Daily Story: Cashier Shamed Elderly Woman for Plastic Bags

A cashier slammed an old woman because she didn't have her own shopping bag and also went on about her generation contributed much to climate change. Unable to bear the insult, the woman made sure her reasoning revoice was heard.

An old lady named Emily went grocery shopping. After waiting in the line for a few minutes, her turn came and the cashier started to scan her goods. After paying the cash, Emily asked for plastic shopping bags since she didn't have a shopping bag with her.

"Could you please give me some plastic bags for the goods, please?" the elderly lady asked politely.

A grocery cart. | Source: Pexels

"Sure, here you go. But you should really consider bringing your own reusable bags, you know. These plastic bags are degrading for the environment. I'm surprised that a senior citizen like you is not aware of these things," the snide cashier replied.

The elderly woman was surprised at the remark. She was well-aware of the fact that plastic bags are harmful to the environment but the cashier's rude remarks shocked her.

"Actually, I can understand why you wouldn't get your own shopping bag. Your generation never really cared about the environment. It's the same generation that can be held accountable for global warming," the cashier continued.

By now Emily was annoyed beyond words. She decided to teach the smug cashier a lesson and started to rant.

"Yes, back in our day, there was no such thing as "green thing." We used to return the glass milk bottles along with soda and beer bottles to the store so that they could be recycled. They would then be washed and recycled over and over again. And oh, we didn't use those pesky plastic cartons for that."

The cashier then folded her hands and looked at Emily rather mockingly. She raised her eyebrows as if she was taunting her.

But Emily didn't faze. She went on to explain how her generation used brown paper bags instead of plastic bags back in the day. "Those grocery bags were reused and when they couldn't be used anymore, little kids used it to cover their textbooks," she said.

The cashier's expression had changed. She stood there in silence as the old lady continued to make her point. Although there were people waiting for their turn to check out their groceries, they patiently stood behind, listening to her speech.

"We used to walk from one place to another back in the day. For longer distances, we used bicycles and public transportation. We didn't have many cars back then and the fuel consumption was pretty low. But sadly, we didn't have a 'green thing.'"

"The current generation constantly blames us for not leaving a cleaner, healthier Earth for them as if we didn't care about the environment at all. Think about the power consumption rates, how kids don't enjoy playing outdoors anymore because of their power-gobbling gadgets and gizmos, how human work has been replaced by machines... those are only a few things I'm pointing out," Emily said. "Do you think your generation is any better?"

The cashier's face had turned red with shame. She didn't know what to say anymore.

"Next time you decide to blame the previous generation for the status quo, get your facts straight," concluded Emily as she walked out of the store with her grocery.

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