An Open Letter to the Iowan Who Won’t Use the Store’s Divider Bar

I freely admit that this is a first world problem. Considering the important issues we face as a society today, the fact that someone refuses to put a divider bar down at the store's checkout is not a really big deal. However, I would like to offer this open appeal for sanity.

This is addressed to the very kind lady who was in front of me in line. I'm sure she's an angel to her family and probably is an outstanding member of the community. She lacks one thing however. It's the use of this.

Here's the definition for divider bar as defined by Wikipedia:

Checkout dividers can usually be found next to the conveyor belt on the side where the cashier is sitting.

Here's the problem. There's a good amount of confusion about who's responsibility it is to put the bar down. Is it the person in front that puts it down after their stuff is on the conveyer belt? I would argue that this is best since that's the only person who can be sure that they've put all their stuff down. Otherwise, there's that awkward moment where you grab the divider bar before it's time.

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I wouldn't blame you for laughing at me, but this is a real issue. MEL Magazine referred to it as Civil War 2.0. The use or non-use of it has split families apart. Maybe not, but that feels like it could be true.

What about you? Do you use this magic item or is the divider bar a foreign object to your shopping experience?