rp ~ they/them

(an ethical l!fter guide to intersectionality and privilege)

we do not want to recreate the same systems we want to dismantle

• remember that most people who st3al need to do so to survive. not everyone is a white girl on tumblr st3aling for fun. i see so many tips that go like "NEVER st3al if your (insert: anxious/alone/you don't know the store/paranoid/etc.)" which instead should be "here are the ways you can reduce risk if you are (anxious/paranoid/unfamiliar with store layout/paranoid/etc.). "

everytime i see someone on here say "maybe 🏋️‍♀️ isn't for you" when someone voices a barrier to 🏋️‍♀️ i want to scream.

not. everyone. is. so. lucky. to. have. an. alternative. option.

harm reduction is ALWAYS the way!

• basically an expansion of the first point, but acknowledge your privilege. are you white? are you able-bodied? do you have access to resources other people don't (money/food/housing)?

who are you l!fting with? are they a poc? black? Indigenous? disabled? if they get fined/taken to court, do they have less resources than you to help them get through the legal system? do they live in unsafe housing where if they get caught and their family finds out, their safety is at risk? do you understand they will be targeted more than you, and will you use your privilege to help protect them if they get caught? will you say you put that in their bag? are you willing to take the blame? if they aren't physically able to run after getting caught, have you discussed how to both get out safely?

these are examples of what true "allyship" look like. you can't claim to not be racist if you aren't actively and consciously acknowledging and using your privilege to help marginalised peoples.

• how do you redistribute your resources?

i personally ask those around me what they need (or even just want). sometimes that looks like groceries/medical supplies from the chemist/clothes for work/or even just mascara! remember that people dont need to be on their last cent in order for you to help them.

if you happen to be surrounded by people who are well off, expand your circle! you see someone on the street experiencing houselessness? ask them if they'd like anything from the store, and go 🏋️‍♀️ if for them. ask them for their name, ask how they are going, TREAT THEM LIKE A HUMAN PERSON not a charity case! find mutual aid groups/projects in your area (there will ALWAYS be something) and ask them what they need.

• and for fuck sakes, do not sell the shit you 🏋️‍♀️. you cannot be an anti-capitalist capitalist. "they get it for cheaper it's a win win / I need money to survive too!" are bs reasons. you cannot dismantle a system for profiting off of other people's labour. you cannot ethically sell things. at the VERY least, introduce a sliding scale that starts at 0.

you cannot make radical change while operating and perpetuating the same system you want to eradicate. you need money to survive? put effort into building a support network, a COMMUNITY around you. build real, supportive, genuine and revolutionary relationships with people. maybe you bring them food sometimes, and maybe they sometimes help you pay your bills, maybe you help them clean and maybe they take you to your doctors appointment.

don't buy the lie that capitalism tries to sell you, that the only way you can survive is by profiting off of people. you can do better than that.

• acknowledge when you're participating in consumerism. this is something im currently really struggling with. i feel driven to get more and more and more and it never feels like enough. it's problematic because it does tie in with capitalism. sometimes we don't need to go to the mall, sometimes we need therapy/hang out with a friend/sit with our own heavy emotions!! and that's a tough fucking truth (I feel like a hypocrite rn but ik it's true so whatever i gotta deal with that at some point lol).

finding the balance between the fact that we all deserve nice things and it feels good to have nice things, and the need to have as many things as possible because of whatever internal beliefs we have (like the more things we have = the more we are worth as a person). also hoarding. i feel like hoarding is so prevalent in the 🏋️‍♀️ing community because it's so much easier to when you can constantly get new stuff. try to let stuff go! remember how nice it feels to give things to friends/people who also like nice things!

i always try to get a gift for a friend whenever i do a haul. it feels NICE 💗

• are you on stolen land? ACKNOWLEDGE IT. you are stealing on stolen land, you are living on stolen land, do something about it. ask the Indigenous peoples of the land what they need, donate to Indigenous mutual aid posts, protest for them. you cannot be anti-capitalist if you are not pro land back.

