Hate when people leave shopping carts in parking lots? The 'Cart Narcs' targeted Clifton
If you’re going shopping in North Jersey, you’d better put your cart back.
The controversial YouTube Channel “Cart Narcs,” which has over 502,000 subscribers, filmed its most recent video, titled “Information Booth,” in the parking lot of the Clifton Target. The video has over 100,000 views. It features a nearly 10-minute long argument between the “Cart Narcs” and two young people who refused to put their shopping cart back in the corral.
“Cart Narcs” is a group that publicly shames people for leaving their shopping carts in parking lots. The confrontations in each video are initiated by Sebastian Davis, the channel’s founder and the host of the Los Angeles radio show “The Woody Show.” A typical video involves arguing with people until they return their carts, calling them “lazybones” and placing large magnets on their cars.
“Be the better person. Dig deep inside your heart and say, ‘you know what, today I’m going to pick up after myself,’” Davis said to the two young people in the Clifton video.
Carts that are left out could potentially obstruct traffic, block parking spots and cause damage to parked vehicles.
“I get messages from car guys, body work guys, like, ‘Oh, I’ve had X number of people bring in dents, you know, dented doors and stuff, and it costs anywhere from 500 bucks for a little scratch up to sometimes a thousand to pull out a dent,’” Davis said.
'Cart Narcs' series started in 2018
The “Cart Narcs” series began in 2018 as a segment of “The Woody Show.” The segment’s popularity led Davis to make it a YouTube channel, which went viral in 2020 for its wild confrontations.
The Clifton video showcases one of the longest arguments the “Cart Narcs” have ever had. However, it is quite civil compared to some prior videos, in which people have chased or even threatened to kill Davis.
The video was met with mixed reactions from viewers. Some loved the content and saw the “Cart Narcs” as actively encouraging people to be considerate.
“I've been binging this channel lately and it's truly amazing to me the effort people put into doing the wrong thing, actively, while not putting in effort to do the right thing,” one YouTube user wrote.
“I absolutely LOVE that you do this! …When I go to any grocery store I always put the cart back where it belongs," another YouTube user commented. "Sadly, in today's world there are more rude and inconsiderate people than ones with manners.”
Rude and threatening
Other viewers perceived the “Cart Narcs” actions as rude and threatening.
“She had every right to feel [threatened]. Some crazy guy with a camera approaches you, talking to you like you're on 'To Catch A Predator' in a Target parking lot for who knows what end,” a Reddit user said.
“I collected carts for so long and this guy somehow makes me wanna leave them in the lot,” another Reddit user wrote.
The channel was also sighted at the Costco in Clifton on May 21 but has not yet uploaded any footage to YouTube from that location.
The 'shopping cart theory'
The channel has drawn attention to a larger conversation about shopping cart etiquette.
New Jersey senator Kristin Corrado introduced legislation in 2021 proposing that shoppers would incur a $250 fine for leaving carts in parking spaces designated for disabled drivers.
The “shopping cart theory,” which argues that a person’s morality can be determined based on whether they willingly return their shopping cart without being asked, has recently become a popular Internet meme.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: 'Cart Narcs' targeted Clifton shoppers who left carts in parking lot
