We Card

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 02:34

So yesterday was my birthday, and on Saturday night out of curiousity I went to a convenience store last night to buy a pack of smokes at 11:58 PM. Believe it or not, the guy wouldn't sell them to me, even though I was two minutes from being 18. I looked at the clock, looked back at him, and just laughed inside.

And that's not even the funny part: I thought it was ridiculous, but I just said 'Ok whatever, let's just wait until 12:01 then.' He said 'nope, we close at midnight, sorry.' Unbe-freaking-lievable. I went to the 24-hr place nextdoor and bought some, and on the way home I drove past the place I went to first. The cashier was still there at 12:15, cleaning up to go home, and somehow he couldn't have just sold me some smokes ten seconds after 12. Unbelievable, I felt like I was in a friggin sitcom.

Does this make sense to any rational human being here? Have the health Nazis gone too far? (maybe that's not fair to Nazis...)

Frankychan · April 21, 2003, 02:42

you can't be serious right?

Static Universe · April 21, 2003, 02:46

If you ever worked the night shift, you know that being an ***hole is about the only reward you get.

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 02:49

Quote:

Originally posted by Frankychan

you can't be serious right?

Dead serious. That's what it's like in Minnesota.

A friend of mine said that one time this 60-year old lady went up to him outside a gas station and said 'could you buy me a pack of cigarettes? I forgot my I.D.' They card everybody, apparently for no other reason than to piss people off.

Hueij · April 21, 2003, 03:00

I know the US is always two steps ahead of us but over here things are beginning to look very bleak for smokers too. Maybe we should organize and start marching the streets of our respective capitals, armed with sigarets.

"SMOKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!"

David Floyd · April 21, 2003, 03:02

Quote:

Does this make sense to any rational human being here? Have the health Nazis gone too far? (maybe that's not fair to Nazis...)

Actually, it isn't the health Nazis, it's the soccor moms and the fundies. Same reason we have draconian drinking laws, too.

Dis · April 21, 2003, 03:04

smoking is bad for you. why do it?

I suggest smoking weed instead.

Jaguar · April 21, 2003, 03:08

He should have waited until 12:01.

Hueij · April 21, 2003, 03:10

Quote:

smoking is bad for you. why do it?

If you only do what's good for you, you won't be doing much, won't you...

Besides, if you don't smoke you don't live any longer, it only feels longer.

Dis · April 21, 2003, 03:14

that's not a very good argument.

for women it makes their skin look like crap. I never know why women do it. But even men look worse when smoking.

and that hacking cough is so attractive.

stop defending your disgusting habits. there is no good reason to smoke.

Az · April 21, 2003, 03:36

I see nothing wrong with smoking once in a while, but making a habit of it is just stupid.

Skanky Burns · April 21, 2003, 04:02

While to a sensible person two minutes doesn't make much difference, if he were fined for selling cigarettes to a minor two minutes could be two years for all the law cares. If he sells before midnight he could be busted for selling to a minor. If he sells after midnight he could be busted for selling outside the business' lisenced trading hours - again with a large fine. Why risk a hefty fine for someone you just met - who could very well be an undercover cop?

Dis · April 21, 2003, 05:34

exactly. There is a word for placing yourself in another's situation.

You have store clerks who need the money working a crap job. The goverment is cracking down using undercover officers and such. They have no way of knowing.

don't blame the clerks, blame the goverment.

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 09:06

Quote:

Originally posted by Skanky Burns
While to a sensible person two minutes doesn't make much difference, if he were fined for selling cigarettes to a minor two minutes could be two years for all the law cares. If he sells before midnight he could be busted for selling to a minor. If he sells after midnight he could be busted for selling outside the business' lisenced trading hours - again with a large fine. Why risk a hefty fine for someone you just met - who could very well be an undercover cop?

I know, and the thought occurred to me even before I went in that he might smell a sting, as that's the same explanation I've gotten from every cashier to whom I ever said 'come on...'. Frankly I can't blame them, as they have been cracking down in Minnesota. Hell, there were anti-tobacco clubs I heard about in highschool that considered getting cashiers fired a fun way to spend a Friday night.

However, he ought to know that even if this were a test, any cop or judge in the country would know that selling the cigs 2 minutes early isn't worth fining. If they did do something that ridiculous, the business or the clerk could probably challenge the fine and turn it into a controversy that police departments never want.

Also, I highly doubt that undercover cops sting people to see if they sell things past 'licensed business hours', if there even is such a thing. It sounds more like a store policy issue than a legal issue. At every place I've ever worked, we always sold stuff to people after closing time, especially if they were chicks.

I don't think (at least in the U.S.) there are any laws about selling after registered closing times.

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 09:13

Btw Hueij responded pretty well; I'd prefer losing a year or two off my life to living a life free of pleasurable chemicals. You guys gonna quit drinking coffee anytime soon?

