bill snapped this photo at a liquor store in middle-of-nowhere tennessee, 40 miles east of memphis. like this one and this one, it’s more crazy than passive-aggressive — but too good to pass up.
bill adds: “from what the friend i was visiting told me, the store aired religious TV every hour it was open. except on sundays, that is… because that’s when they turned on NASCAR. it also had the widest array of bum wines (MD 20/20, wild irish rose, etc.) i have ever seen.”
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94 responses so far ↓
#1 par3182
maybe i’m getting old & grumpy but i can only nod in agreement to the “pull up your pants” sign
kids today….
Jul 23, 2007 at 8:38 pm rating: +3
#2 Simster
I can picture their ideal customer now - shirt buttoned to the chin, pants up to the bottom rib held up by brown leather belt with inoffensive buckle, good sturdy, sensible shoes and short back and sides. This man is mute, only uses Visa and is illiterate, so unable to write checks. He drinks cheap wine because he has an honest, harworking trade behind him and can’t afford anything better.
The signs don’t worry him, because he can’t read them; in fact they look encouraging because they are so bright and colourful.
I am imagining a town full of these guys, all lined up to go in this liquor store. They are all called Hank.
I don’t think I would like to visit this town, but if you have a Hank perhaps you should encourage him to go there.
Jul 23, 2007 at 8:42 pm rating: +7
#3 todd
i’m not a gangbanger but i definitely don’t wear them on the hipline. there’s something to be said for “low rise” but not “nut huggers” if you catch my drift.
Jul 23, 2007 at 8:43 pm rating: 0
#4 Dopey
Isn’t it illegal to display people’s cheques in the window?
Jul 24, 2007 at 12:27 am rating: 0
#5 Canuck
This is too funny for words!
A liquor store that plays religious television-HA!
Jul 24, 2007 at 1:59 am rating: 0
#6 Joanna
I was thinking the same thing about the checks in the window… they have names, addresses, probably telephone numbers, and account information at that bottom! That CAN’T be legal. But I’m also guessing the store owners dont’ care.
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:04 am rating: 0
#7 Bonstermunch
Woah! I nearly spewed my coffee over “gangbanger” - it means something a little different here in the UK. Who says you never learn anything on the web? : )
I love the way it reads totally differently if you start in the wrong place. Ha! Still, you’ve got to love the cheery “star-edge” day-glo thing - perhaps they’d ordered a bulk load of these signs and felt they had to use them up. “Dammit Arlene, I’m gonna use them to teach these barefoot pant-slouching foul-mouthed AmEx a-holes a thing or two!”
ps I’m not a gangbanger either
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:12 am rating: +1
#8 Tarn
It kind of implies by positioning that KennyChesney is not wanted either. Well, ok, I’ll go with that…
I don’t get that pants-falling-down look at all. Looks like their arse has fainted.
And some of them have the crotch down at the knee - how could they run in those things?
Jul 24, 2007 at 4:21 am rating: 0
#9 southern girl
Dang, if you write a bad check in that joint, they will straight up put you on blast!!!
They are almost out of space for their notes, btw!
Jul 24, 2007 at 4:33 am rating: 0
#10 meta
funny they aired religious television every day EXCEPT sunday. heh.
Jul 24, 2007 at 5:15 am rating: 0
#11 Toasty
Heh - Bonstermunch - I nearly spluttered my sandwiches over that ‘gangbanger’ comment too! Also UK based, hence also loving the poster for Cruzan Rum - I really hope that ONLY in Tennessee would anyone think ‘Guitars, Tiki Bars and a whole lot of love’ would be a nice catchy slogan to bring the punters in. (Is that a faded 2004 poster too? Classy stuff!)
Fortunately, the only place you see day-glo jagged edged signs like that in the UK are low-grade fish ‘n’ chip (US translation - fries) shops. They do serve as a useful warning to avoid the establishment like the plague - maybe the US/UK divide isn’t so different after all then eh?!
Jul 24, 2007 at 5:25 am rating: +1
#12 Char
I think the “pull up your pants” line is a reference to Denis Leary’s routine about the kid behind the counter at the 7-11 who serves him something other than coffee-flavored coffee. It is on his Lock and Load CD. He describes the clerk as having multiple piercings and displaying two feet of underwear. Denis thinks someone has put maple syrup in his coffee, but it is actually the flavor of the day, which is “Maple Nut Crunch.” Anyway, he screams at the clerk and tells him to “pull up his pants.” I know it sounds dumb when retold, but it is actually quite funny. I highly recommend.
Jul 24, 2007 at 6:03 am rating: +1
#13 GhostWriter
There’s only one thing I hate more than a dirty mouth, and that’s dirty language and vulgar language -
…TWO! two things I hate more than an dirty mouth, and they are dirty language, vulgar language, and a fanatical devotion to the Pope-
…THREE THINGS !!
