It's a plaster and lath wall with wall paper. That may be the reason. It's a sore subject with them so I avoid it. My nose is super sensitive to smells and is easily offended, if it were my house it wouldn't have been a week before it was torn open.

On today's edition of "Retarded or High", a woman could not comprehend the price of having two keys made.

We duplicate keys for $2 each, and after digging in her pockets and bringing out all her nickels, the woman found that she only had $3.50. It took me about three minutes to explain that either I could make one key for $2, or she could come back with fifty more cents and I could make both keys.

In this case she was ruled Retarded. About 10% of our customers are profoundly uneducated and moronic. That part of the job is pretty sad.

And I know we're not supposed to use the word "retarded", but I'm on the fence here because these people are just amazingly fucking retarded. I'm not sure how they get through their day.

I think it is clear to fluent, native English speakers within the span of several generations that we can broadly define as our cultural peer group, that the word "retarded" is, at this point in time, 1) NEVER used to mean a person who is developmentally delayed due to some genetic or physiological condition, and 2) ALWAYS used to mean someone who made a bone-headed decision, or even has semi-permanently stunted their own cognitive capacity via some poor lifestyle choice such as heavy drinking or religion.

I'm using it wrong!

But seriously, we all know what it means. Right now I am spending a lot of time with a close friend of ours whose daughter is severely developmentally delayed. You don't use the "R" word around Mama bear simply because you don't want to get the lecture. Immediately afterwards, when not in her presence and there is no imminent argument-causing subjects hanging over your head like a grand piano, cultural normalcy and the accepted meanings of words in the English language resumes.

Sorry folks, words have meanings. We don't get to force a custom dictionary on the rest of humanity.

Of course we do. The N word used to be in common use, and now it's not.

But, I want to use the word Nutritious.

The "N" word is patently offensive and was conceived of and understood to be as such.

Help me understand the relation to decommissioned medical terminology such as moron, idiot, and imbecile...??? These are no longer defined in the diagnostic lexicon, and are universally understood to have a non-medical meaning. Retard is the latest word to enter into this harmless category. I believe that there is no misunderstanding about what is meant to refer to someone or something as retarded. You can force the conflict, but you have to distort natural discourse to get there.

Imbecile.

If it's not offensive to some people, then why are we talking about it?

I tried to find a clip of Louis C.K. doing his rant about "The N word" from his show, Chewed Up, but they all had ads in front of them. Which sucks because they are stealing his content and monetizing it. Steal it and put it up for free, OK, but earning ad revenue? fuck you.

Anyway, look for it.

Nevermind, here's the transcript:

...The thing that offends me the most, is every time that I hear the “N” word. Not “nigger” by the way. I mean the “N” word, literally whenever a white lady on CNN with nice hair says: “The ‘N’ word.” That’s just white people getting away with saying nigger, that’s all that is. They found a way to say nigger. “N word.” It’s bullshit cause when you say the “N word” you put the word nigger in the listeners head. That’s what saying a word is. You say the N word and I go oh she means nigger. You're making me say it in my head. Why don’t you fucking say it instead and take responsibility, with the shitty words you wanna say. Just say it, don’t hide behind the first letter like a faggot just say it, say nigger you stupid cunt. I don’t know I don’t care. Somebody will kick my ass.

I mean all this sh!t goes on in my head. I don’t – really – like: I thought the word nigger the other day – I’m gonna tell you this story and it wasn’t racist it wasn’t even a race even connotation, let me tell you what happened. I went to a coffee place and it was a – cool a cool indie coffee – I don’t like Starbucks anymore cause you go there and they – they don’t care anymore, they just press a button and some old ladies diarrhea comes out and they give it to you. So I go to a young people cool coffee place with a like: My band’s playing notices on the wall. And it’s like called The hollowing do-whatever thing. The dude behind the counter has got a tight t shirt and a ponytail and he’s ah: “What’s up man?” And I was like: “Hey could I get a cappuccino?” And he’s like: “Ya, right on, ya.” Really like. He’s amazed that he could help me like. “Oh ya, I got all the stuff right here.” “That’s awesome.” And so he starts making my coffee just so, he works so hard, he ground the beans, just that one cup and put em in the thing and tamped them with this old thing, he click clacked and click and fuckin and then he took the milk and he frothed it for like an hour and then he banged it on the counter, I don’t know why – it was awesome, he scooped it in, and put a little Cocoa on it. And then “Here you go, man.” And I was just blown away. For some reason as I left there the thought in my head was: “That nigger made the shit out of my coffee.” I don’t know why. He wasn’t black. It was what was in my heart for some reason. Was that nigger made the shit out of my coffee. I don’t know. I don’t care.

