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I don't think self-checkouts are too worthy for taking a moral stand.
They've really come about as a response to consumer demand. As we have already seen, some of us prefer to use them. Generally, I think they act well for "customer runoff" when it's really busy and there are long lines.
Sure the overall appeal (esp. if it's growing) may cost a few jobs, but that's how these things go. There will be grocery store cashiers for a long time, I'm sure. They won't go the way of the milkman, town crier, or lamp lighter anytime soon.
But, as with any change, old jobs may disappear, but new ones pop up. Do you know there are iPod conversion services out there? You can have your entire CD library converted to iTunes for a low, low price.
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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön
Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot
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