even though you gain nothing

This is Aldi, I get my quarter back.

I want to live in a world where people return the shopping carts, therefore I do it myself. If you don't, you're an antisocial prick.

We have these coin lock trollies here.

I made a tool that bypasses the coin lock so I know that every time I return my trolley I am motivated purely by social concern and not self interest.

I am 100% serious, I wish I knew what was wrong with me.

Always, because when I wear my heelys I can lift up the back of the cart and basically Tokyo drift through the parking lot and the looks I get fuel me.

Gain nothing? How about self respect...

Return your cart and another that's nearby. Sacrifice a little extra time to...

Slow the Decay.

even though you gain nothing?

I call begging the question!

It assumes a purely capitalist worldview where the only way you can personally gain from an action is via monetary reward. I know I'm preaching to the choir here on Lemmy, but being in the US I think it's still worth pointing out because it's a full-on cultural disease.

Now, if you don't mind, I need to go spend most of my evening doing things that will seemingly gain me nothing. Omg what if I spend some money on materials I need for a hobby? NeGaTiVe gAiNz?!??

I gain the satisfaction of being a conscientious member of society.

Back in the late '80s and early '90s my brother and I would run all over the parking lots while our mom was in the store, and return all the carts. We would see how big of a stack we could manage to get moving while we were at it. IIRC our record was 43 carts. We really wanted to hit 50, but I think that was just too much mass for us to handle.

I don't clear the lot anymore, but I do park out by the edge of a lot, if I brought my car, and pick up any carts on the way into the store.

Yes, I return mine because I hate the chaos. I even got in a heated verbal altercation over someone putting theirs on the curb recently.

Nothing in return? NEIN! I'm doing it for the grand prize! The German Shopping Cart Return Championships

I will accept this burden.

You shop‽ I thought we all go to the canteen, and cook for everyone!!

gain nothing

Oh really?

Depends whether there’s any Teslas nearby that need blocking in

Better praxis

Disable the perimeter wheel lock sensor and then put it back.

This is my go to “joke” test for self governance. That and zipper merges, but I hate cars enough to not really care about that one.

As long as theres a reasonably distanced corral, yes.

Is it a co-op?

Ugh, I rolled my ankle a couple weeks ago and still needed to do shopping that day. I was leaning on the cart to stabilize myself. I really did not want to have to walk the cart back to its corral at the end, because walking hurt like hell. But these memes, man, these memes guilted me into doing it anyway.

Why return it? Just bring it home

I'd walk across a parking lot to return it. I used to live three blocks from my local grocery store, I would walk my groceries home in the cart and then walk back to return the cart. Blows my mind how insanely, deeply, crushingly lazy my fellow humans have become.

If there's a cart corral on the same aisle within visual distance, then yes. Otherwise I just find another loose cart and push mine there.

I've asked people before and what I get most often is "🤷 it's their job, let them do it, I'm not going to work for free". If I can return mine in active labor, you can return yours you lazy fuck.

What if there were five shopping carts together in the next aisle. Which would you return?

usually, but if there's any reason, even one far short of an emergency, it's a coin toss.

if we lived in a different society, like an actual anarchist or communist society, I'm sure i would act differently. but I'm not sure we'd have shopping carts and grocery stores.

There are people who I dislike far more than those who don't return the shopping cart. The people who walk past 10 carts to get into the store and grab a cart are the worst.

On one hand, prices are going up so why should I do the work of the people who work there?

On the other, I'm practical. I park next to the cart corral, reducing my chances of getting my door dinged by half, and then when I'm done with the cart, I put it back in the corral because it's the most convenient place to put it.

People who go out of their way to return the cart may be eligible for sainthood, but I do it because it makes sense, and I sorta set up the situation where it makes sense. We all win that way.