Shopdropping: The Anti-Shoplifting
Have you heard about shopdropping? It's the big new fad among burgeoning anarchists who, instead of stealing, spread havoc by smuggling unwelcome items into stores. Think Che shirts in Target's clothing department, or unwanted bunnies roaming the pet store after Easter. It's all very badass and has several stores in a tizzy.
At Powell's Books in Portland, Ore., religious groups have been hitting the magazines in the science section with fliers featuring Christian cartoons, while their adversaries have been moving Bibles from the religion section to the fantasy/science-fiction section.What is Target about? Corporate mouthpiece Bethany Zucco explains:This week an arts group in Oakland, the Center for Tactical Magic, began shopdropping neatly folded stacks of homemade T-shirts into Wal-Mart and Target stores in the San Francisco Bay Area. The shirts feature radical images and slogans like one with the faces of Karl Marx, Che Guevara and Mikhail Bakunin, a Russian anarchist. It says, "Peace on Earth. After we overthrow capitalism."
"Our point is to put a message, not a price tag, on them," said Aaron Gach, 33, a spokesman for the group.
Mr. Jennings's anarchist action figure met with a befuddled reaction from a Target store manager on Wednesday in El Cerrito, Calif.
"I don't think this is a product that we sell," the manager said as Mr. Jennings pretended to be a customer trying to buy it. "It's definitely antifamily, which is not what Target is about."
Our goal at all times is to provide comfortable and distraction-free shopping.Shopping takes focus, people! Shopdropping is a dangerous distraction, a threat that could make us stop and think about our purchases.
Anarchists in the Aisles? Stores Provide a Stage [NYT]
(Photo: Kike Arnal/The New York Times)
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Comments:
Che shirts? Heck, they sell those at Disneyland nowadays...
Do you get arrested for trying to take the shirts OUT of Target?
Awesome. I wonder, will they still stop you at the door and ask you for a receipt if you just take one of these shirts?
Whoops, sorry KOTTLES. Thats what I get for abusing Tabbed browsing and reading too many articles at once...
Che is the new Mickey Mouse.
I think it's kinda funny, actually. Especially the battle going on at Powell's.
I used to do this all the time. In my neck of the woods they usually have a "Religious Fiction" section. I would amuse myself by moving copies of the bible to this section and then standing back to watch peoples reactions. Some people got the joke and simply chuckled. Others would nearly explode with righteous anger and demand the good book be put back in it's rightful place among the stacks.
This sounds positively hilarious! Kind of like those people who film themselves throwing drinks at fast-food restaurant workers in the drive-through. Man, what a riot.
It really boggles my mind that childish immaturity suddenly becomes tolerable because there's some kind of "message" behind it. Flash mobs, anyone?
This sounds positively hilarious! Kind of like those people who film themselves throwing drinks at fast-food restaurant workers in the drive-through. Man, what a riot.
[/sarcasm]
It really boggles my mind that childish immaturity suddenly becomes tolerable because there's some kind of "message" behind it. Flash mobs, anyone?
It's all fun and games until a stock-boy goes on a killing spree.
Well, now I feel put in my place after laughing at the time I flipped all the boxes of pineapple upside-down cake mix box on its top while shopping at the grocery store.
What are they going to do, charge them with littering?
I find it amusing that according to the article it is anti-consumerists artists who "slip replica products packaged with political messages onto shelves" hoping that people pick up the product to buy. It seems that they are consumerist, but just selling a different product - irony.
I'm all fine with it until they start replacing my food products with alternative labelel substitutes.
I'm not so sure about "Vive La Revolucion" che-emblazoned anti-freedom fries.
@m4ximusprim3:
Good point. I would bet that this is technically fraud since it damages the trademark of the corporation (or people) as well as some problem with agency where the person putting the things on the shelf are misrepresenting the business.
Assorted religious zealots have been targeting any reading material they do not agree with for years. Always thought it very cowardly.
It sure is nice of the consumerist to promote these morons.
@Hambriq: I disagree that these varieties of "childish immaturity" are the same thing at all; the example you provide is blatantly malicious, while shopdropping (particularly adding new items to inventory, as opposed to relocating existing inventory -- the latter is making work for people, after all) is far less so.
And as for flash crowds -- what's wrong with organizing a flash crowd? Are adults somehow not allowed to exercise their freedoms in a manner which is amusing not only to themselves but to the public as a whole (excluding stick-in-the-muds like yourself)?
To be sure, I live in a city where "Keep $CITY Weird" is an ongoing campaign with broad support from local businesses and one of our best recognized public figures is a homeless crossdresser. What fun is a life where nothing interesting or unusual ever happens?