Yeah. I agree with him. But at the same time, I have a hard time bringing myself to type the actual word.

Glatt, we're talking about it #1 because UT mentioned it; but I get your point, he mentioned the thing that exists, that we're talking about. The question to me is, not why are we talking about it by why does it exist? I think that a large part of the reason is that as a modern, enlightened society we get into a sort of competition to find things to be offended by--it's a way of showing our refined cultural acumen, and as we all know, people love to show off and look superior.

Now, when making that effort, we have to pretend to forget what words mean, I draw the line. Because, to me intellectual honesty is more important than a semantic pissing contest.

Our society moves forward at a blistering pace, with new information and modes of communication developing overnight, leading us to Kurzweil's predicted singularity in 2045, for which known sociological models cannot make predictions. In this context, I am baffled that as I discuss this topic on the magic box in my pocket which sends my thoughts all over the world in the blink of an eye, I might have to walk on eggshells because someone is arbitrarily choosing word definitions from a paper copy of a dictionary from before I was born!

Which is it? Are we moving forwards or backwards?

I don't know. Sometimes a word will cross over the line and become hurtful and I don't like to be an asshole and I don't want to hurt anyone. On the other hand, retarded is such a useful and colorful term and people should buck up and stop their whining. I don't know.

My lecture begins...

IMO, the written or spoken use of the "N-word" and "retard" points to
the character of the speaker, not the person or behavior, or the listener.

For parents and relatives of individuals with disabilities, the word "retarded"
is not just some simple, clean, description of some silly/immature action.
It's has become a degrading, prejudiced word that conveys that
the speaker has little or no respect for their child.
... particularly since that same kind of "retarded behavior" can/does
come about through accident or illness, not just mental maturity.

The word used to be in the name of the national organization,
the ARC, Association for Retarded Children. As those children grew older,
the group changed the name to Association for Retarded Citizens.
Now, due to inappropriate schoolyard use of "retard", the organization
has become simply, The ARC of the Untied States.

The Wiki description of "Euphemism treadmill" with respect
to Disability and Handicap is worth reading (here)

Ironically, parents originally used the word "retarded" as a word of hope !
... their hope that with time their child catch up and eventually be "normal" for their age.
But the degrading use of the word by others prompted the changes in the meaning of the ARC.

If you're not a Black-American or a relative of a person with disabilities,
you are probably not feeling the real pain the use of such words can/does inflict.

My bottom line is in my signature below...

A black woman just called me "sweetie". It is a good day.

But my mama reports that she hates being called "sweetheart" sort of names by clerks and such. She reports that, as an old woman, there are more and more people calling her things like that. She's quite miserable at times, and really good at casting things in a negative light. Sometimes I must pay her no heed or the negativity sinks in.

I agree with this.

I see truth in this, and yet I think that "retard" has not only crossed over into being hurtful, it was probably hurtful all along, and I think that trumps any literary color the word imparts. I think there are other colorful words that offend nobody.

A quick Thesaurus search:

idiot, blockhead, clod, dunce, fool, imbecile, moron, nincompoop, nitwit, dimwit, bonehead, dolt, dullard, ignoramus, numskull, simpleton, twit, birdbrain, buffoon, donkey, dope, dork, drip, dunderhead, goof, goof ball, half-wit, knucklehead, lame-brain, lightweight, ninny, oaf, pinhead, scatterbrain

well, maybe clodfobble would be insulted by one of those.

We enjoy using the epithet, "Knucklehead" freely.

I think you are all a bunch of retarded n***** c****.

Well there you have it. I spoke that into tapatalk. It censored the bad ones. Use retard as much as you want to.

I thought retarded just meant you got new tires..?

I now say reTARD like fat jesus.

I consider myself both a geek and a nerd; these used to be degrading insults, but no longer, as we grew up and realized that we are okay. Other really bad words, like "queer" and "nigger" have been co-opted by a purposeful campaign to "take back" the words and remove their power. Other bad words lose their impact through attrition, falling by the wayside of common usage or understood meaning.

The ones that stay in the spotlight, never go away, and never get defused, stay "bad" --but is this the word's fault, or the way it is handled, having its power and "badness" actually championed and perpetuated by the very people who wish the word would simply vanish in a puff of collective amnesia?

I guess self-proclaimed geeks, nerds, queers, and niggers are speaking for themselves, whereas the citizens against calling things retarded are erring on the side of caution in the defense of a protected class.

And I understand that, but it doesn't mean they aren't doing the exact wrong thing.

I have been on the fence about cloning "what makes you a tad apprehensive..." with
"what makes you, a tard, apprehensive..." But I think it is in poor taste.

Every day a story at the Shop. No, every hour really.

