I spend a lot of time in my local Waitrose because I find it comforting even if I don’t buy much.
This is a kind of temple to soft British capitalism; a good-natured, eccentric mix of relatively high-quality foods whose chemicals and packaging are kept in check by countless regulations, whose prices are high but feel nothing compared to Whole Foods or the like. American luxury chain.
I love checking out the latest in luxury comfort. Little did I know I wanted a fresh mix of crab and scallops in a large shell ready to eat; tzatziki filled with watercress, a large glass cup with a bee motif? No: but now that I know it exists, maybe it turns out it does!
As I happily browsed through pomegranate sorbets and rose-harissa pastes, I often thought, “What will they think of next?” I mutter.
But this is turning out to be a store that looks like it belongs to an era when Britons didn’t have to do their shopping under the watchful eyes of ubiquitous cameras and security guards.
This is a time when we don’t expect bandits to regularly break into stores and steal the most expensive things they can get their hands on, such as spirits and wine. A time when the public morality that governed much of daily life was so rarely broken that most customers remained unaware of violations for years.
In other words, it’s an era that is apparently long gone. Last week, Lucy Brown, head of central operations and security for the John Lewis partnership, bluntly said rising shoplifting rates were not related to the cost of living, as bleeding-heart types insist. “I can’t see that,” she said. “I don’t describe it as need, but purely as greed.”
“There are many people who steal as many hours a week as I work, which is too much. This is actually their profession.
There are organized gangs. . . They will dismantle the shelves. . . “They do this to resell.” Other thieves do this to finance various addictions.
Brown’s forthright assessments are unusual. It is deeply unpopular to point out the obvious moral decay of society and the proliferation of bad actors, rather than placing the blame on a harsh and ruthless social system, the evil Tories in Westminster, or inequality. This is not surprising; Giving people moral authority and responsibility for their actions is contrary to Wakerati’s fundamental worldview. But “greed, not need” seems exactly the right line to me.
I’ve been to Waitrose many times, dived into the latest tin of hazelnut mix and heard a huge scuffle, shouts of security guards and alarm sounds.
The staff working in the alcohol section (next to the nuts section) tell me that today’s gangs don’t even need basic necessities. They swagger, grab and run in a coordinated manner to get the most expensive drink. They show neither fear, nor shame, nor concern for the consequences (they are sure that there will be none).
The personnel are not trained in combat or self-defense, so don’t be tempted to intervene too extensively, which is understandable. It’s not safe for them to do this.
It’s surprising that being a Waitrose floor worker is now one of the most dangerous, crime-ridden jobs on the high street.
How did that happen? It seems obvious to me: a combination of general cultural decadence and backfiring progressive good intentions (evident in the over-indulgence of the justice system and police) has created a new generation of blinded youth; these people can only be described as morally savage. .
As arrogant as it sounds, the truth is that when gangland banditry reaches Waitrose and M&S, something has gone terribly wrong. This is not because Waitrose customers deserve the peace of well-managed law and order more than Tesco and Asda customers, but because the rank and file of violent crime are completely on the rise.
To see where things are heading, we can look to the Co-op, which has outposts in communities across Britain. As their own website states, they have spent “more than £200 million” on security in recent years.
Various laborious and upbeat texts detail the installation of “smart” CCTV, Smart Water “fog systems,” hardened kiosks, and a system called MySafety that allows staff to report crime from their own devices and body-worn cameras to confuse thieves looking for the exit.
Despite this, the Co-operative said in April that incidents of theft, harassment, violence and anti-social behavior had increased by 44 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022, with nearly 1,000 cases a day.
Unless Labor can achieve a transformation of British law and order, which seems unlikely, we will go the way of America’s west coast stores, where everything from bottled water to toothpaste will be locked in cupboards and staff will have to take them out. .
This is a sad and strange thought; Orange juice and toilet paper chained to the shelves of Waitrose.
It’s also sad that more and more electronic eyes will be needed to monitor shoppers; not because I find it intrusive, but because it reminds me of how completely shattered the social contract seems to be.
This blunting of morality is a broader problem in youth culture. City residents have become accustomed to the sense of enormity in the environment as knife crime appears to be out of control. But what gives us goosebumps and points to the difficulties we will soon face is the complete lack of remorse the murderers showed in the dock.
Being tough on crime is one thing; Convincing Britain’s new wild youth to grow up is one thing, and much more difficult.