my opinion on shoplifting is that:
1) shoplifting is very often morally correct
but
2) if someone tells you shoplifting has personally hurt them at their workplace you should believe them and refusing to do so makes you a bad person

and both these things can be true

yes "shoplifting directly hurting workers" indicates a shitty workplace but also... sometimes people can't magically find another place to work... so fucking listen to fellow workers who are directly affected by your actions....

fucking over huge corporations is fine. fucking over other workers isn't praxis. you're not a hero and you're not immune from criticism.

i worked at a very small storefront of a bath/body and skincare company. i had to personally count and report units of the most expensive skincare at closing every night and if it didn't match the sales i would have been fired.

is that shitty? yes. should i have left and found another job? i did. but would that time period of being unemployed due to other people shoplifting have hurt me? absolutely

corporations can fuck off. you can hate them all you want. but fucking over their frontline workers is a bad look and regardless of what you think, it makes you a bad person

a lot of shoplifting is non-essential goods by young white women for fun as opposed to necessity. no one shoplifting one of each makeup and perfume product they want from sephora is from necessity, and conflating the two is absolutely racist and classist

would i stop someone shoplifting food for their family when they are unable to afford it? no. would i, as a lead cashier for dozens of minimum wage workers who need this paycheck, stop a white woman shoplifting dozens of $60 makeup palettes for fun? absolutely.

too many people trot out this "all shoplifting is equivalent and you cant judge necessity" shit and they're literally only justifying their own right to personally hurt other workers. fuck them. fuck you, if that's you. log off the shoplifting tumblrs and get a job

you can say as many times as you want that "shrinkage leading to having your hours cut means you work for a shitty employer" and whether it's true or not it doesn't make it so people can up and leave to get a better job especially when that's the case for most retail employers!

i've worked every shitty job imaginable and if you want to argue with me on this you can meet me in the fucking pit