Ghetto Survival Guide For Blacks and Latinos

H.U.M.M.E.R.S.

Growing Pains and The power of change...

Change is just one of those things that we cannot avoid... 99.9% of the time change is a good thing, however it is not always an easy transition. 

I guess you can look at it from the perspective of an infant going through the whole teething thingy... I mean from the infants point of view the whole teeth pushing through the gums thing is not really worth the pain! The milk and puree food seems to be doing the job so why do I have to put up with this whole constant pain thing?

As a parent or adult we see the necessity for these "growing pains" if only for the fact that we see the benefits of the change and understand the process for the state of change... But in the infants mind this is not the case, it is just for all intents and purposes pain for no reason! But since there is nothing they can do about it (it is inevitable!) they depend on their parents to give them things to lessen or dull the pain via teething rings, topical's and that reassuring hug now and then...

As the child gets past this and long term memory kicks in and he/she becomes aware of the wonders of 'change' as the body changes, morphs and grows the pain and aches of bones shifting and things moving... then change becomes a thing of wonder...

However... as we get older there is constant change on many different levels not only is there the physical but there is the mental and emotional side to contend with. And just like the teething infant... these changes can be just as painful... unlike the infant, we are constantly aware of the reasons and the possible outcomes... being cognizant of change and choice can sometimes make the pain even more unbearable. 

This is the crutch that we bear for the privilege of being self aware! In the whole scheme of things we soon find out that Newtons third Law effects more than the world of physics (For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction) it also effects our emotional and mental interaction (reactions) with the rest of the world

I often find myself at these crossroads of change and I like to think that I have for the most part made the right choices and I have even learned to live with some of the wrong choices mostly in the hopes that I will be able to set things right in the next cycle of change/growth or... even once i have become aware that I have made a wrong choice which in itself will bring forth a new cycle of change.

So before this becomes a lengthy study on change... the point of this post is that I have noticed that the cycle of change has come upon me once again and with change comes choices.

Change...It always takes the same form with me, something monumental in my life be it positive or negative causes me to place my life on a microscope and do for a lack of a better term 'spring cleaning'. The triggers have in the past been varied... The loss of my grandmother sent me into a tailspin of change that spanned more than a year in total! However when the smoke cleared I found that indeed I had brought about some very positive changes in my life. I have resigned from a couple of jobs that triggered a change on how I look at human beings and social interaction in general, Even 9/11 triggered a process in change within me making me truly embrace the universal pattern of cause and effect, and of course the birth of my children triggered the most massive change in me... their entrance into this world gave me the ability to once again dream and hope!

The strange thing about this particular cycle of change is that i cannot pinpoint what has triggered these feelings that I need to make a change! It could be the fact that I completed my book? It could be the residual energy of the way the world is going... trickling down... affecting my psyche ( I am really starting to see that the negative energy radiating off of people around me, it is almost tangible at times)!

Or it could be that i am just getting older and reaching that time when we feel our own mortality and seek to ensure our mark on the world we live in now...

I don't even know if it really makes a difference or not, knowing what has triggered these emotions since the change is inevitable and it will more than likely be difficult since I  am already beginning to understand the choices and decisions I am going to have to make...

Here is a quote from Anais Nin

Life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.

Now that I have put my thoughts to text in hopes that I can sort out my feelings... I am reading this quote from whom i think was an amazing woman, and with each passing moment understanding the futility of trying to live in a state of imagined comfort knowing that it is false and only a futile attempt to stall the inevitable... We all must grow and change or we will never reach our hidden potential and no matter the pain real or imagined we must see the change through till the cycle has completed!

Still does not make it any easier... but who am i to deny the power of change or ignore the ache of growing pains... 

At what point do you begin to take responsibility for your own actions?

As I read the newspapers and watch the news (and look out of my window) I seem to be asking myself more and more... When do we as human beings begin to take responsibility for our own actions?

I watch as CEOs of fortune 500 companies and banks are looking for government handouts to stay afloat... yet these self same companies/and banks saw no issue with sending jobs and aspects of their operations overseas to save themselves a couple of bucks? So now they are begging the government to use the taxes of United States Citizens to keep them afloat... when times were good you helped out how? Not to mention their gross mismanagement of funds to allow executives lavish lifestyles!

