Home Depot Lights My Fuse
Home Depot, you really pissed me off yesterday. But once I did get to the check out with that all too expensive hand full of Chinese made parts, and can of spray paint, you made me wonder why I’ll ever come back?
When you demanded I show my ID and prove I was over 18 to buy that can of spray paint. I look in the mirror and see all of my 65 years. Anyone who doesn’t see at least 18 of them needs to be put out of their misery.
And to think, some of the same Dim Witted minds that made this policy think it’s OK to vote without showing ID! When your store is on fire, don’t suspect that I was the one who torched it.. But do know I was thinking about it when I walked out to my car.
Yes, yes, you’re thinking this may have been the Clerk’s idea? She greeted me with a smile, and of course I returned the smile, and politely told her it was nuts. She said, “we’re on camera, and when I ring up spray paint and don’t ask for ID, I can get reprimanded”. How amazing. I live in a society where denying spray paint is far more important that assuring my vote isn’t distorted with fraud?
Is this just another reason for you to develop your self-reliant skills? I think so. If there ever was a good time to be handy, it is right around the corner.
GB
what? yet another skill i need to master now!
making aerosol spray paint!
ok George i will put it on the list of things we need to learn how to do.
and everyone thinks i am nuts!
what in the world has our country come to?
of course it could be worse, if you went to a nyc hardware store, their wonderfully ignoramus mayor bloomberg would probably limit you to a one of those tiny little spray can’s we used to paint model cars with way back when.
that is probably next.
bob g
This opposition to voter id does not pass any smell test. Voting is inherently statist and governmentful. Of course paperwork is required. The voting rights act is up for review. I’m supposed to be appalled. Am not. Hope it gets tossed and some of the practices it “remedied” become popular and enhanced. I propose a quiz for any voter. They have to score high on a current events test covering everything that is up for a vote. Why should someone who doesn’t understand what they are voting about have a say? What, if you have enough uninformed opinions mixed together you magically get a clever outcome? The opposite is true. GIGO.
Of course its best to prevent voting by anyone. It is an act of violence.
That’s their feel good legislation to keep spray paint out of the hands of children…you know the ones that do all of that colourful graffiti!. Because someone else couldn’t buy it for them right? They have you on camera now.. they will be looking for you if there is any paint splashed on a wall somewhere ;). Politicians feel they have to do stuff to make it look like they are trying. I’d rather they do nothing and just sit in an office somewhere and play solitare.
I got carded at walmart for spray paint and they said if was to protect kids from huffing. I refuse to believe you can get high on that. Unless terrible screwed up splitting headache is your idea of high.
We can make our own spray paint but until they come up with a cure for stupid one of our necessary skills will have to remain putting up with corporate bull shit like this.
Have you ever cleaned spray can graffiti off concrete blocks or stucco? Believe me; one can of spray paint can do many thousands of dollars in damage in the hand of a rebel of any age. I know this from experience in National Parks maintenance. Replacing signs is also ridiculously expensive from the same kind of vandalism. But; just as in “Gun Control” spray can control is not possible. People control is the answer; how you do that is an entirely different problem, sadly still with no answer so far as I know.
I gladly showed my picture I.D. to vote in both the recent Primary and General elections. Beyond that, the signature block on the back of my credit cards have “Picture I.D. Required” instead of my signature (just in case it ever fell into the wrong hands). So, I’m already covered at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal-Mart or wherever.
Last summer I expressed my take on voter I.D. to the local newspaper paper which they actually printed: “In my opinion if you are too lazy or too stupid to obtain some sort of ID card so you can vote I don’t want you helping select our leaders. Of course, if one drops out of high school and refuses to flip burgers he is likely a member of the gigantic Federal Plantation which usually provides a pretty solid voting block for a particular brand of Politicians.”
Therein, lays the real crux of the Voter I.D. harangue!
Harold, always good to see you here, and to have you ‘weigh in’.
I don’t see much you write about to disagree with…. what you said is pretty much what DIYers typically think, and it comes from years of ‘doing it yourself’, while you watched all the calamity created in other households by ‘living by other means’.
Few things are as upsetting as seeing a brand new fence targeted for spray paint, and… I have no problem with the idea you need be 18 to buy spray paint.
What I protest is a lack of common sense, and watching a corporation help ‘dumb down’ the working population. We know why Home Depot did what they do. Tell the poor clerk she must check every ID, … that relieves the clerk of any responsibility to think, and the manager no responsibility to develop their employees. Maybe it’s part of the plan? You only need know how to scan barcodes, look at ID, and watch for the go— no go lights.
Home Depot didn’t upset the entire population, perhaps I’m right where I belong? Part of that one percent…. and in this case the one percent that is pissed off. There is something wrong at Home Depot. In the stores I’ve been into, they seem to hide the manager pretty well, I don’t remember seeing anyone with that title on their chest in years of visits there. No one walking around and actively developing people like I see in other places. As much as people like to be critical of McDonalds, they have done much to raise our kids and teach them skills that lead to better jobs, and I see that going on at Wal-Mart too. but at home Depot, they can’t be bothered to tell a clerk.. “if the old guy is wrinkled up from too much sun, don’t ask for ID when he buys a can of spray paint. I think we can all help America by shopping in places where they expect their employees to think, and help development their skills where they might one day have a better job.
But, at the end of the day.. I’m only doing what Americans have been allowed to do (up to this point). I’m speaking out about what I don’t like and voting with my feet. “Home Depot, your prices are not so good anymore, and I’ll gladly travel the extra miles to avoid spending my money there”.