The article calls them "anti-consumerist artists", but they probably prefer the term "pro end user allies".
@Charles Duffy: "What fun is a life where nothing interesting or unusual ever happens?"
Don't you know that everything must always be taken Very Seriously?
"Antifamily?"
So "family" as an adjective means "Christian capitalist?"
This is really reaching for some of these religious groups.
Changing food labels is going way overboard. I don't like anyone changing anything I am putting into my body.
Isn't this the same idea as the guy who left cyanide laced Tylenol on store shelves?
@dadelus: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." "Blessed are the peace makers ...."
Yes, that IS truly fictional, isn't it?
Maybe you should try reading something cover to cover before coming to untrue conclusions. Then again, that would make you intelligent, which is a choice you apparently haven't acted on yet.
God bless.
Mitch Hedberg was ahead of the curve here:
"I have an old CD. See, this one will be in stores. The only way I could get my old CD into a store was if I would take one in and leave it. They say, 'Sir, you forgot this.' 'No I did not! That is for sale. Please alphabetize it.'"
@deserthiker: Putting a sticker on a box, and poisoning other people to try and cover you murdering your husband. It isn't the same frickin' ballpark, it ain't the same league, it ain't even the same frickin' sport.
How is adding to a label changing what you put in your body. Unless you are eating the box..... Takes that suggested serving picture to a new level.
When I was a kid my friends and I would go into Hastings or Barnes & Noble and move the bibles to the fiction section all the time.
For some reason the instant I seen this i was intrigued... i actually thought of the very first time I heard about flash-mobs on craigslist - it was the same feeling - complete fascination, and 'oh boy, i can't wait to participate'!
Maybe it's my youthful age, mindset, or just my generation, but things like this fascinate me. Living in a major city, i haven't seen it yet, but now my eyes are open!
It's the big new fad among burgeoning anarchists marketers
There. Fixed that for ya!
Now I know what I'll be doing next year. Here's a hint: The Christian Science Reading Room and 500 copies of "Origin of Species"
@banmojo: Would you like me to pick out some eternal truths located in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series? I'm sure it has a few here and there, if I read it cover-to-cover. If that's all it takes to make a book religion rather than fiction...
I'm not agreeing that moving the Bible to the fiction section is necessarily a particularly appropriate action, but your argument as to why that action is inappropriate is lacking. After all, there's plenty between the Bible's two covers which is clearly not literally true; why is a sliver of truth (such as those you quote) arguably sufficient to qualify the entire work as truth while those slivers of nonliteral content aren't enough to qualify the work as a whole as fiction?
The strongest universally-acceptable argument for keeping the Bible in the religion section at a bookstore is probably that that's where people interested in buying a copy are going to look for it; that's an argument that even folks who don't accept the contents as true (and there are plenty such people who have read the book cover-to-cover but fail to accept it as the literal word of God -- arguing or inferring to the contrary is meritless) will accept.
With this resurgence of shopdropping, it's now official, everything from the 80s has now come back. Reload now for the 90s.
Ugh! This reminds me of those wackjobs who put stickers under the "stop" on stop signs. When we FINALLY passed the concealed carry law (making licensed concealed carry of firearms legal) here in Missouri a bunch of these "gun" stickers started appearing under the "stop" on stop signs.
Just seems pointless to me.
@BANMOJO
I'm going to make this comment and then drop the subject because I have no interest in starting a flame war with you.
I have read the bible cover to cover. I was born into a very religious family. I spent most of my developmental years involved in the church organization and spent a lot of my free time reading the bible and contemplating it's meaning. During that time I came to the realization that while it did present a number of interesting arguments for dealing with various issues in life, believing that it was the "literal truth" just didn't seem logical to me. So yes, while I respect the bible as a book that can help people, I also do not believe that every word of it actually happened.
Therefore, it is both Religious, and Fictional. So, having come to that conclusion on my own after careful consideration, I found what I thought to be a comical (and yes, juvenile) way of confronting others with my belief. Lets face it, if God didn't have a sense of humor we wouldn't have the platypus. :)
As for the "Do unto others..." quote, well, that's why I'm responding to you like this instead of trying to insult you and call you stupid. I don't believe you are stupid, you simply have your own point of view, I have mine. If God didn't want it that way free will wouldn't exist.
John Waters did something similar in "Pecker" called "Shopping for Other People:, which is dropping things into other people's carts which would be embarassing or not something they would buy.
This all makes us aware there is some unspoken barrier to messing with the shopping experience, even in a public place. It is funny to see it happen, but has potential to be a little risky.
