Fight the power, you misguided fool

Some guy in Ohio was arrested a couple of days ago, largely because he was the kind of person who calls 911 when he doesn’t want to show his receipt and is then stupid enough to throw a hissy fit about showing ID. To a cop. That he called. Even though it wasn’t an emergency.

This is a great illustration of what happens when people try to be activists based on something they’ve read threads about on online discussion forums. Exhibit: after buying merchandise from Circuit City, customer refuses to show his receipt to the loss prevention guy posted on the door. Because he’s read leftist blogs about freedom, man, and he wants to show THE MAN that he can’t tell Joe Prole what to do. Ignoring the fact that he’s paid for the stuff, and it takes all of four seconds for someone to glance at a receipt and at said stuff in his bag. Ignoring the fact that, goddamnit, the loss prevention guy is hired specifically to CHECK RECEIPTS, and that if a bunch of shoplifters waltz out with stolen goods in store-branded bags, the loss prevention guy is the one who takes the hit for that. Namely by being fired.
Okay, yeah. I get it. You PAID for your goods, so why should you have to prove it? Well, because shoplifters also have the ability to say that they paid for their shit and walk out, with completely straight faces. This isn’t a case of OH MY GOD THE MAN WANTS TO SEE MY RECEIPT HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME OF BEING A SHOPLIFTER — it’s a case of, dude, seriously, you should just suck it up and show your receipt out of common courtesy of making it easier for a business to do business.

By the way, I claim utter bias in this: not just because I work for the company in question — I’d call this guy a fucktard if he pulled the same shit on Best Buy, CompUSA, the Apple Store, or Ann fucking Summers — but because twice a week I have to count different categories of items in-store to check if the number we have is the same as the system thinks we should have. And software – one of the things the fucktard in question bought – is a horrible category for this. People steal games all the goddamned time. The very least invasive thing a store can do is ask to see your receipt when you’re leaving. They’re not asking for ID. They’re not running a credit check. They’re not taking your picture for future reference, or your phone number, or any kind of personal details. If you put up a fight about it for no better reason than you don’t want to, that puts you on the same level as the people who bitch and moan about being forced to wear seatbelts by the government.
YOU GAIN NOTHING BY ARGUING THIS, SAVE INCONVENIENCING OTHERS. You’re the kind of jackass who edits random shit out of Wikipedia articles because you think it’s non-notable. You’re the kind of person who finds a loophole in a BB system’s rules to say inflammatory shit and then cries and moans about being thrown out.
You’re a real-life troll, making it difficult for other people just so you can feel smarter and more important.

Here’s a suggestion: if you’re all gung-ho about your rights, do something that MATTERS. Go to a rally. Form a lobbying group to effect change. Organise a letter-writing campaign to your local politician. Run for local office.
Or failing that, try refusing to show ID and strolling straight into a nightclub, past the SAS-looking motherfucker on the door.

So keep reading those online forums about how it’s your right to not leave a tip if you don’t like the way the waitress didn’t smile at you, Mr. Training Consultant Fucktard. And the next time a troll starts wrecking the discussion and then points out that he’s not technically breaking any rules, then remember how you behaved exactly the same way to some poor schmuck trying to do his job.