• be true, but easy on yourself. you will make mistakes. you will hurt people. you are human and it's how you navigate yourself afterwards, take accountability and change your behaviour that matters. we are all capable of the change we want to see in the world.

• 🏋️‍♀️ing is not the only way to acquire resources out of the system! dumpster diving is very real and i have much information and resources on that if people would like? but that's a whole thing in itself.

please think about some of these things 💗 i believe there is a world for us where we don't live under the current impressive systems at place, and i believe that collectively all the decisions we make play a big role in that happening. we are powerful together. go bake something for your neighbour, send your friend a sick basket, smile at strangers and ask people for help when you need it. you got this ❤️

1. This might sound silly, but wear a disguise. I’m being serious. Police departments are utilizing social media and public shaming to find identities of shoppers that Lyft. Go buy a cheap wig and a pair of readers or sunglasses from dollar tree. Now you’re different person. I also have dedicated lyfting clothes that no one sees me in but the stores I lyft from including a pair of scrubs. Swear when I go in with scrubs on, nobody bats an eye at me.

2. If you have any piercings or tattoos, cover that shit up. Sounds like a given right but it’s easy to forget what body mods you have. Unfortunately for me I have an arm sleeve, one on my calf, and one below my collar bone as well as one behind my ear and my fingers tatted. it was super easy to b0rr0w when it was cold and winter but now that it’s gonna be summer I legit don’t know what tricks to pull out to not be sus. Probably gonna buy some body makeup tbh.

3. If you’re driving your own car, park further away from the entrance. I haven’t had any issues (yet) with someone getting my plate. Sometimes I’ll drape a shirt out of my trunk to cover my plate if I get the urge to. Of course that’s a crime, so I pull off into the closest place and remove it after so I don’t get pulled over while still having plausible deniability.

4. If you have a bad feeling walking into a store, LISTEN TO IT. There has been two times I’ve literally gotten sick to my stomach and dropped all the stuff I was gonna conceal and walked out. It feels super shitty to leave empty handed but it’s better than being behind bars.

5. Kinda niche but For pet stores, I bring my cat in a pet stroller (that I also lyfted, straight up just ripped the tags off and walked out with that shii from h0mèg00dş). Workers are in awe of my cat and don’t sus me out. Thinking about b0rr0wing a baby stroller soon and covering it with a blanket and using that to haul my goods.

6. REUSABLE BAGS!!! Especially at stores like țř@ďèř j0èş and WF. 80% of the people that shop at places like these use reusable bags. They make it super easy to conceal and when you walk out it’s not Sus that you’re not carrying the stores shopping bags.

7. Never ever lyft from stores that are your “home” stores. Idc. time. I safely assume the store I b0rr0w from lets the closest stores know and has my picture on the wall somewhere so I will travel 20-50 miles away from each store if im hitting the same chain and never EVER take from the closest one to me.

8. Know your state’s laws and only b0rr0w less than the felony amount. I’ve definitely went over a few times but I’ve been getting better at checking myself lately.

9. Walk out when someone else is or when someone’s entering. If you beep, keep walking and don’t look back unless there’s literally LP at the door then just drop the shit and call it a day.

PS these work for ME. don’t be sloppy. don’t be stupid. Don’t be cocky. All it takes is one time being lazy to get caught. Remember each time you get away with it is just pure luck. You are still a criminal.

My grandma used to save up to get Walmart moisturizer and now she’s using her brand of choice . She fucking loved it. Giving her nice name brand eyeshadow palletes and her Elizabeth arden and Clinique. If I could just lift perfume then she’d be set. And giving her pureology for her hair so she doesn’t have to use suave. Or fucking dish soap since they cut her social security again. And I caught her using dawn dish soap last month and cried and said never again. Never ever afuckingain. And she now has everything she’s ever drooled over from s@llys &ult@. She could open her own damn salon. And she’s started doing her hair again. I’m not going to go into personal details but my grandma has suffered 3 horrible deaths all in the last year and lives alone now.

I've heard people use stuff like spanx which is stretchy but tight enough to hold stuff in.

