You May Be Feeling
Short essays exploring how you may be feeling these days.
Not so much what to do about those feelings.
But hopefully how to avoid the second arrow of judging them.
Season 2: The Mothering (Rational Tantrums)
Episodes released every Sunday (well, 3 out of 4).
You May Be Feeling
Ep. 2 On the Disappearing Pleasures of the Passenger Side
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Increasingly, self-checkouts are being recognized as a failed experiment. More and more stores are removing them. They of course cite theft and over-estimated savings in staff costs for the surprising reversal, but businesses are also having to admit that they are implicated in the social fabric, and they play a role in people’s well-being and their sense of connection. Surely an odd concession for capitalists.
In this episode, I reflect on how the general experience of the self-checkout, the feelings it provokes, and the impulse that led to it in the first place, are being seen elsewhere. I hope that the backlash against self-checkouts can serve as a lesson applicable beyond themselves.