I am so sick of American auto makers complaining that there companies are no longer financially solvent because of foreign auto makers... So when did you realize that the competition was creating cars that actually lasted for more than a year before needing major repairs, got better gas mileage and more value for the consumers dollar?

I watch the republican party bitch and moan about how they feel President Obama should allow their party to have more of a say on issues such as budgeting, how to fix the economy, health care... Yet when the republican party had the helm they essentially sent our country to hell in a hand basket!

In all of these cases (looking at it from at least my standpoint) all of these issues are self inflicted by those involved.

If you have been following my Blog you probably note that I have a low tolerance for people who by their actions or by their speech step into a pile of shit and then take the position that it is not their fault... Somehow it is the fault of society that they have done or said something and the strange thing is that the biggest group of people that see no reason to accept responsibility for their actions or lack of action are (Drum Roll Please) PARENTS!

TV and movies need to be monitored and at times censored because you as a parent refuse to monitor what your child watches or goes to see!

Some parent groups feel that video games should be monitored or pulled because you gave your child 60 bucks and told them to buy whatever they want because you could not take the time to monitor his or her purchases.

There are even parent groups that feel that the Internet should be controlled by the government because their children's safety is at risk... simple solution... monitor your children's net access do not censor mine! I agree, in today's technologically advanced society there are more things to be careful and aware of, however that does not diminish your responsibility as a parent much less pass that responsibility on to me by censoring my access to TV Movies Video Games Music and Internet access as an adult!

It makes no sense to hear a mother on TV who has lost a child in the mall under the age of ten plead into the camera "someone had to see him/her!" And it is a sad thing to have a child harmed or kidnapped or hurt or even lost and scared! But you as a parent know that the world is a bad place with bad people and you know that your child may be the type that doesn't listen well or likes to break away from your grasp... Knowing these things wouldn't you take a more active role in watching your child even more closely? Especially in a place like a shopping mall? Why would you assume that someone else is watching out for YOUR child? I would be rich if I could have a dime for every time I have seen a child walking away from their mother while mom is looking at a dress or blouse and I have told the little tyke "you need to be standing next to your mommy" some mothers will thank me others will just proceed to chastise the child and go back to whatever it is they were doing.

And its not just the little ones! Parents seem to be signing off on their teens and tween as well!

How many news reports have you seen where the evils of the Internet are put to blame for the exploitation of a teen or tween? How many parents groups feel that myspace and twitter and facebook are a nesting place for predators and pedophiles? How many parent groups are out there actively trying to get these sites shut down?

Now how many of these parents are saying that they actually monitor what their teen or tween is doing online?!?!?

The usual excuse is that they (the parent/s) do not understand the technology so they do not have the ability to monitor what their child is doing!

So peeping in their room to see what they have on the screen takes how much technical know how? Or placing their computer in a public area of your home you need a degree in computer science?

Bad people have always existed in the world even before home computers became popular and they depend on the fact that someone somewhere is not watching their child!

To bring this to a point of reference with my last blog post (They are watching you! Really! They are!)... The more you tell government to interfere and pick up the slack the more you are letting them invasde and control your life!

The parental advisory stickers on music CDs and DVDs are placed to allow "you" the parent to decide whether or not to let your child purchase that movie or album! If you are not in the store with your child why would you expect the clerk to decide whether or not your child should be able to make this purchase! Its really not called a "clerk advisory"!

And don't get me started on video games! My sons will be turning 17 and they still have not played any version of grand theft auto! But that is because I decided that the subject matter was not conducive to them as teenagers... some parents would say that my choice to let them play Mortal Kombat should bear some scrutiny! However I monitor their play and AS A PARENT if I would see that game play was morphing into reality I would ban that game as well! I would not wait for someone else to decide that for me! Or if my sons tried to perform a fatality on someone... I would not blame the game! At the end of the day I allowed them to buy it and play it!

However I am sure that I will never have to worry about being on the news blaming some sort of media for something that my children have done since I realize that media did not raise or teach my children!

How many news reports must we see about some tragedy before we realize that responsibility for our children in the end rests with us as parents!

