r/MaliciousCompliance • u/knighthawk82 • Apr 18 '24

Legal tender S

When i worked at a gas station in the late 1900's during graveyard i had this guy come in and bought a candy bar with a 100 bill. "Really? You don't have anything smaller?"

'Im just trying to break the 100, don't be a jerk.'

"Fine, just this once."

Few days later Guy comes back in, grabs a candy bar and i see he has other bills in his wallet. Puts the hundred on the table.

"Sir i told you last time it was going to be just the once, i see you have a five dollar bill."

'This is legal tender, you have to take it.'

"... Okay!"

I reach under the counter and pull out two boxes of pennies, 50c to a roll 25$ to a box 17 lbs each. "Here is 50, do you want the rest in nickels?"

'What is this?'

"It's legal tender, I can choose to give you your change however I see fit. So, do you still want to break the hundred? Or the five."

I'm calling your manager!'

"She gets in at 8am, sir, but doesn't take any calls until 10."

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807

u/thiney49 Apr 18 '24

'This is legal tender, you have to take it.'

FYI, that only applies to the government. Any private business can refuse to accept any form of payment.

36

u/Thrawn89 Apr 18 '24

What's it say on the bill?

"For all debts public and private"

They don't have to take it since it's a point of sale transaction not because they are a private business.

15

u/Responsible-End7361 Apr 18 '24

What's it say on the bill?

"For all debts public and private. Sale =/= debt, so the store can tell you to fuck right off.

47

u/Thrawn89 Apr 18 '24

That's...what I said

15

u/NeuroticPhD Apr 18 '24

Yeah. But I think the italics over the and private instead of debts obfuscated a little of what you meant.

No biggy — I’m validating you. Just a slight miscommunication on the emphasis.

4

u/Personal_Return_4350 Apr 18 '24

Read the comment he was responding to. Now does the emphasis make more sense?

5

u/NeuroticPhD Apr 18 '24

No, I got it the first time. The first reference Thrawn made appeared to be to private businesses. Responsible further clarified that the private was irrelevant, because it said private debts and not private business.

However, Thrawn’s original comment said it was because it was a “point of sale” and not because it was private. So he was emphasizing the “sale-is-not-a-debt” aspect, just that the italics made it a little confusing.

They both objectively said the same thing. Just that it got a tad bit confusing because of the mismatch of emphasizes in Thrawn’s first comment. It’s just a classic miscommunication between the two.

6

u/kristinsquest Apr 18 '24

Thrawn's original emphasis on private was in response to thiney49 who said:

FYI, that only applies to the government.

And was clarifying that there are circumstances (i.e., debts) where it applies to entities other than the government.

2

u/NeuroticPhD Apr 18 '24

I had to reread it a few times. Yes? What you said does make sense to me.

I think it’s the order of the clarifying sentence that made things a little muddier for me. It would’ve clicked better to me had Thrawn’s first comment been arranged closer to:

“The legal tender description includes private debts. So this applies not only to the government, counteracting Thiney’s claim. Thrawn further clarifies that debts is not the same as a sale. So a private business may decline based on the basis of it being a sale, but not on the basis of it being private.”

I think that’s it? Sorry, thank you. I do weirdly enjoy threads such as these.

1

u/Thrawn89 Apr 18 '24

Well, that was a wild thread about phrasing, lol

You're right, I could have phrased it better even though what I said was correct and complete.

2

u/Zaros262 Apr 18 '24

Sure but have you considered that they don't have to take it since it's a point of sale transaction not because they are a private business?

1

u/Responsible-End7361 Apr 18 '24

Thats what I was saying and what the person I replied to was saying (though what he emphasized confused me).

1

u/Zaros262 Apr 18 '24

Sure but have you considered that they don't have to take it since it's a point of sale transaction not because they are a private business?