This is not a column about bras. It’s about one more sign of the fall of civilization.

It starts with a bra, though. A simple, white, inexpensive sports bra.

I was in desperate need of a new one and I’m never going to splurge $68 at Lululemon for a swatch of Spandex to contain my modest endowments.

My undies come from less exclusive retail shops.

Which is how I found myself in the athletic wear department of one of these Virginia Beach stores yesterday where I found just what I needed for $16. I paid at the self-checkout and bagged my purchases.

As I went through the exit with several other shoppers, I heard that tell-tale ding, ding, ding, but figured it couldn’t be me because I had no high-ticket items in my bag.

Once home, however, I found a red plastic security tag firmly attached to my new bra. There is no way to remove these things with teeth or tools, so I headed back to the store with my receipt.

As the customer service clerk was removing the tag, I told her that I’d heard the alarm as I went through the door, but no one stopped me.

“We don’t,” she replied.

What?

“We don’t stop anyone with items they didn’t pay for. We’re not allowed.”

”Dang,” I replied. “I wonder how much this thing would cost if I wasn’t paying for all the stolen sports bras.”

She smiled weakly.

Since when do we shrug and simply tolerate thieves?

Look, no one wants store clerks getting into dangerous altercations with shoplifters, but if Costco can station receipt checkers by the doors, to guarantee that NOTHING leaves the premises that hasn’t been purchased, why don’t all retail stores do the same?

Sure, it might cause bottlenecks at the exits, but if that’s the only way to keep people honest and prices low, isn’t it worth it?

Prosecuting thieves for petty larceny is definitely not worth the time and effort. Shoplifters know that. I assume they also know which stores don’t even make an attempt to slow them down.

So what, exactly, is the point of security tags? Seems they serve only to provide annoying serenades at the exits.

As I turned to leave, the clerk thanked me for shopping in her store.

She should have thanked me for paying.

Apparently that isn’t mandatory.