How can you in all honesty blame hip hop for your child selling drugs? especially when you know he/she has a 52 inch plasma TV in his room that you didn't buy? When is it your responsibility to step in?

Why blame the Paris Hilton's, Pinks, Britney Spears' and the Amy Winehouse's for your Daughters behaviour? When do you as a parent begin to be your child's idol or at the least explain value systems? When buying her that micro mini skirt to wear to that club you know she is not old enough to be in... really isn't the best time!

If you do not take the time to explain sex to your teen and integrate some sort of safety factor or some values that your child should have especially in today's world how can you blame the media, society or much less the school system when your child becomes pregnant or a father or catches a disease? How can you with any conscious in today's world leave such a task in the hands of any one else?

As parents we have a responsibility to our children

The days of electronic babysitting need to come to an end!

We actually have to begin showing our children by example what we expect from them as young adults and children!

We also really need to start choosing our battles especially those we fight in front of our children!

Going up to school to damn near kill a teacher because your child is failing especially failing because of his or her not doing the work and or studying... may not be relaying the correct message to your child... Me? If you do not study or do not do your work in school I am not blaming the teacher I am blaming my child and reviewing how I approach my children's school work... meaning I will probably ride him or her even harder to let him or her know how important their education is to me as a 'parent'.

In reality what mindset do we create when we show our children that by yelling and threatening you can bypass doing what is expected of you? When your child becomes an adult how will he address similar issues in the work place?

Who do you say is to blame when you foster and perpetuate bad behaviour with the thinking that the ends justify the means? And you do this in front of your child? disregard for peoples feelings, racism, violent behaviour, lack of respect, greed, hate, these are not things that people magically wake up with as part of their personality! it is something that has been nurtured and reinforced as they grow into adulthood!  

My grandmother always said that "you can not buy love" and may god rest her soul but she was right on so many different levels!

Many of us may have not had the most wonderful childhood however as adults we realize that we want more for our children... we want the things that as children we did not have and looking back with the nostalgic eye of our mind we think that our lives might have been better if we had this thing or the other thing... So as adults sometimes we go out of our way to buy our sons and daughters whatever they want, we buy them everything they ask for and give them little bribes if they do what we say. (?).

children however do get used to this, and the way the economy is going I can guarantee there are quite a few children across America throwing a temper tantrum because mommy and daddy cannot really afford to get those $200 sneakers or that video game console that your child just has to have! 

Again, Me? I see no problem for rewarding a child for a job exceedingly well done especially those times when they break the bar and go beyond my expectations! However, I cannot see myself rewarding my child for doing what is expected! Once again if you fast forward that child's life into their adulthood how will they react when they are not given a reward for what is essentially expected?

In the end (and basically because I am probably typing too much!) There is really no greater gift that can be bestowed on a human being than being able to bring a new life in the world... but there comes a great responsibility as well! As parents we must think on almost a cause and effect pattern and install into our children the ability to be responsible and give thought to their actions. We cannot control the actions of our children when they are not within our immediate sight however, we can be comforted in the fact that we showed them by example and teaching what it is we expect from them.

By passing responsibility for the raising of our children to the government, the schools, the media, entertainers, the television set and anyone else we think should pick up the burden we are not really being responsible parents and when our future turns out to be less than what we expected in the end you are going to have to ask yourself... 

At what point do you begin to take responsibility for your own actions?

As always you input is very important! Do you think i am right or completely out in left field?

Comment back or call into the GL line and leave your thoughts! 

Skype us at Ghettologic or call 718.577.1037

They are watching you... Really! They are!

"1984" the masterpiece from George Orwell painted a vivid picture of a world where the government monitors and controls everything down to the way it's citizens think!

In the book totalitarian control is achieved through a constant barrage of government created propaganda and the surveillance of the populace on a whole.

I have to admit, when I read 1984 as a teenager I think it made me more aware of my situation as a citizen in this country and the things government can and will do to control... even subjugate its citizens! To be honest, having read the book in the early 80s and having this new found awareness I began to start peeling back the layers of tint that the government had so carefully placed on my mind...