Jul 24, 2007 at 6:15 am rating: +1
#14 Mona
This reminds me of a diner I used to frequent. It had signs ALL over the walls that were like these. I was sitting there reading them all one day and realized that they must REALLY hate all their customers.
Jul 24, 2007 at 6:29 am rating: 0
#15 Goldie
(speechlessly freaking out about checks on the wall)
Jul 24, 2007 at 6:34 am rating: 0
#16 Heather
How much tape must this place go through?
Jul 24, 2007 at 6:50 am rating: +1
#17 Andy
Hmmm… one of those signs would be a good marketing thing for that store:
Under the “Dirty Mouth” sign, have a sign advertising Orbit gum.
Fabulous!
Jul 24, 2007 at 7:02 am rating: 0
#18 Stephanie
I totally agree with par. Pull your freaking pants up. They don’t have to be around your nipple, but if one small tug can send them crashing about your ankles, they’re too low. Also, Andy’s idea is awesome. We should let the store owners know…
Jul 24, 2007 at 7:40 am rating: +1
#19 Gecko Bloggle
This reminds me that I have to go catch a shot of the sign in a shop window near my place that reads:
“You have been photographed and identified. It is only a matter of time before you are arrested!”
This sign has been up for two months, minimum.
It’s on the door of a clothing store run by (what I’m pretty sure is) the grumpiest French-Canadian on the planet. When entering the store, you are more often than not greeted not with “Hello” but with “Close the door!” They can often be seen sweeping the sidewalk in front of the store (okay, fair enough) but doing it with water, and sweeping water in what can only been seen as a violent manner *AT* potential customers as they pass by.
Maybe some proprietors would be happier if the customers couldn’t find the place?
Jul 24, 2007 at 7:51 am rating: 0
#20 Trickster
As a Swede, gangbanger reads a bit different, more in line with my UK fellows. It does make the post so much funnier though!
I love the “And pull up your pants!” sign, just love it. Made my afternoon. I am going to have to put up one of my own on my front door, ooh how that will irk my neighbours! My neighbours being the kind of people who think it is ok to knock on my door when they are drunk and in their underwear to talk about what my cat has done during the day…
Jul 24, 2007 at 8:05 am rating: 0
#21 Tarn
Trickster,
so what DID your cat do?
I’d put a jaggedy-edged bright orange sign on my door telling the local Jehovah’s Witnesses once & for all that
a) I’m not niterested &
b) next time they come calling on a Sunday morning, I’m damn well going to answer the door exactly how I am when it rings! (Last time I was nekkid and no, that would not be a treat for them…)
Jul 24, 2007 at 8:35 am rating: 0
#22 Betty
Nope, it is not illegal to display checks publicly. It might be unethical or immoral to some, but it isn’t illegal to display. You are likely setting yourself up for a civil suit if someone takes the information, sets up a false identity and it can be shown that the shopowner’s actions lead to someone being defrauded or the like, but it is not illegal.
Jul 24, 2007 at 9:46 am rating: 0
#23 Fraulein N
That’s not really a LIST as much as it is, I dunno, a bulletin board. And the way that Kenny Chesney poster is positioned, it kind of makes it look like he’s supposed to be a solution for “Dirty Mouth Dirty Language.”
Jul 24, 2007 at 10:09 am rating: 0
#24 S.S.
I kind of doubt these people are Catholic (in response to the Pope comment before this one). Sounds more like Baptists to me.
Jul 24, 2007 at 10:20 am rating: 0
#25 GhostWriter
Regarding devotion to the Pope: I took some liberties in my attempt to parody Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition sketch.
Jul 24, 2007 at 10:44 am rating: 0
#26 Writer, Rejected
I like it when store owners get involved with the day’s fashion and sound like somebody’s grandmother. “And Pull Up Your Pants!” It’s kind of brill. I think I’d be afraid to go in there, though.
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:01 am rating: 0
#27 ginger
i don’t understand how you can write a bad cheque in a shop. surely you need your guarantee card ? what kind of crazy system do you ahve where people can go in shops & write dud cheques ? lol
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:04 am rating: 0
#28 Confused
Questions for posters:
1. Why would anyone want to steal the identity of someone whose checks have bounced?
2. What exactly is the meaning of ‘gangbanger’ in the UK and Sweden that is so different from the US? Would it be referring to sausage or something?
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:09 am rating: 0
#29 Kristin
Guarantee cards are not commonly used here anymore in the States, at least not in my experience. Bad checks happen, but I think it’s fairly rare because it’s a pretty serious offense, hard to pull off and frankly with everything on computers it is much easier for criminals to steal credit card numbers instead of writing fraudulent checks.