(well it's in a charity shop but its behind a till so eyup)

GLANCING AT THE WORKERS CONSTANTLY. from observation, Normal shoppers will smile/look at/nod at a worker once when entering the store and once while leaving. While you're lifting i know it's hella tempting to constantly look at SA's to see if you've been sussed but it's a major red flag, real shoppers completely ignore the presence of workers.

BEING SMELLY !! ik this sounds like a joke but people who lift from my store ALWAYS without fail smell of B.O or alcohol or weed etc. Maybe invest in/lift a nice perfume to blend in & save that blunt for tomorrow!! :)

being TOO nice/considerate when lifting. Im guilty of this one tbh, but I can always tell someone is lifting when they hold their items in an obvious way outstretched from their body or go out of their way to let someone know their going in the changing room in an attempt to look innocent like 'yes I'm holding these items in plain view i would never take anything!! ' Normal shoppers don't even think about going in to changing rooms being associated with shoplifting so forgetting to ask is common.

Holding money very obviously in your hand to make it look like you're getting ready to buy. from experience, regular shoppers will keep money concealed until the very last second to keep it safe.

If it's a shop with a tag sensor at the door (the ones that beep, I forgot the actual name) most people will be shocked/scared at the sound but then almost immediately act relieved and laugh it off as they know they're innocent and it must be someone around them . not reacting to the beep is a sign that you knew it could be coming (lifter) and reacting shocked a few seconds after the beep could also indicate shoplifting as they're shocked they've forgot to remove a tag.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST doing circles around the store. I'm mega mega guilty of this one. most people rarely go back to an aisle/section they've already been to and doing it more than once is a BIG sign of a lifter as it's typical that they're waiting for someone to leave their blindspot so they can conceal! I recomend searching up your store on google images to mark out every blindspot in advance so you can follow the regular direction/flow of the store when concealing as opposed to going back on yourself and sticking out.

Different tags can be removed different ways, some of which I won’t go into to here only because I want these tips to be as general as possible in order to be helpful to more people. These tips will work on every tag I’ve ever encountered except 2alarm or 3alarm tags which are the physical embodiment of the devil.

These techniques are tried and tested personally by me, my favourite and most foolproof techniques are marked with an asterisk(*).

Do not read this expecting some miracle technique, this is all just common sense. Also do not try these all in one go, work on each technique one by one and polish your skills to avoid getting cocky or sloppy.

Sus= suspicious, getting caught or being close “Don’t act sus” “security looked super sus” “I hope they don’t sus me out” “I think my mum has sussed out where all these new things are coming from”

*IMPORTANT INFO TO REMEMBER BEFORE DETAGGING* 1. Never detag on the shop floor, take items into the changing room and detag and conceal in your bag or under clothes in there. Sneak items into the changing room unseen by: - slipping items into your bag or pockets or down the front of your trousers or bra in a blindspot (an area where you cannot be seen by cameras, be sure that no staff or customers can see you either) - dumping an open, mostly empty shopping bag below a rail of clothes then subtlety dropping clothes on the hanger into the bag in a blindspot (this one requires super awareness of who can and can’t see you behind your back, very dangerous and not for rookies) when you then pick up this bag be sure to cover the opening of it with your jacket or clothes which you wish to take into the changing room - slipping small items into the pockets of a coat or pair of jeans that you’ll then take into the changing room (stick to things like small wallets and jewellery that are found within or near the clothing section, it will look weird if you are carrying a big coat around the electronics) - *hanging more than one item on a hanger is the easiest and most fool proof way of getting items into the changing room to detag. Grab something chunky and something long, like a floaty dress and and a chunky cardigan or jacket, then hang what ever you want on the neckline of one of the items, you can also hang things on the back loops of jeans, the loop sometimes found on the inside of jacket or a looped label. A few things to watch out for: jackets may fall off the hanger due to the extra weight and reveal your concealment, and make you look nervous and sus, you can avoid this by closing up the jacket, this will also hide the item hung on the jackets loop far better. And make sure to pass a mirror before entering the changing rooms to check if you have any hangers sticking out and hold something against yourself as if you’re checking to make sure it suits you so you don’t look sus. Also if the fitting room attendant takes the items off of you and find the double hung items you can just act dumb and say “oh I knew I had more items” “oops sorry I forgot I was making an outfit” it sounds out of the ordinary but it’s never not worked for me. 2. Some paper tags and barcode stickers have RFID tags hidden inside, these can be deactivated by making a tear which ruins the electronic signal, but I prefer to be leave these behind inside the pockets of jeans or a coat. 3. Always take a pair of jeans or a coat with lots of pockets I to the changing room to hide all your tags in, I find a coat is best because you can hang hangers inside to make more space inside your bag which looks less sus and leaves more room for more stolen goods. A coat isn’t always available though or looks sus in the summer but jeans are stocked year round so is a safe bet. Always remember to take anything that you left tags inside back out to the shop floor and dump somewhere messy in the store or back where you found it, never give it to the changing room attendant! If they find the tags it will be almost impossible to talk your way out of it. 4. Ink tags are not there as a deterrent, they are never fake and do contain ink that will stain your skin and your clothes if it is broken open and it will break open if you are too rough and you will be caught for sure. You need to be super careful with ink tags, super super careful. 5. Do not over stuff your bags, you might as well write “shoplifter” across your forehead in day glow glitter if you’re gonna walk around with a over stuffed bag.