I'm feeling a little out of my element today because I'm still learning, and there is an infinite amount to learn. I'm making little mistakes a lot because there are all these little different ways of doing everything. It's dizzying.

Today I really got into identifying gold. The test for real gold is interesting: you scratch the item on a slate, and put a drop of nitric acid over the visible scratch mark. If it disappears, it's not gold. The acid eats away anything else. This method has been known for centuries, and is the origin of the phrase "stand the acid test".

I also learned which drawer in the safe you shouldn't open, because it contains nothing, but triggers a silent alarm. Glad they taught me that on my fifth day.

No way, my username is intended to imply a certain amount of self-deprecation.

My personal preference is "shit-wit." But for the record, I do say the word "retarded" all the time, myself, and I really should stop because I'm sure I have accidentally said it among friends who are offended by it.

Sorry i can haz hijack ur thread, broseph. My bad.
:::non-gay ass slap:::

Good hustle, good hustle.

Put on you rally caps--we're still in this!

Well, if that term makes you feel good, I'll call you that from now on, sweetie. ;):D

As a response to your mom, I find being called "sweetie," "sweetheart," or of such a tad insulting. Not sure why, but that's how I feel. It's like that person, an older person, kinda looks down on you, like you're some kind of child. I don't really get upset though. I don't really have a grasp of what or how I feel exactly. When I can get it in words, I will come back with them. :D

In fact I may struggle to know how much to post. As in, I could post a lot more because there is weirdness and craziness ALL THE TIME.

My day today started on the way from the parking lot to the shop, when a bat-shit crazy old white woman was yelling BEANERS!! and other angry horrible things to the young Mexican women walking in front of me. They paid her no heed. This is my new normal.

My worry now is that I may be too sensitive to handle this. Today a desperate woman spent a good half hour fuming in the shop because I told her on the phone that we might take her home entertainment unit -- and her home entertainment unit turned out to be a piece of crap and we would only buy it, not pawn for it. She didn't even have the bus fare to get herself home without selling it.

But of course that could have been just her nature, could have been lies, making drama at every turn. We just don't know.

Crispy critters = stoned

Ingredient R = retarded

Why can't UT just admit he wants to work in a psych ward?

I'm curious about how pawn shops work. My experience with pawn shops is limited.

Let's say I have a widget that cost $300 new, and on ebay, they go for $100 used. What does the pawn shop pay me if I try to unload it? And I understand the pawn shop will give you a loan on something if you request it, and it's not crap. Is what they will loan me less than what they will pay me to buy it?

Is there any thought at all given to the possibility that stuff is stolen? If so, will the pawn shop turn it down, or does physical possession of something imply ownership? I suppose if records are kept of who drops stuff off, then if something is stolen the cops can track down the thief. Do people ever come in looking for their stolen stuff?

What are some of the most commonly pawned items, and what are your best sellers?

Does the pawn shop look for good deals and bargains, playing on sellers' lack of knowledge, or is it more like a financial institution that tries to determine the actual value of an item and everything is disclosed to all parties?

Lots of questions, I know! But I'd really be curious to hear how one of these places works.

It really depends on what the widget is, because the shop has to hold the item for at least 3 months in a buy, 5 months on a pawn. So we are taking a risk on some items, such as laptops, that the item will not lose value quickly. This is why the pawn shop is not the best place to sell things.

But on average we would probably buy it for $50, pawn it for $20.

My co-worker points out that if a large black man comes in with a iPad and it says "Brittany's tablet" and has a bunch of pictures of white girls at their sleepover, it's stolen. But we can't judge. We don't really know. We may use that kind of information to get a better deal for us and we might just buy it for $20.

What happens then is the person who got robbed files a police report, and the police regularly come around with items and descriptions and ask to see certain things. If they can identify it, the person can come around and buy it back from us at the rate we paid. Cops come around all the time with their lists and the system works pretty well.

First day I worked full time, there was a cop at the door looking for a PA system that a guy robbed from a church. He was positively delighted not only to identify the system, but we had video of the guy who pawned it. The cop took the video on his thumb drive, the items were recovered and the dude was arrested. It turned out he was on parole from being jailed for theft, and now they have a perfect evidence trail of this theft, and a judge will hear that he robbed this from a church and he'll go back in for a long while.

The most pawned item is jewelry. The ghetto folks treat their jewelry as their savings, their emergency money, their safety deposit box. It's good for us because the item is small, and we can quickly evaluate it, do a deal and put it in a massive safe.

We absolutely try to do the best deal for us and there are tricks to getting that done, which I'm learning. The opener is to ask what the person wants. If they have an expectation that their ring is worth $300, because they paid the massive markup at a department store, we often tell them we're not even close because the shop is only in it for the gold. Everything is melted down after 90 days or when it goes out of pawn.