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:14 am rating: 0
#30 Kristin
Also, confused. Gangbanger can also refer to someone participating in a gangbang, where a bunch of men (sometimes hundreds) have sex with one woman. Generally they are organized by some sort of sleazy porn company and the woman is a porn actress. I aassume that is what the UK and Swedish posters are thinking of? But not sure.
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:17 am rating: 0
#31 Vampira
In the U.S. it is definitely not illegal to display bad checks. What actually is illegal here is writing bad checks. We don’t have a guarantee card like you’re talking about. It can be a misdemeanor (no jail or less than a year) or felony crime (at least one year in jail) depending on the number of bad checks and the amounts.
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:21 am rating: 0
#32 T-Bone
Char- I cracked up reading your entry about Dennis Leary- I could almost hear him screaming and I imagined the look on his face. He just kills me.
Jul 24, 2007 at 11:44 am rating: 0
#33 Erin
@Kristen: we get a statement every month at the restaurant I work at of all the bounced checks. Trust me, it still happens a lot. Even though hardly ANYONE even pays with checks anymore.
It’s almost suspicious in itself when someone pays by check, because it’s so easily abused.
Jul 24, 2007 at 12:00 pm rating: 0
#34 Toasty
Kristin’s definition is pretty much spot on for the UK
Jul 24, 2007 at 12:07 pm rating: 0
#35 ged
OK, guess I’m the only one in the dark about this one: So who the heck IS Kenny Chesney anyway?
Jul 24, 2007 at 12:46 pm rating: 0
#36 The Queen of Passive Aggressiveness
My homestate has been recognized!
Y’all, I’m so proud! Passive-aggressive shaming is a Tennessee way of life.
Jul 24, 2007 at 1:17 pm rating: 0
#37 Vampira
Kenny Chesney is some country singer who used to be married to Renee Zelweggehrejhrehr or however you spell it. That’s all I know!
Jul 24, 2007 at 1:54 pm rating: 0
#38 Jill
Methinks if the proprietor doesn’t care for this kind of clientele, then he/she’s in the wrong business. It’s a damn BOOZE STORE ferchrissakes. You’re bound to run into some rather unsavory characters.
Also, aren’t the “dirty mouth” and “dirty language” signs a little redundant?
Jul 24, 2007 at 2:09 pm rating: 0
#39 Melissa
Loving the comment that they play religious programs *except* on Sunday.
Jul 24, 2007 at 2:12 pm rating: 0
#40 Writer, Rejected
It’s odd how the discussion is alternating between writing bad checks and gang rape. I’m slightly uncomfortable, but, Oh, how I do love a controversial passive agressive post. This one is quite rife.
Jul 24, 2007 at 2:38 pm rating: 0
#41 Zsa
I almost spewed my soda at Confused’s post- yes dear, Gangbangers are large groups of bad, bad sausages. Be afraid, be very afraid.
Brutal public shaming of the bad check writers must be a small town thing. I havent seen that since my days in middle-of-nowhere Illinois when the grocery would laminate the bad checks to the counter.
Jul 24, 2007 at 2:42 pm rating: 0
#42 Betty
Actually, bad checks are very common in the US. According to the National Federation of Independent Businesses, US retailers lose over $55 million each year due to bad checks. With the way the proprietor has displayed those checks, it would be very easy to create new checks, go to some Mom and Pop place that doesn’t have access to the Verisign system (electronic check verification technology for those unfamiliar with it) and scam some serious money.
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:00 pm rating: 0
#43 Confused
Well, if in the UK “Gangbanger can also refer to someone participating in a gangbang, where a bunch of men (sometimes hundreds) have sex with one woman”…..then how is that different from the US word? That’s what it means here, too….though only through the porn industry does it connote a willing female participant.
Ha ha, Zsa, I was figuring that those crazy brits saw the word “bangers” and were getting confused. But apparently the only confusion (per above) is in thinking that the word means something different in the US.
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:02 pm rating: 0
#44 Kristin
Wow, I had no idea bad checks were still so common. Oops!
Confused, I think the UK people were amused because they had no idea of the second connotation of gangbanger that we are familiar with - they only know the one definition. In this context, to those of us from the U.S. , it was obvious that they meant a thuggish sort of person who either is in a street gang or wants people to think they are.
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:13 pm rating: 0
#45 Zsa
good definition Kristin~ and I gotta find that Dennis Leary CD. Play it really loud in my soccer-mom car while passing all the wanna-be thugs hanging out in front of their million dollar houses. PULL UP YOUR PANTS!
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:32 pm rating: 0
#46 todd
i didn’t realize my verbiage was going to derail the entire stream of comments. my apologies. my use of the word had nothing to do with the porn industry, although that news might come at the chagrin of several of you posters.
if i were to replace the word, i would use “gangster,” “thug,” or “delinquent.”