Okay detagging techniques: 1. *Yank the tag, just yank it. Pull the fabric taut and yank the tag itself firmly until there is a rip in the fabric big enough to pull the tag through. Be careful not to pull too hard and make a big, suspicious noise and a big ugly hole. With ink tags you’re better to hold the tag at the edge, and yank softly but firmly, if you keep your hands on the sides it shouldn’t break. 2. Using a seam ripper to make a hole big enough to pull the tag through, get the seam ripper as close to the pin that hold the tag on the garment as possible and dig the point I to the hole made by the pin and push forward softly to rip the fabric. A seam ripper is a tiny metal tool, sort of like a two pronged fork with a razor between the prongs, it is used for ripping out bad seams believe it or not but works just as well on fabrics. Keep your seam ripper inside a small sowing kit inside your bag so that if you get searched you can say you just carry it as part of the kit in case of a wardrobe malfunction, this will get you a far more lenient punishment than if you were caught with the seam ripper on its own. You can find these in any haberdashers and most craft stores. 3. A small pair of nail scissors is also good for digging at the hole made by the pin to make a big enough gap for the tag to come through. Again carry it inside a small nail care kit with nail files and polish and things so you cannot be charged with “going equipped” to steal. 4. A craft knife does the same job but if you are found carrying these around it could look super weird so I’d suggest not carrying these or cutting a small slit in the lining of your handbag and slipping it in there. 5. Plant clippers or socateurs with a thin set of blades will easily cut through tag pins and wires but make a loud sus sound when they snip and could get you caught. Also are much harder to explain or hide than a craft knife, I’d suggest hiding in the handbag lining and only carry them if you truly 100% need them.

Hiding your tags DO NOT LEAVE THEM BEHIND IN THE CHANGING ROOM this is how most shoplifters got caught when I worked in retail. You must hide them and there are a few ways to do this: 1. Take the tags with you and hide them in the pockets of jackets and jeans as you walk about, this is super dangerous and should only be done if the other three methods are impossible. 2. *Hide tags inside the pockets of a jacket or pair of jeans or anything with pockets that you brought into the changing room with you, when you leave do not give the item with hidden tags to the changing room attendant, take it with you and out it so wwheres messy or back where you found it so that the tags will not be found until you are long gone. 3. Tape tags to the bottom of the changing room stool, be careful because the tape might make noise when you peel it and the tag could be found as you leave, fairly risky. 4. If the changing room dividers are thick enough you can reach up and set the tag on top of it. I have been back to shops I did this to a year ago and the tags are still there covered in dust ahahah be careful not to drop the tags I to other changing rooms or too near the door where someone might see your hand.

NOW PLEASE FOR MY SANITY STOP WITH THE ROOKIE ASS QUESTIONS