Amblin' Alameda: Bag Ban Fallout
Amblin' Alameda: Bag Ban Fallout
We were shopping at Nob Hill, something we do when we only have a few items to buy but also have an item to be mailed, since there is almost never a line at their in-store post office. Because her knee was sore and painful on this day my partner remained in the car while I searched through the store for our needed items, and when I came out she had the following observations:
“Taking a thoroughly unscientific survey of the shoppers coming out of the store I can report that about 70 percent brought their own bags," she reported. "Of those fully half were from Trader Joe’s. Perhaps 15 percent bought paper bags from the store and at least 10 percent were firmly in the ‘I’m not paying for a bag’ camp and exited with items thrust into pockets and cradled in arms.”
We discussed this interesting dynamic for a while and finally opined that Trader Joe’s bags have more cachet than others and suggest that the shopper is progressive and ecologically aware. Bag status is high. Those who purchased paper bags we consigned to the “I forgot my bags,” or “It’s too much trouble to bring my bags and anyway it’s only 10 cents” camps.
The Bag Ban Deniers who stuffed their pockets with frozen foods struck us as belonging to the large group of irrationalists who believe that if they don’t agree with a policy it should not be forced upon them and if it is they will begin cutting at their noses. Hard to do anything but laugh.
This behavior is comical and harmless at the grocery store. After all, no one pays the price but the anti-bag banners and they do provide a humorous spectacle for onlookers when their purchases are larger than their arms can manage. In other areas however, this stubborn refusal to accept and adapt to the judgment of the majority can be very harmful.
Take the proposed ban on automatic weapons. The results of the opposition to common sense control of the weapons of war is bound to be measured in future events of carnage. When “My Rights” trumps everything, even conceding some basis to that argument, the anti-ban folks demonstrate a callous disregard for all the rest of us and our children. Their children as well.
Besides the fact that these weapons of war have no place embedded in a peaceful society and should be kept under someone else’s lock and key the most telling statistic is that the majority of gun-inflicted harm comes to gun owners from their own guns.
The Second Amendment argument comes from people who believe they need their guns for the day resistance to the federal government is necessary. People who feel that way are obviously not fully invested in the concept of peaceful settlement of disputes through debate and elections and as such will always be an impediment to reason.
The solution to the bag ban are fully biodegradable, non-plastic bags that decompose in sunlight. The solution to the assault rifle ban is lots of public debate and public pressure on Congress people who vote straight NRA.
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