The other day I was at the grocery store with my daughter. She was mentioning how she noticed that this particular grocery store has self-checkouts like so many other department stores in the city are installing. She could tell from my response of "Ya, they do" that I wasn't delighted about it. So she asked me why.
I explained that the self-checkout system takes jobs away from people. We live in a society where everything is not just becoming automated, but in so doing is becoming dependent upon technology, which I don't think is such a good thing. I would rather employ a person to do that job and have human interaction at the checkout than have a drone robot do it and in so doing turning ourselves into drones as well.
Technology can serve us as a convenience. But when it comes to taking jobs away from humans, I am so not into it. What also bothers me is that if I step into the 10 items or less checkout someone often lets me know that the self-checkout has less of a line and that I can go there if I like. I always decline and let them know that I would rather employ a real person than a machine. They look at me, stunned.
I think that the offer is also an implication that the public needs to be "trained" to just go for what is supposedly faster and more convenient. I am not a drone that needs to be trained. I will not simply do what I am told to do. I will do what I know in my heart is the right thing to do and make sure that the store knows that I am insisting that a person be employed. If there comes a time when a person is not employed to do this job, no matter how long I have to wait in line, I will not be shopping there anymore.
Go ahead, be a rebel.
Blessed Be
Trent
www.deerhornshamanic.com
