And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Just like about everybody else, I have bought lots of stuff online and I'm trying to sell my books on the internet, too. Buying online is often convenient and can be a great option for many people. However, I still think the "real", brick and mortar stores are well worth keeping around, just like paying with cash should always be possible.
The latest trend in online buying is groceries. We now have a supermarket in my town which doesn't have any stores. You order online and your groceries get delivered to your house. But, in order to become a customer, you need to create an account first. No account, no groceries. I heard that Amazon has similar plans. Has anyone thought of the implications of this?
Right now, Big Tech is actively purging dissident voices from the internet platforms like Twitter and the like, sometimes for relatively trivial things. Apparently, "private companies" can do whatever they wish in a "free market." Well, an online supermarket is a private company, too. Now imagine there are no real life stores left any more, the type where you can shop anonymously and pay with cash and you are caught saying something naughty on Facebook? And then your online groceries store just cancels your account because "hate" has no place online?
You know what will happen to you? You'll just starve. Support your local shopkeepers and try to pay cash as much as possible, don't make it easier for the big corporations.
Very good advice!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how so many people, especially the younger generation, seem not to mind the loss of anonymity and privacy in the slightest. When Orwell was writing his story about the Big Brother, he probably couldn't have imagined that in our day people wouldn't need any coercion to share the most private details of their life with the whole world. Technology can be good, but it's also a double-edged sword.
ReplyDeleteRevelation 13: 16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17 and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
ReplyDeleteYes, that's what I was thinking about!
ReplyDeleteI have had these same thoughts many times when I hear of people buying food and supplies from Amazon,etc. Oh it would be so easy to for these mega-companies to just delete” those “hateful” non-compliant troublemakers.
ReplyDeleteI started noticing it recently. In my neighbourhood, we have cashless checkouts in the supermarkets but they aren't very popular. Last year or so I was helping a relative with her shopping who lives in a more two-income area. Nearly ALL checkouts were cashless. I was honestly shocked (this and practically the total lack of younger women in the streets, unlike where I live). Then you have this new, store-less supermarket moving in (again, popular with women working long hours/single men), and the deplatforming which has come around this year...I have finally connected the dots. And the two income family model plays very nicely into the increasing centralisation and globalisation.
ReplyDeleteI know one family that uses such a service with their groceries, because they are "so busy". Mother of three ironically just doing her doctoral reseach about pedagogy... too busy to do her own grocery shopping, which, I assume, would teach something to the kids...
ReplyDeleteAnyway I would never ever let anyone else (exept my husband) pick my groceries for me. I, for istant, am very picky when it comes to apples and tomatoes and such. I want them to be ripe, small and perfect individuals. I am sure nobody else would pick them that well. ;) It is important, it really is. Also, when you actually go to the store yourself, you can buy discount products and build your menu around them.
Interestingly enough, a MAN I know (hubby's friend) said that shops like that are coming more and more popular in UK where he lives, but he actually thought that they do not save time at all. Because finding and choosing the things you need online can be very time-consuming. If you leave the house anyway, you save no time.
Big supermarkets over here have had this option (ordering online) for a very long time, but...you mostly can't buy any really cheap brands, you have to pay for the delivery and you have to order for a certain sum (50 euros). Yet, this new supermarket works only through an app. It's true that they aren't really that cheap at all. I've bought clothes online, some were fine, some I sent back, but I'd rather choose my own groceries, thank you very much:)
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