Frank Fans, make sure to decode the latest message this weekend.
Babes, this is your last weekend to prepare your entry (it’s just a picture and a short statement, for pete’s sake).
Everyone else, at ease.
Archive of entries posted on 24th April 2004
I Got Carded… at a Electronics Store
Yesterday, I did a few shopping errands after work. I first stopped at Ammo Attic, a local gun store, buying a Wilson brand recoil spring to replace the one on my 1991 as Kim du Toit recommended (I mentioned firing problems here). I also got some grease for the rails, a sharpening stone, and finally the gun safe I’ve been meaning to for a while (it will be delivered next week). Okay, no problem.
So I head to Best Buy to purchase a cheap radio. I had gotten moved to a different building at work ten miles further north and am now in a cube, so I figure I should get a radio and headphones to clock out distraction. They had a nice little one with AM/FM reception and a CD player for $19.99, so I picked it up. When I got to cashier, the first thing she said was, “Can I see your ID?”
I stared at her stupidly for a second. So she repeated. “Can I see your ID?”
I rechecked my merchandise to see if a six-pack of beer had slipped in. Then I remembered my impulse purchase, the computer game Hitman: Contracts. I had really liked the previous one, so I picked this one up even though I hadn’t seen the reviews yet. Due to “Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs” it is both rate ‘M’ for “Mature” and promises to be fun (who doesn’t dream of being a bald hitman with dual .45’s?). Now I had some context for why she was asking for my ID. Still, though I look kinda youngish and am used to getting carded for adult beverages, I found it pretty insulting the implication that I appeared too young to buy a freak’n video game.
The cashier seemed to notice my displeasure and explained that she has to card anyone who buys a video game rated ‘M’. Even if the customer has gray hair and looks eighty, she can’t sell the game unless she’s sees an ID. That made me a little mad – not enough to pull out two .45’s and kill all witnesses mad – but, still, I’m sure it’s a bigger provoker of violence than the videogame. It wasn’t her fault, though, so I pulled out proof that my young eyes had seen the seventies and a credit card and was soon on my way.
So, does anyone know if this is a recent policy change at Best Buy (I’m pretty sure I’ve bought violent video games there before) and if anything specific triggered it?