And Harold.. did you see that old post updated on the selector switch? A person took me to task.. “Harold is right, these’s a missing lead in that sketch”. I did go back and add that lead.
Now, I do wish to add my two cents on your comment as per the plantation vote. There is a whole class of people who vote along with them because it’s the source of their power, influence, and money. They perceive themselves as ‘gifted’, we see them in a totally different light. We’ve seen them ‘off the stump’, and know them as they search for the dip stick in their car, and too inept to change out a light bulb, yet alone a bad electrical plug in the kitchen. If the leader of the pack tells them the sky is falling, they immediately begin to chant, it’s all they know how to do. To check the facts? No, they only repeat what they’ve been told.
And the other option? They say all the rights things, and then offer the same free lunch programs! Have they lost their spine? Perhaps they know that the free lunchers are now in full control? And all the more reason to be thankful we are handy.
GB
Can’t disagree with anything here. Well done George (again)! Charles Krauthammer’s column in the Washington Post would be a good follow-on.
See:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/charles-krauthammer-hail-armageddon/2013/02/28/ca8a32a6-81da-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html?wpisrc=nl_most
Have a good day
Excellent article Harold..
Well, I’m disappointed. Like going to the fights on Friday night and suddenly a hockey game breaks out! Read George’s rant and figured I’d mosey over to the pickle barrel and learn a thing or two about making DIY spray paint. But it turned out to be another political discussion that I totally agree with, and am therefore not interested in. I’m going to go clean out the groj some more.
Humpf!
Quinn
Q.
I was thinking.. If only I had an hour to compare notes with Socrates.. I think I know what he’d say… “George.. I thought it was bad back in my days.. but they didn’t torture me so much…… drinking hemlock was quick and easy. It seems they’re hell bent on torturing you each and every day”.
cleaning up overpasses, walls and bridges of graffiti is a problem?
have you heard of “seattle beige”?
the city of seattle figured out long ago, when you mix all colors of latex paint it always comes out a beige color, they found this out in their recycling efforts.
they use the stuff to repaint overpasses, walls, bridges and all sorts of stuff kids tag.
the smart money is taking a wall of concrete and have someone paint it out with seattle beige once every couple of weeks and just let the kid go nuts retagging it… and they will over and over again.
the upside is the concrete develops a nice protective layer and will probably last thousands of years.
take hiway 512 from tacoma to puyallup, exit at portland avenue and go to 112th street, turn west and take a look at the railroad overpass… the highschool learned long ago it is easier to provide a place for kids to tag than get all knotted up about paint sales and fighting about it… they beige it out every couple weeks, providing a new canvas for what has become some rather brilliant artistic works.
seattle beige, good stuff!
bob g
Bob.. I know your point, but the way I see it.. no matter how great the art, if it’s placed on another man’s property without permission, it’s no good..
If only the kids would learn who the city council members are who think this is art no matter where it shows up… paint their houses, and we’ll see if their opinions change.
oh don’t worry George, my comment was for the most part a tongue in cheek sort of thing… although the details are true my comment about the value of their artwork was over the top.
i too was tagged once, my isuzu npr 15ft box truck was tagged front to rear, top to bottom by some kid,,, only problem (for him) was the police had a task force and a detective that had huge photo albums of these taggers work, didn’t take him long to figure who he was and make the arrest.
i asked him…
if i catch this little weasel, can i strip him naked and paint him blue, front to back and top to bottom?
his response
well we would have to come out and arrest you, but i cannot imagine a single judge allowing you to be brought up in their court.
took me a full case of brakeclean and a bundle of red rags to get all that crap off my truck, oh yes and about 6 hours of hard work!
when i got done i put about 4 layers of floor wax on the sides of the box, which makes removal next time easier.
never happened again.
bob g
ps. for what it is worth, go to mclendons up on 112th and canyon road, they will sell paint to a toddler.
George, You are a youngster compared to my Dad, he’s 75.
He was telling me a few weeks ago he had to show ID at his local hardware store in Country Australia.
When asked for ID, he laughed and did nothing thinking it was a joke. when the assistant asked again, he questioned if they were serious. The supervisor came over and told him it was the law.
He asked if the guy thought a law that was stupid enough to require a Senior Citizen to prove they were of legal age was not so stupid as to be totally pointless.
He asked if they had a lot of 16 yo’s passing off fake pension cards as proof of age of if that would be an acceptable form of ID for him to use?
He also Said they should automatically know he was of legal age just through him bringing The paint to the counter.
They asked how was that?
He said because if I was a kid I’d have just stuck it under my jumper and stolen it!
On a roll, he also gave them a serve about the stupidity of locking it up like fort Knox and having to have a manager come unlock the cage.
He pointed out that while they were one step away from having an armed guard and a machine gun tower over looking the $3 a can spray paint, There was no requirement for him to lock it up once he got it home so how the hell was all this security going to do any good?
I’m a photographer and I go to a lot of old abandoned places to do shoots.
To think this graffitti is all the doings of under age kids is manical.
Most of the people I see park their car outside and walk in with Literally a Box of 12 cans under each arm.
They also come with a gallon of paint and a roller and go over the walls to have a fresh foundation to start on.
I saw 2, 30Ft skipbins FILLED with empty cans at one 2 level factory I went to and there were at least as many cans around 4 months later as what they had already picked up. It isn’t kids that can afford this stuff on that scale.
Dave, I see it as a problem the Western World faces together… AU, NZ, GB, CA, USA, and others. We should be empowering our work forces, teaching people to think, and preparing people for better jobs.
And every day.. we all see examples of dumbing down the workforce, asking them or even demanding that they follow the string.
G