Why Returning a Shopping Cart Is a Moral Test
call someone out: to publicly criticize someone
Youtuber Sebastian Davis is famous for confronting people who do not return their shopping carts. Online, he is known as Agent Sebastian of the Cart Narcs. Wearing a bulletproof vest and carrying a camera, he walks around parking lots, encouraging people to do the right thing.
In some countries, carts require a coin deposit, but in the US, there is no incentive to return them. When someone leaves a cart in the wrong place, Sebastian calls them out. Sometimes people recognize their error and politely return the cart. Other times, they get angry. He has been chased, had drinks thrown at him, and once faced a man who pointed a gun at him in Texas.
Sebastian believes that returning your cart is a sign of moral character. Choosing to leave your cart in the parking lot for someone else to clean up shows selfishness. For him, taking a few steps to return your cart shows respect for other people.
Meanwhile, in Germany, shopping carts are not about morality at all. They are part of a TV game show where contestants race to return their carts with precision and speed. Learn more about the ethics and sport of shopping cart return in the videos below.
Sample sentences
The teacher called out a student for cheating on the test.
He called out his friend for always arriving late to meetings.
At the meeting, a worker called out the boss for not listening to staff.
Read More:
Think You’re a Good Person? That’s Up to the Cart Narc and His Camera.