Tuesday, February 05, 2013

I'm so disappointed

After reading on other blogs about their great finds at stores and estate sales, I went to our two antique/consignment stores today. Unfortunately, I didn't find much. My first stop is a small antique store. I try not to go in there frequently because she doesn't move stuff out if it doesn't sell fast, I feel like I see the same stuff in there all the time. I did take in a Mason jar of buttons for her.
My second stop is a consignment store that has a lot of cool stuff. It's got 3 floors of stuff and they move it in and out, and stage things for holidays. Unfortunately, I didn't find much there either. Here's what I picked up:
 A green silk scarf, and a creamer. I plan on using the scarf to make something else. I found some cute hankies, but I can't justify spending more than $1, when I know when it's garage sale season, I can find them for cheaper. The creamer was just too cute to pass up.  I'm very spoiled by garage sale season, but I really liked it, plus it had already been there for a month.


My next disappointment is people. I watched the movie Compliance today, it is fictional, but it's based on true events. It's about this 19 year old girl working in a fast food joint. Someone calls saying they're a police officer and tells her manager that she stole money from a customer's purse. The "police officer" says they need to search her clothes and belongings, and then strip search her, and then says she needs to sit in the office naked until they come to get her. As time passes, the "police officer" on the phone asks the manager to have a male sit with her, the manager first gets another employee, who decides he won't do it, and then calls in her fiancee (who is probably in his 40's), to sit with her. When the manager leaves the caller tells the guy he needs to inspect her, have her bend over, spank her and then have her perform oral sex on him. This causes the fiancee to leave, and the manager brings in a much older worker, probably close to 60's, who finally says he won't do anything. The manager calls her regional manager, who the caller said he was talking to on another line, finds out he hasn't talked to anyone, and finally hangs up on the caller and calls the real police.
Apparently, this actually happened, a prank caller would call fast food places and say that someone stole something and then assault these girls over the phone. And nobody ever questioned him because he said he was a police officer. Unfortunately, I believe it happened, even as I'm sitting there yelling at the TV.
Studies by Stanley Milgram in the 60's found that people will follow directions if somone identifies themselves as authority figures. I guess they believe that people wouldn't lie about that and just follow blindly. I read about these studies when I took psychology in college, it's sad but it happens. I find it hard to believe though, that as your listening to someone giving you directions that make you ask multiple times if you should be doing it, and cause you to cry, that you wouldn't stop for a second and think about it.
I can't say what I'd do in that kind of situation, but I'd like to think my common sense would kick in. I know the police wouldn't call an establishment and have them strip search anyone. They wouldn't keep you on the phone for hours telling you to do things that you think are wrong. I'd hope I'd realize this, hang up and call the actual police line and ask for whoever I was talking to.


Back to happier news, if you're interested in some lace, I listed some on my Etsy store yesterday. It's a mix of mostly vintage lace, with a few pieces of newer trim thrown in as well. Go here, if you're interested. I don't usually promote my Etsy store on here, but I think it's a great deal (of course I'm a little biased).

Please post more of your finds, I hope to live vicarously through you guys until garage sale season starts in a few months.

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