Too often, our differences can seem insurmountable. In these divided times, we tend to function as a fractured society almost by default, one that pits us against each other over the most inconsequential of differences — red vs. blue, woman vs. man, west of I-270 vs. those who prefer to live adjacent to such novel things as “culture” and “civilization.”
But once in a while, some unifying force comes along with a pull so strong it can’t help but bring us together. Like a pair of magnets of opposite polarity joining as one, we unite — and we are stronger for it. This past week has offered the St. Louis area one such moment, as citizens of all stripes set aside the things that make us different and embrace that which makes us the same.
That’s right: We’re talking about our collective hatred of Schnucks’ new self-checkout guidelines.
St. Louis’ largest homegrown grocery chain unleashed its new policy (henceforth dubbed The Calamity) upon an unsuspecting St. Louis on Thursday, February 1. The fine print of The Calamity limits self-checkout purchases to just 10 items or less — fully half of the previous limit, and now also rigorously enforced.