Jul 24, 2007 at 3:42 pm rating: 0
#47 BWelsh
I wonder if anyone ever stands outside the door and copies down the bank information from the “Bad Check List.” I wouldn’t know whether to warn them or to congratulate them for ingenuity and large balls.
Jul 24, 2007 at 4:16 pm rating: 0
#48 Confused
@Todd- I’ve heard it used in the sense that you used it. I just took it as a semi-sarcastic use, referring to the activites that gang members claim to partake in.
Jul 24, 2007 at 4:38 pm rating: 0
#49 jamie
“pull up your pants”
lol this reminds me of avril lavigne’s trouble with peaches. avril’s song goes “I WEAR THE PANTS!” pants, people! she wears pants!
people here in manila post lots of things on their walls or glass cases: counterfeit money and photos of shoplifters most of the time. they photograph shoplifters while those crooks are holding the items they tried to steal to publicly humiliate them. “she stole a razor? that’s just so sad.”
Jul 24, 2007 at 4:39 pm rating: 0
#50 John Francis
I strongly commend the owner of this shop, and I strongly condemn the blogger and commenters above who seek to make fun of the owner (who is doing a great service for God and fellow man).
Jul 24, 2007 at 5:23 pm rating: 0
#51 Simster
@ John Francis
You are absolutely right John, the provision of alcohol for money is a service that should never be made light of. Praise be to the shop owner for doing such a wonderful service I am sure God and my fellow man could not get by without it.
Jul 24, 2007 at 5:53 pm rating: 0
#52 Trickster
Tarn, oh I would say on any given day that my cat
1. Chases the magpies in the back yard
2. Smells the catnip that grows on the corner to the other building
3. Says hello to strangers that happen to cross his path
4. Pees and poos.
All of this is retold in loving detail, VERY close to my face with my cat referred to as my baby.
Jul 24, 2007 at 7:00 pm rating: 0
#53 Goddess
Clean it up, with new ORBITZ Citrismint Gum!
Jul 24, 2007 at 10:45 pm rating: 0
#54 Tarn
Trickster,
and your neighbour sees fit to advise you of all this? While drunk & in his (I assume it’s a guy) underwear?
Weird neighbour. Cat sounds perfectly normal though…
Back to main topic - I think cheques are being phased out. Some shops here (UK - like you hadbn’t guessed from the spelling of ‘cheque’!) are no longer accepting cheques at all. And some banks will only issue new chequebooks on request (used to be automatic).
Jul 25, 2007 at 4:06 am rating: 0
#55 ALA
1. Ok, so I have to defend my state (a tad). East Tennessee is actually very nice. We have beautiful mountains, lakes, and rivers–and since the area where I live (Knoxville) is a college town it’s much more liberal than most of the southern US. Memphis, however, is in west Tennessee & is a pit. Many people want it to break away and join Arkansas.
2. Kenny Chesney is a country singer whose gimmick is that many of his songs relate to the beach/islands (think Jimmy Buffett-esque). I don’t particularly care for his work, but I respect the heck out of anyone who starts life in one of the poorest counties in the state (TN isn’t a wealthy state in general) and manages to make himself a multi-millionaire.
3. GhostWriter–I love the Python.
4. Separated by a Common Language is a great site for the US/UK language divide:
http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/
I especially like the “mooch” posting. Perhaps we should submit “gangbanger” and see what the author comes up with…
Jul 25, 2007 at 5:30 am rating: 0
#56 Trickster
The youngest person I know that owns a cheque-book is my grandfather, and he passed away in 1999.
Tarn, my cat is a very unobtrusive and normal cat, the biggest trouble with him would be my neighbour, who will also take it upon himself to go fetch him if I let him out at an hour that my neighbour deems to be unappropriate for my baby…
Jul 25, 2007 at 6:57 am rating: 0
#57 Isabeau Tye Coronado
I was once “asked to leave” a gas station in Banner Elk, NC for “bad language.” At least they let me get my lotto tickets first.
Jul 25, 2007 at 8:58 am rating: 0
#58 aliastaken
I once saw my neighbor’s ‘bad check’ taped to the side of the cash register at a local store. I was at once both embarrassed and delighted to recognize the name.
Jul 25, 2007 at 9:20 am rating: 0
#59 noble savage
What, no “Your bad checks/language/pants-wearing makes the baby Jesus cry” sign? Pfft. What kind of upstanding booze shop is this?!
Jul 25, 2007 at 10:14 am rating: 0
#60 Siu
Signs, signs, everywhere there’s signs
F*ckin’ up the scenery, breakin’ my mind
Do this, don’t do that, can’t you read the sign
Jul 25, 2007 at 11:21 am rating: 0