To find most Brits bemusingly obedient?

[Torven]

Most, not all!

But most would queue themselves into an early grave if a perceived (not even actual) authority figure ordered them to.

Why do they obey the "you must scan your receipt before exiting the self service area" rule in supermarkets? No you don't, Sainsbury's isn't going to hold you hostage in a castle dungeon until you comply.

Another thread on here about "requiring evidence" if your kid is sick so they're "allowed" to be off school? All these folk scrabbling about taking photos of thermometers oh I HOPE THE HEAD THINKS THIS IS ENOUGH 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. Tell the head to feck right off.

Most rules can just be ignored and if enough people ignore the stupid ones they'll disappear. You're making it worse for everyone by going along with them.

Perhaps this is true, but there has to be some consensus by which we live as "society". Otherwise there is anarchy, stealing and the strong bullying the weak.

This is why I agree with "policing by consensus"... and think: why do we pay taxes for police that give NO support to women facing assault or men using their toilets, do not walk the streets, apply a bit of jiu-jitsu on drug sellers...?

Now, that is where things need to be shaken up a little.

I care because I think obedience is a dangerous trait. The obedient mistake their behaviour for a virtue that justifies anything.

Right, so you think life would be better if everyone drove on whichever side of the road they fancied that morning, and went around the roundabout anticlockwise if they felt like it, and just went through red lights because they were in a rush ?
Personally, I prefer living in a place where most people do follow the rules. It just makes for a much smoother, safer life.

This.

So it would seem - the OP is obviously such a crazy maverick and JUST DOESN'T CARE. Sad, isn't it?

Plenty of people are hungry and don't steal. Plenty of people steal regardless of their means. As for queuing, it's nothing to do with 'obedience' and everything to do with fairness, as PP have said.

Then again, it's clearly a wind up. Nobody is this much of a bellend.

This. I cant wait to get out of the supermarket as quick as possible. Fck off if you think I'm going to waste my time searching for a staff member or set off an alarm that would take 5 times as long to sort out as simply scanning a bloody receipt. Its not about being obedient, its about wasting time and causing me hassle. As for the queue thing- as PP have said, its about fairness not obedience. Do you like it if you've been waiting for something for a while and someone just strolls up and barges in before you? - yeah thought not. What a stupid post 😂

I advise not moving to Germany. They have rules about when you can mow your lawn or hang your washing out. Or have a party...

If people don’t take the photos etc for the school they could be slapped with fines and court cases

so whilst you think it’s obedience. It’s becoming law now about schools

Another thread on here about "requiring evidence" if your kid is sick so they're "allowed" to be off school?

Interesting segment on Radio 4 yesterday about the correlation between absence and poor educational attainment, particularly in subjects like Maths and Science where missing a couple of lessons may mean a child doesn't then have the required knowledge to understand the next stage they're taught.

There are good reasons why schools want to discourage anyone from allowing their kids to throw the odd sickie.

So what do you do op straddle over the barrier?

Queuing IS fair. Otherwise there is a free for all and the least deserving and most pushy get in first.

I dislike generalisations but in this country we've historically been known for our sense of fair play and our politeness. I like that.

But I suspect you're on a wind-up so I'll bow out [politely].

Ooo, you little rebel you 🙄

A good example of how rules people are often bad people. (I do recognise that non white people have a much harder time resisting absurd rules because of racist reactions, therefore I think I have double the responsibility to refuse those rules).

Most people follow rules as it makes life easier for everyone, I don't think the UK follows rules enough compared to other European countries. I'm not sure what the point of not scanning a receipt would be. If you've got all this time free to protest, perhaps use it to bring about some positive change

I thought the the bleating masses in lockdown really exposed the UK for the hyper-obedient ‘notice what a good citizen I am sir’ population we are. Total loons being obsessed with how many times their neighbours went out or utterly desperate for more rules and quacking online nonsense about only being allowed out for an hour a day.

The person asked a question, made a suggestion - which, incidentally, has historical merit and is the sort of question which could well be used for the basis of a debate at a history society or even the Oxford Union.

When you studied at school, were you allowed to just say "This is ridiculous" to merited questions of history, economics, etc. What if you have a debate at home about history? There is the further point that the person's hypothetical suggestion could be applied to the silent majority, who did indeed go along with the Nazis. I am not sure if you have studied totalitarian states much: I cannot imagine Anne Appelbaum responding to the poster's statement with "This is ridiculous!" In fact, she wrote a whole book about it - and it was a best-seller too!

Even if you have studied this subject, I do not think you come across as an educated historian with "This is ridiculous". What if we all went about saying this? What if someone had said this in the fourteenth century to someone challenging the teachings of the Church? Or to an educated person going against the grain under Pol Pot?

God yes. They absolutely loved it. "A jogger got a bit too close so I dialled 999 it's the vulnerable I care about!!!"

Same folk now back to bongo's bingo with full blown infections because the rules no longer exist and clearmy the pretend outrage was about rules and not actual danger.

I agree but it wasnt just Brits who did this- this was happening in other countries too. I know because I was abroad when the Covid rules hit

Racist? Hmmm you could be right!

Quick someone fetch the racism rule book 🙄

I'm British btw

This is a genuinely insane thread lol. Why do you Brits follow the rules? Errrr … because that’s the mark of a civilised society? The majority of us following rules set out by society so everyone can have a decent life? Isn’t that what we’re all trying to do? The alternative is anarchy. No rules. Everyone out for themselves. Fighting, shouting and setting fire to things. I’ll leave that to other countries.

@MaximusPaddimous , people who haven’t lived anywhere like that honestly have no idea. It’s everywhere, like oxygen. When I worked with a lot of Indian expats in the Middle East I used to be naively shocked by some of the things they told me. E.g. one chap told me he had to send money to his wife, who needed it in a hurry. But because he was sending it by a quicker than usual system, the chap at wherever it was - Western Union or just a Post Office - would know she needed asap, so he’d have to add a percentage for the customary bribe, before he’d hand it over.

In a SE Asian country dd and friends once waited several hours at a border crossing, because they refused to pay the govt. official the bribe he was demanding of a few $$ each. Eventually they paid up - he was evidently prepared to wait all day.

Trouble is, it’s often a vicious circle in such countries - wages are deliberately set very low, because it’s taken for granted that people will supplement their pay with bribes - so in fact they’re more or less obliged to.

I wasn't trying to come across as an educated historian, but ok.

A better way to protest against receipt scanning is simply to start stealing. Prove to Sainsbury's that their losses are not decreased by said scanners, thus rendering them pointless. Plus, free stuff!

I've never been in a shop where there are barriers and you have to scan your receipt to leave.

I think it's something in the water.