The Television Set

Even though my Grandfather continuously drilled into my brain that TV was a useless device (something he affectionately called the boob tube) I Know now he was freeing my mind  from the governments number 1 tool of mind control the television set! now that everyone has cable and/or satellite TV have you ever wondered what that little box can do besides change channels?

Do you think it can send back information about you? Your TV habits? what and when do you watch TV? How much would it take for them to put a camera or a microphone into that little cable box? I know the camera thingy sounds far fetched... But Comcast actually thought of publicly adding the feature just a few months ago! (story here) and by publicly I mean actually telling you and more than likely charging you for the ability to allow them or their partners to invade your privacy! and who would those partners be? Well it could be advertisers so that they can direct the adverts that are going to trigger you to buy or could it be the federal government? Last time I checked they actually are the top of the food chain when it comes to TV and television broadcasts?!?!?!

Did George Orwell just get the year wrong?

In retrospect I would really have to say no! And the strange thing about it is that the Government has been telling you all along! The old adage "there is nothing in life that is free" holds true for just about every thing the government offers to the public for the sake of convenience... 

Metro cards or mass transit fare cards =Tracking device

EZ Pass or toll device = Tracking device

Public assistance or Benefits debit cards = tracking device

Pretty soon all drivers licenses/state IDs will have a chip added with the already implemented bar code = TRACKING DEVICE!

Don't think I am making any sense? Think this is just another far fetched conspiracy theory?

One of the cooler things on the web right now is google maps and I really love the street view thingy... Do you think google is using a satellite or street cams? When I moved on my present block I could not bring up my neighborhood on street view however fast forward six months later I can now read my license plate off of my jeep! and is it a coincidence that there are these new grey wires coming from the bulb casing on the corner street light?

It is very very important for the government to know what its citizens are doing at all times...Why? I don't know! But its very important! 

For years they have been trying to get people to sign off on the subcutaneous chip! since the early eighties it has followed the same advertising model...

First it is introduced as a way to track your pets because We as a Americans place this huge attachment on our pets and would do everything in our power to keep them safe if only to keep them from running away or getting lost. 

Then (by coincidence?) usually after they are seeing a decent amount of sales on the pet market for the locater chip there is usually a child that goes missing... then the public is bombarded with the fact that the problem of missing and/or kidnapped children could be easily avoided with technology that has been in place for years! All you need to do is have your child implanted with the chip and voila no worries! and believe it or not at one point when a preteen went missing in Florida some politician wanted to have chip placement for children become mandatory!

for some strange reason it just never seems to pick up steam with the public (public showing a surprising amount of common sense?) so the next sales pitch becomes that you can have your entire medical history implanted under your skin so if you are traveling or cannot communicate the doctors have instant access to your medical records...

I have watched this dance go on for almost 30 years! 

And it is still going on! But the government does not go quietly into the night when they are intent on knowing everything that you do!

So how much are your activities being tracked on a daily basis? 

Well lets look at the life of a city dweller

You wake up and get ready for work as soon as you lock the door to your apartment you are being tracked watched and depending on the governments interest in you, charted!

Hall/Building/Elevator security camera

Street/Traffic Cameras

ATM camera (yes they are integrated into the actual ATM machine)!

Store/coffee shop security cam

Subway/Mass transit Security Cam

Office building security cameras

Lunchroom/restaurant cam

(reverse order till you get home)

Not too much room to even pull your undies out your butt crack without someone watching!

But although surveillance is a part of Orwell's governments policy of control in 1984... propaganda plays a major role as well!

And how is this accomplished? by the news and media outlets!

What better place to shape and mold the minds of American citizens than by using the device they spend 75% of their free time in front of... the television! When was the last time you fact checked a news story? If you are like most Americans you figure that "well if its on the news it must be true"! what better way to push any brand of propaganda? The news says that the war over in (you place conflict zone here) is going great and we are winning hands down, how do you prove or disprove it unless you are there? As you are watching and laughing at your favorite sitcom what message is really being subliminally transmitted to your brain via the storyline? Are the morals and ethics of Americans 'changing' or are they being 'changed'.

Emotion is an important aspect of control! Government usually begins changing the rules when emotions run high (Pearl Harbour, 911, Iraq,)

Did you know that the following is the description from  an actual patent request...