I've only been in pawn shops a couple times, and both times I was looking for bargains. But everything was pretty expensive. I was expecting flea market prices, but the pawn shop had ebay or higher prices.

Yeah, if you think about it from the store's POV, if we can sell it and ship it on eBay and get more than we can fetch in the shop, why would we ever put it out for someone to buy? That would be monumentally ret- I mean, idiotic.

But here in the ghetto, we are selling to people (and buying from people) who don't even know what eBay is! Also, it's nice to have the items because it reminds people what they can bring us. And in cases like musical instruments, it's better to buy locally, because then you can test it out. We have a few interesting basses in right now and I hope to buy one for a backup instrument.

Musical gear, definitely looking for a unique item you can hold in your hands and evaluate. Anything less than retail is helping your pocketbook.

There's a lot to be said for buying local too.

ebay *can* be local, somebody's selling it from somewhere, of course. But I know where the pawnshop's storefront is. Or the Trading Musician. Or Dusty Strings. Or American Music. Or the Guitar Store.

Today is a good day because it's rainy out and that seems to keep the crazy people away. We've been open for two hours and so far no crazy people. Also, because there's less volume of people, I get to Cellarize in the down time.

Rain turns my commute into an hour and a half though, and I had to do some crazy driving to be here on time. I was hydroplaning it pretty bad.

scary! better late than dead, eh?

No, the manager is one of those sorts who is really fixated on lateness. I figure I can't be late. Which is really a PITA because the commute is already a bitch and it's hard to know how broken the roads are.

ah.. good to know. then just adjust for the worst possible commute, add some constant and make that the baseline leave the house time any earlieness can be spent cellarizing or coffee drinking or sitting in the parking lot. whatever. knowing a manager's third rail like this is very valuable

You got that right! Also I think the previous guy in this position started to become notoriously late, probably being passive-aggressive about it because it was a thing, so my guy is a little paranoid and I can see that this is something he hopes to avoid in people in the future.

Yabbut living a little far from the pawnshop is a good thing. You're less likely to bump into the crazies and get recognised by them when you're chillin' in your own 'hood.

I think I mentioned a double bass earlier but I can't find where. Today the pawner of the bass came in. It's the son of the guy who originally owned it, and he was a kinda well-known Phila bassist who was even on the Cosby Show playing jazz at one point. His son was so pleased to hear that a bass player was at the shop watching over the instrument.

Many customers smell bad. About a third, actually. It can be really bad.

My suggestion was a bottle of Febreeze hooked up to the door, in such a way that whenever the door opens, a little spritz should spray out and they walk through it.

It would be an important service for a lot of people.

Get an ultrasonic humidifier and dump half a bottle of Ozium into it. They could walk through a cloud of that.

Yesterday was my first angry incident with a person whose pawn went beyond their 5-month limit.

A woman calls on the phone, starts at volume 9, and then goes to straight to 11 on being told that her precious jewelry had been melted and broken down to its component metals. I held the phone away from my ear, and everyone in the store could hear, but there was no explanation that could possibly soothe her and she merely had to vent until her adrenaline levels reached maximum and went down.

On good advice, I hung up on her several times, and each time she called back at volume 9 and went to 11 inside one sentence.

Thankfully, she demanded my manager. This was a chance to hand off to someone with 22 years experience in dealing with immense assholes who can't manage their lives. Who want to scream at others, instead either getting their shit together or starting an opiate addiction. They say opiates are bad for people, but I think this woman would live longer if she was on them -- as opposed to going nuclear, which one expects she does pretty much every day of her life.

I pretty much like to avoid conflict at any cost, but the guys explained that this is not conflict. She is not really yelling at us. She is ghetto-ignorant and probably slightly sociopathic, and doesn't really expect a result from this ranting. She is living inside her own skull and isn't even acknowledging that anyone else is involved in her horrible world where her jewelry no longer exists.

Guy just came in and asked if we sell the modems for computers. After some back and forth it turned out that he was talking about the computer itself. As in, not the keyboard, mouse or monitor, but the black box that sits next to them. The computer.

The ignorance, it can be remarkable.

Oh, you mean the "CPU" ... yeah.

You should have sold him a nice 300 baud dial-up for a couple of hundred. After all, the customer is always right - even when stupid.

In the same vein, we opticians are often told that the medicine ran out of the lenses, and get asked if we could put more in.

no. tell me no.

Of course, because you need a prescription , right? Those are for medicine. Duh.

Perfectly logical.

... just like when you find a coke bottle that fell from the sky.

What...???

UT, was it Jill Kelley whose jewelry was consigned to the fire?

yes. tell me yes.

Sorry, some people are just that ignorant.