"Plus they take years off the end of your life, and those years suck anyway." - **** Solomon

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 09:15

Hmm, I guess D1ck Solomon, there we go.

Alvaro · April 21, 2003, 09:16

i think this was all a message from god: quit smoking.

Pekka · April 21, 2003, 09:36

Sounds uptight.. I'm not wondering why he didn't sell you after closing time, even if 1 minute because then it would register 00.01.. but I don't know why he couldn't sell you when you first tried.. uptight.

I remember when I turned 18 (which is legal age here to buy beer), but before that like 2 months I went and bought some, because they never usually asked to see any ID anyway. Well this time some lady did, and I thought well.. but she smiled and said 'well you're so close, here you go'. Two months is not THAT close, but 2 minutes IS.

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 09:41

Quote:

Originally posted by Alvaro
i think this was all a message from god: quit smoking.

The message I got was "After tonight, you can see that the world I created is a surrealistic nightmare. Just have a smoke and try not to think about it."

Anyway I wouldn't really call myself a 'smoker' anyway, as I only have maybe 5 cigarettes in a week, usually only when I drink or work. And don't tell me that's what people always say before they get addicted, because I've smoked this sparingly for three years without needing more.

Inverse Icarus · April 21, 2003, 09:51

people have gotten busted, the cops actually put ads in the paper asking for minors to act in "stings". he could be protecting himself

or, he could just be an *******

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 09:57

Quote:

Originally posted by UberKruX
people have gotten busted, the cops actually put ads in the paper asking for minors to act in "stings". he could be protecting himself

Again, the dude should know that NO self-respecting cops would set up a sting to catch a guy for selling two minutes early. It just wouldn't happen.

Also, think of this angle: if they were to set up stings where the acting kid is supposed to be 17.999999999 years old, they would have to print out a brand new phony ID for every bust, as after the first day the ID used would be useless. The expense of printing all those phony cards (if it's even allowed for cops to do that in the first place) wouldn't be worth it to catch a few clerks for being reasonable and selling at 11:58.

loinburger · April 21, 2003, 10:37

The summer I turned 21 I didn't have a driver's license, since Ohio has an idiotic renewal practice -- your license expires on the day of your birthday, never mind that the DMV is closed on my birthday, and you can't get your license early (if you're about to turn 21) because they can't issue an over-21 license to somebody who is under-21. So, I had to mail off for my license, and of course it took at least two months for those lazy sons of *****es to process the paperwork, so I didn't have a license with which to purchase alcohol.

I did, however, have a passport. One or two liquor stores were fine with my using a passport, but quite a few liquor stores and all of the grocery stores said that a passport wasn't sufficient. I pointed out that it is ten times more difficult to forge a passport than to forge a driver's license, but they wouldn't hear a word of my protests. I almost had to go through my 21st birthday sober.

Darius871 · April 21, 2003, 10:40

Even if your under-21 licence expired, couldn't you have just pointed to your birthday on it and said 'I am obviously now 21'? Eventually you'd find a clerk that would be reasonable.

tinyp3nis · April 21, 2003, 10:43

Passports are here the most "respected" ID by the bars and stores. And the reason is exactly what you said: They are hard to forge.

loinburger · April 21, 2003, 12:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Darius871
Even if your under-21 licence expired, couldn't you have just pointed to your birthday on it and said 'I am obviously now 21'? Eventually you'd find a clerk that would be reasonable.

That might have worked -- the problem was that I had to drive to work every day, so it wouldn't do to carry around an expired driver's license (I wouldn't have been able to make it to the DMV until two weeks after my birthday). Illinois has (IIRC) a much more sensible practice -- your license expires three months after your 21st birthday. Ohio's DMV just happens to be stupider than average.

Pekka · April 21, 2003, 12:45

Some wouldn't take passport? That's just stupid

. As Tinyp3nis pointed out, they are usually the most 'respectd' IDs anywhere (well not in US I guess).

I showed my passport in liquor store in New York, and they also said 'you have driving license?' and sure I had.
Funny, because we have different kind of driving lincenses, they took it happily, but passports are all about just the same. Model is same.

Pekka · April 21, 2003, 12:47

The point is, they just looked at it and wouldn't have figured out if I bought it $20 in my neighbourhood. But, it said driving license and it had my birthday.. and that was enough

.

April 21, 2003, 13:42

I think you could have actually made trouble at them for not accepting a passport. Around here at least, its considered ultimate as a form of identification , way more than driver's licenses and such, specially since those are different for every province, so even though it might not be a forgery, a clerk might not recognize foreign licenses or other such IDs.

The Emperor Fabulous · April 21, 2003, 13:44

Happy Birthday

*End Is Forever* · April 21, 2003, 13:48

A proper 10-year passport is about as good a form of identification as you can get over here...