"Physiological effects have been observed in a human subject in response to stimulation of the skin with weak electromagnetic fields that are pulsed with certain frequencies near 1/2 Hz or 2.4 Hz, such as to excite a sensory resonance. Many computer monitors and TV tubes, when displaying pulsed images, emit pulsed electromagnetic fields of sufficient amplitudes to cause such excitation. It is therefore possible to manipulate the nervous system of a subject by pulsing images displayed on a nearby computer monitor or TV set."

And it does not stop there! you are not even safe online! yes the government can read your email track your online habits with cookies and flag your computer for further investigation (invasion) If you visit a website that they feel may be a threat to security or safety!

So how did we end up in this 1984 state of existence?

Well once again we have as a nation self inflicted ourselves by falling into the governments propaganda machine of induced fear! Fear of personal safety and property? We sign off on surveillance cams! 

Fear of terrorism? We sign off on tracking our movements on and offline be it telephone email or cell phone!

fear of finding ourselves or our loved ones lost or missing we sign off on having our movements tracked real time by GPS satellites!

By only feeding into the fear of what 'could happen' we are not looking at the long term effects that surveillance by the government does to our rights as individuals and as citizens of what is supposed to be a country based on freedom!

Every time you sign up for a 'rewards card' from a store, every time you run out and buy a product that makes your life easier by using a database along with 'digital fingerprinting', Every time you use a government controlled device that promises to protect you or your family by transmitting information to a computer or computer controlled device...

You are helping to speed up the process of making our world mirror the world of George Orwell's 1984.

So in reality next time you are picking your nose, or fixing your bra, or pulling your undies out of your butt crack remember...

They are watching you... Really! They are!

Protect and Serve... Who!

Once again you have to ask yourself if the police are protecting the public... Who is protecting the public from the police?

I caught this story almost by accident while going through the online newspapers this weekend....

"Two NYC police officer are accused of raping a drunken woman after they were called to escort her home.

Last December 7, a taxi driver called 911 after a passenger had vomited in his car and couldn't find her cab fare.
The woman’s apartment surveillance video showed the two unidentified officers helping her inside her building, and it also showed them returning to the building for a second time about half an hour later.

Both men have been stripped of their guns and badges and were placed on modified desk duty.

During an Internal Affairs investigation, a packet of heroin was found in one of the accused officer’s locker, but he claimed that he had forgotten to voucher the drugs after confiscating them in a separate case.

Both cops were given a drug tests and passed."

(Original story here)

Having lived in NYC during what can only be called the Giuliani "era of terror" where police where allowed to do whatever they wanted with the official position being (at times in complete disregard to the facts given) "We need to allow time for all of the facts to be brought forward before we make any hasty judgements! Our legal system says that all are innocent until proven guilty"!

However this same thought pattern was never the case for some unlucky person picked up in random and often illegal sweeps and raids in the ghettos across the city! In these cases we were told that whoever the cops arrested has a previous record and therefore more than likely was guilty of whatever crime they were accused of, by the public questioning the actions of NYC's finest they were only hampering them from doing their job!

So who is in place to protect the public when police go bad? In reality this is not an isolated case, a google news search will support this statement! And the fact that it has happened to others will not make the trauma of being violated go away for this young woman! However...(and here is my spider man quote of the week!)

"With great power comes great responsibility!"

The hiring process or the training process or the professional development process of Americas law enforcement needs to seriously be looked at and overhauled and the police of this country need to be held to a higher standard!

What do i mean by that?

1) When a cop or cops commit a crime "job stress" should no longer be an acceptable excuse! We all have job stress in one way or the other! I have days that I may not be able to get anything done because the stress and anxiety of getting everything done is at times hard to bear! However if I go out and kill or rape or assault someone because of my "job stress" not only will I be charged and convicted the judge will more than likely ask that if the stress was so unbearable why didn't i quit my job instead of hurting another human being?!? Or even seek professional help?

Police are not drafted into their job! This is a personal choice! At any given time they can resign from their position! Police have some of the best mental health resources available to them and can usually take a leave of absence with little fear of administrative repercussion for any job stress or mental instability issues!

In other words... You applied for the job, went through the training. and understood what your job entailed!

