This of course meant that the normal challenge of shopping with a trolley needed to be managed. Most people seem to do ok, simply pulling the trolley behind them as they unload, then once fully emptied, moving it to the output end of the checkout. They then wheel it out to their vehicle (word carefully chosen so as to not alienate the 4x4 drivers) and leave the trolley either at some jaunty position in the parking lot, or if they display levels of social awareness that bely either the fact that they are foreign or that they have lived for a while in a more populated place, they wheel it to one of the collection points.
The shopper in front of me in the queue -let's call her Sigga- had no such ideas. She dragged the trolley behind her, but her purchases easily fitted into one bag, so she didn't need to wheel the trolley onwards: she just lifted the bag and started to stroll off. And left the trolley directly in my way. See picture.
What shocked me most about this is the total disregard for other people. Once again, my fellow skerry-dwellers are showing a sociopathic level of igorance of those around them. It clearly never even occurred to her that the trolley was in my way. What did she think was going to happen to it? Would it suddenly dematerialise the moment she took her hand off it? Clearly not, since she gave it no thought at all.
This leaves me wondering what would have been a good way to react. In hindsight, it would have been fun to just walk ahead and bump the trolley into her back, forcing a reaction. Though arguably a more grown-up approach would have been to just say "Excuse me, are you planning on leaving that there? It's right in my way!"
What should I have done?
She knew.
ReplyDeleteWe all know. We feel safe doing stuff like this. But if we get called out, out face usually turns bright red and we awkwardly apoligise.
This drives me crazy!!! I live in Moso and this happens to me every time I visit kronan. I'm queuing at the checkout and then the person in front, buying... perhaps 3 items... leaves her trolley in front of me. There is no room for me to get around, The only possible solution is for me to move it out the way for her/him. Instead I just keep pushing it forward and then use it to block their path out, so they HAVE to deal with it. Occasionally I've said "don't for get your trolley?' and smiled at them like a crazy foreign person.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comments.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should start calling out people more often on this? It doesn't need to be angry or rude, I just like the idea of politely and gently raising awareness that there are actually other people to think about when one goes shopping...
I used to say politely that they should take care of their trolley, but my Icelander man gets very upset every time i correct a wrong behavior to a person, so i had to stop doing it; he actually thinks that it´s no problem to push forward the trolley of the idiot (well, he says "person") and place it on the collection point at the same time as yours. They take the correction as an attack, no matter how nicely you can say it. Yeah, Icelanders don´t see further than their own nose.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair I'd say that not all Icelanders are like this, just a small minority.
ReplyDelete...but it's certainly a way of behaving that I've not seen anywhere else!
Guys, people in Iceland don't practice politeness toward each other and don't have any personal space rules! That's just the way it is here... you can only accept it and go with it. Not change it.
ReplyDeleteIt's equivalent to living in Japan and trying to get them to shake hands instead of bow as a greeting. There is nothing wrong with either way, it's just different.
The thing I finally realized after getting mad about these Icelandic behaviors is: Every person in Iceland looks out for and thinks solely about themselves and what is happening to them. They DO NOT worry about or think about or have concern for other people. And that's just fine! In fact, it's a good thing in a way. Yes, they'll leave a trolley/cart in front of you when it's stops being their concern, but have you also noticed that they aren't all in your business when they have no place being there? That happens all the time back in the U.S., bored people getting involved with something that they have no business at all getting into. People here keep to themselves and don't bug each other. Yes, it has it's downsides ... but remember to see the upside of it as well!!
Now that I've realized that, I understand better when someone parks and takes up two spaces for no reason, and it doesn't bother me as much. I know they aren't purposely trying to screw me out of a parking spot, it's just not their problem to help someone else get a space. Each person worries about his OWN parking situation, and that's it. It goes no further.
Does that sound like the typical Icelandic mindset to you?
Fabian,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you're saying and I know that fierce independence and the ability to look out for one's own interests are what it takes to survive in Iceland.
I do, however, feel that the quality of a society can be to some extent judged by the way that people treat other citizens, by how well they get on as a collective, rather than how well they act as self-serving entities. In that respect, the youth of this nation is yet again exposed because until very, very recently people simply didn't need to cooperate as much as they do now. Only a few generations ago there would have been no stores in which to have queues.
This youthfulness is certainly a double-edged sword...
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog via the Grapevine article last month (very fine piece and right to the bone). I've just read through your catalogue of articles and have to agree that there are many things that are I agree with regards Icelandic behaviour.
I'm just back from a trip to Bonus and although I've been in Iceland on/off for a couple of years, I had never paid attention to it until today. A man in front of me left his trolley behind. Maybe If I hadn't been jogging previously, I might have squeezed through it but in my seretonin filled state I throw my hips back and pushed the trolley with my stomach, the trolley glided and bumped into his knee at a slow pace.
Guess what next? He didn't look up, he didn't look back, he didn't do anything...apart from grab his trolley, paid for his groceries and left (WITH THE TROLLEY). Leaving me free to dance about the aisle for all I cared without bumping into anything.
Hope you keep writing more things. All the best,