I like to take back the empty boxes, particularly ink cartridge boxes, and leave them in some obvious place in the stores so that they think the items have been stolen and the security thugs were asleep at the TV monitors.
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From: targetfiling.blogspot.com
C. Five Steps for Apprehension
Certified AP team members must observe all five steps prior to making a shoplifter apprehension.
NOTE: If local law enforcement takes independent action and makes an apprehension before all five steps are met, the details must be documented in the CIRS report.
1. Initiation of Observation - The subject must enter the store/area without possession of Target merchandise.
2. Selection - The subject must be observed selecting Target merchandise from the display location.
3. Concealment - The subject must be observed concealing the merchandise, or the AP team member must have NO reasonable doubt based on observations that the merchandise has been concealed by the subject.
NOTE: If the merchandise is not actually concealed, it must be exposed as the subject exits or attempts to exit the store.
4. Maintain Observation - The AP team member must maintain sufficient surveillance of the subject in order to know the location of the merchandise and ensure the subject does not discard the merchandise.
NOTE: A Productive Merchandise Recovery (PMR) shall be attempted if surveillance is broken for any reason, or the AP team member can not maintain sufficient surveillance. (See PMR Directive).
5. Failure to Pay for Merchandise/Exiting the Store -AP team member(s) must observe the subject attempt to exit the store without paying for the merchandise.
NOTE: Some jurisdictions allow variances from the exiting requirement to allow apprehensions of concealed merchandise before an individual reaches the building's exit. In these cases, the requirements must be documented and approved by the Director or Vice President of Assets Protection using the "Variance from Exiting Form" (found on the AP Zone).
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D. Restroom / Fitting Room Apprehensions
AP team members are not allowed to conduct surveillance or make apprehensions in restroom and/or fitting rooms.
1. AP team members are not allowed to follow subject's into a restroom or fitting room to conduct surveillance.
2. AP team members shall not ask another team member to enter a fitting room or restroom to conduct surveillance.
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B. Searches of Private Residence or Motor Vehicles
1. AP team members will NOT participate in a search of a private residence or motor vehicle.
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1. Fleeing Shoplifter
a. If a shoplifter attempts to flee after being confronted, do not give chase in any manner (running, driving, etc.).
b. Store based AP team members shall not use any vehicle to follow or pursue a subject for any reason.
c. AP team members shall not encourage, condone, suggest or ask another Target team member or anyone else to chase a fleeing shoplifter.
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2. AP shall refer for prosecution all individuals apprehended for retail theft when the value of the merchandise is $20.00 or greater and the case meets local prosecution requirements.
NOTE: If a case meets/exceeds the $20.00 referral guideline, but is NOT referred, the reason for non-referral must be included in the CIRS narrative. (Example: Local jurisdiction limits require merchandise in excess of $75.00 in order for prosecution.)
3. A team member witness, of the same gender of the suspected shoplifter , must be present in the room at all times during the detention.
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A. Photographing Shoplifters
1. Adult shoplifters - AP shall photograph all adult shoplifters unless prohibited by local statutes or ordinances.
2. Team Member Shoplifters - AP will not photograph any team member apprehended for shoplifting during working or non-working hours.
3. Juvenile Shoplifters - AP will not photograph any juveniles apprehended for shoplifting, unless required by local statutes oordinances.
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Pranking the store's message.
I particularly liked rob from cockeyed.com creating and then printing out menu pages with dining suggestions such as "fried lard" and getting the pages into TGIFridays graphic menues.
Culture jamming is what I believe is the best reference to it:
[en.wikipedia.org]
Proving for eleventy billionth time that anti-capitalistic nuts have ZERO ability to do more then harass a retailer.
Their ideas have been proven invalid, and their commitment to a failed cause is an expression of mental instability.
We should pity these fools who have no other outlet for such childish ideas.
@chili_dog:
Sheesh, lighten up. This is hilarious. The fact that left-wing ideology is so very dead only makes it funnier.
@banmojo:
I'm sure Jesus loves your sarcasm and your calling someone unintelligent.
So, you don't think it's fiction, eh? Are you a young earth creationist?
I heard a comedian once say that for fun he would take his wife's "personal masager/toy" and leave it at table of a neighbor's garage sale to watch the other neighbor's reaction. Hillarious.
Local bands used to do this with CDs. Drop them into the bins of records stores to spark interest..
I've never shopped dropped, but I've shopped-DUMPED. A few years back a department store featured a shirt with a cartoon Mexican spouting some stereotypes I found offensive (yes as a white guy.) I didn't have a camera phone to blog about it, didn't have time to tell the manager my feelings, so grabbed 10 shirts off the rack and shoved them in the garbage.
then you might want to reconsider the blinding red decor.