppers ahead of you is suckered in by whatever generally useless bargain item fills a particular bin.
Well, first of all, this is New York—the “get the fuck outta my way!” state. OK, I’m just over the river, but still . . .
Never been to a Wal-Mart, so I don’t know what their social policy is. I am talking about Shop-Rite, a grocery store. If you’re going to stand there and talk to someone, for for Pete’s sake you don’t also have your damn shopping cart blocking the part of the aisle you’re not taking up! Don’t wander off in search of something and leave your cart diagonally, cutting off the whole aisle!
And why, oh why, do people have to stand there in a blank daze, staring at the shelves for hours on end like they’ve never seen food before? Pick up the goddam apple sauce and get the fuck outta my way!
—That “Fast” Girl
Eve, I just love it when you swear.
Meow!
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.
Delta-9 Home Page
And I can imagine the great conversations that pass between the braniacs that usually frequent a Wal-Mart.
Shopper #1 - “Have you tried that new terbaccy?”
Shopper #2 - “Nuh-uh.”
Whhoooooooeeyy
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you’ll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
Flyhalf I happen to shop at Walmart, as evidently the originator of this thread does also. I don’t use “terbaccy” thank you.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you’ll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
dammit!!
Your point?
(to self, it’s a question mark stupid, a question mark!!)
When you know that your time is close at hand
Maybe then you’ll begin to understand
Life down here is just a strange illusion
My point is, not being a user of ‘terbaccy’, it isn’t part of my conversation when I happen to meet an acquaintance in WalMart.
** Sigh. So many men, so few who can afford me ** Original by Wally
I’ve learned that if someone says something unkind about me, I must live so that no one will believe it.