2) You have a gun with basically a license to kill (James bond reference there)! The reason being is that a weapon is given to you to protect yourself as well as the public safety on a whole! It is not given to an officer of the law to become an extension of his/her ego... your badge as well is not given to you for the purpose of bullying or intimidation it is given to you to identify yourself to the public as an officer of the law in the simplest terms... one of the good guys! Just like your weapon it was not issued to you (the police officer) as a tool of intimidation!

So if a police officer is caught misusing the resources given to him should he not be held to at least the same standards that the rest of the work force must abide by! If I use my computer at work to search for porn I know that there is a good chance that I will be suspended or fired! However even though my misuse of job resources may be unethical and may even offend my coworkers the badge and weapon given to a police officer can have more detrimental and far reaching effect! Police have used there badges to escort drugs from airports to drug traffickers they have used badges to allow criminals into areas they may not have been able to access for nefarious purposes and they have a long standing trend of menacing innocent civilians with their weapons in bars, nightclubs and even supermarkets! So should the misuse of tools given to an office to facilitate his job not be an offense that carries a higher punishment?

3) Accountability on all levels! Police in the last few years have complained that they can not help the public with criminal situations/investigations (especially in the ghettos of America) because of what they call non cooperation or the failure to communicate information to law enforcement or to use ghetto terminology "snitching"! The official stance on this is somebody somewhere saw or knows something! and believe it or not if you have information about a crime and do not divulge it to law enforcement... you as a citizen can be charged with a crime (obstruction of justice)! so what happens if an officer knows that his partner has committed a crime and does not come forward with the information? or higher administration is aware of wrong doings by their subordinates? shouldn't they be charged as well? In the military (Global Police Force?) the chain of command is setup so that not only are you accountable for your actions but those under your charge as well! So the excuse of I did not know that they were doing (place crime here) usually does not work as an excuse! And as a superior you might find yourself charged as well!

4) The crime to punishment ratio should be ten times as severe for a public official as it would be for a private citizen!

If I rob a bank and get caught (not even including the fact that I am black) I am going to jail and if the DA has their way I am going for a very long time! So why when a public official or more specifically an officer is caught he is given the benefit of the doubt? or if he is sentenced his public service becomes a factor in giving him a lesser or less severe punishment? They way I thought society was supposed to work was... Those entrusted with the care safeguarding and security of the public safety are indeed held to a higher standard of behaviour and ethics? So if a police officer is caught robbing that same bank they should be sentenced more severely if only for the fact that they have broken the public trust!?!

Back to the story at hand!

so these cops even though stripped of their badges are still at work? Collecting a paycheck? and the whole "package" of heroin thing in your personal locker! The last time i checked there was a protocol in place as to how cops should handle evidence especially controlled substances (if only to keep them from having their own personal street pharmacy) and mismanagement of evidence is grounds for suspension and /or termination! Then a rape charge thrown on top of it?!?!?!?

Like Craig in South park said "I would be so cool if I could get away with that"!

While writing my book The Ghetto Survival Guide I went over a whole chapter that looks at how those that have been entrusted with the public trust have basically gone completely bonkers almost as if they are attempting to bring to life once again the cops characters as seen in the Blaxplotation films of the 70s!

The four points I bring up are just four of many things that need to be addressed with law enforcement and how are elected officials see that maybe giving a free for all pass to police in the spirit on the war on crime or the war on drugs might take a bit of scrutiny as well.

Some of the mail I have gotten about my posts on line as well as my book would lead you to think that I am only concerned about Blacks and Latinos and those that live in the ghetto... Just to clarify to you all... an injustice is an injustice! mismanagement of policy is still mismanagement of policy! Its just that we on a whole as Blacks and Latinos just see it a whole lot more than the rest of America!

My thoughts and prayers go out to the young lady who has had to live through this traumatic event.

So if the police are protecting and serving... who are they protecting!

Let me inconvenience you....

I really had to write about this! Even though I hoped to speak about a more deeper topic for my second post... Something had to be addressed about this new trend I am starting to see. 

Is it the economy? Is it a growing disregard for our fellow citizens? Are people just overall becoming crankier and meaner?

Case in point the supermarket...

