Do people have no shame any more?

Most of us do have shame, an in-built moral code that needs no-one to reinforce it.

We are the type of people who would stand in an empty shop, waiting for the shopkeeper to come out from the back and serve us. We wouldn't throw litter, play loud music on public transport, or fuck and blind in the street.

We don't need anyone to tell us to not to do that.

However, there have always been those who do not have that in-built code and need the threat of punishment to behave. They behave because there is the threat of punishment not because they can self-regulate.

This ever growing group now sees that public authority-from teachers to police-has been vastly reduced and the chance of being punished is vanishingly rare.

They need that threat of punishment to behave. The threat of punishment is rarely there. Therefore they can behave in an anti-social and uncivilised way.

The threat of punishment needs to come back. Teachers need to punish in the classroom and the police need to punish in the courts.

Zero tolerance.

No Borstals or prisons-let the wrong-doers build them as part of their punishment.

Choose not to do so and we can look forward to the Barbarians rushing through the gates while we cower.

I know eggsactly what you mean. They really do need to crack down on their prices, talk about eggstravagant. 🤣

is "society" a better place because no one can now express a view without someone else "taking offence" and playing the relevant card to shame them in return ?

Bring back shame. I stand by this.

I tend to agree. Since we removed stigma from just about everything, standards and expectations of basic civic and personal responsibility have absolutely dropped off a cliff. Everyone seems to think they have a god given right to have what they want, do what they want, take what they want and behave how they want, and it's someone other schmuck's duty to clean up their mess, both literally and metaphorically.

I don't condone this at all but I do understand why people feel aggrieved when we are being told there is a cost of living crisis yet supermarkets are recording profits in the billions. It's corporate greed not col. Maybe these people are fighting back, or maybe they're the type of arseholes that would have done this anyway.

Agree completely. I will never, ever vote Labour again. They are destroying this country.

I called the pp out on that too, upthread, and they seem to have chosen not to respond. Funny, that.

It won't change anything. The scraping of the 2 child limit is ridiculous. Most people stop at 1 or 2 kids. So we now have a crazy scenario of people being responsible and stopping at the number they can afford, paying tax to fund other people having as many kids as they want! I'd scrap it altogether. You want children, or pets, or a holiday...you pay for them.

I wasn’t referring to out of work benefits. The PP was. I was referring to child benefit. I hope that this being extended results in a drop in people shoplifting to feed their families, but I highly doubt it, so those of us who work hard and pay taxes will just pay more for everything.

Why should someone be ashamed to claim out of work benefits?
People claim it due to disability. Why on earth should they be made to feel shame for that?

And now the government have lifted the 2 child benefit cap as well.

it would never have occurred to me that people swap eggs. I check for broken ones but now I’ll have to check that I’m not buying the cheap ones and paying for the ££ ones.

Tampering with supermarket stock isn’t a new thing, alas. I just remembered my grandma once opened a bottle of Buttercup Syrup in a supermarket, tasted it, pulled a face, screwed the cap back on and put it back. This was in the 70s.

Not defending this in the slightest, it was gross and also very unlike her (no dementia or eccentricities) but this thread just reminded me of it for the first time in ages!

I know (re challenging thieves or reporting theft to security). But we can’t just give up altogether, we have to at least play our part in trying to uphold civil society. Otherwise we descend unchecked into degeneracy, as this will only get worse and worse.
I would tell security at least. Though I realise they are unlikely to do anything - poor chap just got sacked by Waitrose for trying to stop shoplifting ffs. But, I have seen security searching people’s bags, so sometimes they act.

Well yes but most people cant be arsed to grow their own anymore, you still need to get the seeds from somewhere. Someone still has to work to grow the food we eat, or do you think food just appears from nowhere?

Exactly. I would have expected verbal abuse if they were confronted. That's absolutely shocking behaviour. What the hell?

I’m listening to a debate on LBC at the moment about an employee at Waitrose who was sacked for tackling a shoplifter. They were saying if no one can do anything about it, then people will know they can get away with it, and the very fabric of society will break down. Perhaps this explains why shoplifters are so brazen.

How are shops supposed to insure against shoplifting if they are expected to just stand by and left shoplifters walk out the shop with anything that takes their fancy?

As time goes by, it feels like this world is becoming a more and more shittier place to live, and this is just another reason.

I was walking down an aisle in Waitrose the other day and saw two men using their arms to clear a shelf directly into a shopping bag.

One of the men went on ahead, while the other put the handles of the bag over his shoulder.

As I turned the corner at the end of the aisle, the man carrying the bag headed out the door, alarms going off.

It was clearly a well rehearsed routine.

Nobody looked up, nobody batted an eyelid and I don't think that anyone else noticed.

I sure as he'll wasn't going to get involved in this day and age. What would be the point if telling staff after the event either? The alarms went if and no member of staff even seemed to look. They have CCTV that I'm sure they can look back on to see where the stock went.

I went back to look at the shelf. £30 pots of face cream. Probably £400-£500 worth out the door.

The gall and front of these people!

But, there is no consequence any more. The police don't come out for stuff like this anymore as there aren't enough of them! I think there are 6 police officers on shift at any one time serving two large towns and a few surrounding villages near where I live!!!

I recently saw someone in M&S rip off the cover of veg or some sort of ready meal, and replace it with a discounted label that was out of date that day, so basically getting fresher product but at the discounted price that was going out of date that day! CF!

Our local jb hifi (Australian chain selling small electronics etc.) has to lock down everything including the phone charger cords because theft was so high. Rebel (sports store chain) has such high theft they called it out in their annual results briefing. It’s everywhere and it’s all ages.

I always open the box and check none are broken before I put them in my basket. I thought that was a pretty normal thing to do.
Considering the price of them now, I want all 6 to be whole.

If you're going to steal, this seems like a stupid thing to steal...I mean you're just exchanging an egg for another egg. Whats the point?

Doesn't seem worth the risk of being caught or shamed to me.

I used to watch people do this 20 years ago - it’s always been super common, I’ve never understood why egg boxes are t sealed

If the OP HAD said something,she probably would have received a mouthful of abuse. Or worse.

Me too!