I have just approached the meat aisle to look at the sale that they were having on whole Angus roasts (1.99/lb!)  The  aisle had some traffic but no one is anywhere near the roast, My cart is pointed towards that direction and no sooner did i tell my wife "Look that's a nice sale this lady cuts in front of my cart (quite aggressively) and positions herself so as to not allow myself near the area of my interest. I just decide i will wait my turn since there are many roasts on display, my wife decides to go to another aisle however as she passes the woman looks up and seems to be moving on but she glances at me and stops her cart and get this... she pulls out her cell phone and begins to make a call! While still blocking the display!... Since I am a firm believer in being polite I kindly walk up to the lady and say "excuse me do you mind if i take a look at these"?

I really expected her to just wheel her phone and cart out of the way however for some strange reason she decided that giving me a nasty "well excuse the hell out of me for wanting to shop in YOUR store"! Basically I Ignored her and went to buy my choice pieces of meat!

But why did I have to go through this scene? and the lady did not even make a purchase from that display! Believe it or not I have changed my shopping habits to either early in the morning or late at night strictly because this is happening more and more in my local supermarkets! I have had people block aisles to hold conversations damn near run me over with their carts to get in front of me only to come to a dead stop! and the parking lots are a mess! 

No lie! My old jeep the windows where tinted kind of heavily I actually watched a lady walk her empty cart past the cart Que and place it directly behind my jeep!  She did it on purpose because she actually walked it up to the rear hatch and ensured it did not slam into the car! when I opened my door she looked as if the world had ended I asked her why she was placing a cart right behind my vehicle? she just mumbled some kind of apology and put it in the cart Que! But why?!? What joy are you getting by being mean for no reason? much less to a random stranger?

I see it gas stations where people after pumping their gas at a crowded station will not pull their car off of the pump line and park it to buy their lotto or cigs...No, they leave the car right there and go inside the store and wait on line with no regards to the 4 or 5 cars waiting for gas!

I no longer live in NYC however I often go back to shop for gear, electronics and other things not available in Albany... To keep my blood pressure down i find it easier to park my car once I get into the city and get a metro card, Taking the train to my sub-destinations... Why when the train gets crowded do people decide that every inanimate object should have a seat! from cups of coffee, to bags of food, to knapsacks/purses, and my favorite hats and gloves? The reality is if you are riding mass transit you really may not like the fact of having complete strangers sitting right next to you... However it is mass transit... so it is kind of unfair to think that because you have paid your fare you should be able to monopolize the seat next to you forcing someone to stand for the total of their trip! And these people actually cop an attitude when asked to move their property so another fare paying rider can sit down! Then you have those who block the aisles with their property instead of placing it under their seat... I have actually watched people who have had their gear stowed under their seat then pull it out to the center of the aisle when the train begins to get crowded! 

Its almost like the invasion of the body snatchers where people just have no emotion or concerns about others. 

I really have come to hate malls I only go when I need to purchase something... I go to that store, buy my item, get in my car and leave! I have really come to believe that people wake up in a bad mood jump in their car and head to the mall for the sole purpose of trying to make someone life miserable... 

Long line? Let me engage the cashier in trivial conversation after my purchase has been rung up! after waiting on line and having you ring up my multiple purchases let me now begin to look for my credit card and find out I do not have it! Or I have no ID to prove that this is my credit card! Lets have a community meeting in front of the escalators or stairs basically screw those who need to use these because moving to the side lessens my importance! 

Even though I may have waited patiently for a salesman to become free to ask my questions you go right ahead and engage him with your really quick question since my time is not as important as yours! 

Better yet hold up the line and refuse to move even after the sales rep has offered to bring his or her supervisor over to address your (usually trivial) concerns!

Please let your kids run free through out the store and do whatever they want! I am glad that you have found a way to get your shopping done while allowing your children a chance to blow off some steam! And if you lose track of them just tell security and they will call a code Adam and lock me in the store while everyone stops to find your kid that you should have been watching anyway!

Again why do people go out of their way to inconvenience others? I never understood why grown people would just lose it in stores now I see it all too clearly!

These people should just come out and warn others of their intent!

They should actually walk up to their intended victim and say Hi! Let me inconvenience you!