Vigilante Momma
A friend posted a very thought provoking video about a woman who was standing in line in Walmart and witnessed some young men walking out of the store carrying a few cases of beer without paying for it. The woman brought the fact that they were stealing to the attention of the sales clerk who just put their hands up and said what am I going to do? In response, this customer who was waiting in line, a single momma, went commando and ran after the offending posse. The criminals were having a tough time getting the door open (which I find really funny in and of itself, as it never ceases to amaze me how dumb criminals sometimes appear to be) she was yelling at them to stop, and they were ignoring her, so she ran up onto their car and started jumping on the windshield. Eventually, they got into the car, and started moving it, so she did jump off and watched them ride off into the sunset.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8ZOAvYIO7M&feature=share
For as much as it was a pretty stupid move running after them, you have to applaud her attitude because she’s right. The reason that the guys did it in the first place, was more than likely because they knew that they might have a decent shot of getting away with it. They probably figured that no one would give them much resistance. Even though they were jeering the woman who had the tenacity to get in their faces, I bet they were pretty surprised that she actually did something.
I had read an interesting article years back about a rough area in some city in the US that had really turned around a neighborhood that was plagued with crime and despair by starting with one simple thing. I really wouldn’t haven’t guessed it, as it seemed so simple, but believe it or not, a no tolerance graffiti policy was their building block to a recapturing a better place to live. The initiative sent enough of a positive message throughout the neighborhood to get people caring about their surroundings, looking out for one another and definitively improved the quality of life for the residents that lived there.
So I give that crazy vigilante momma a big pat on the back, because she is right. So many people have a sense of hopelessness about crime, bad kids and general bad behavior that sends the message that no one will pay much attention to what I’m doing, and I’m pretty sure I can get away with it, so why not? If more people did pay attention and step up when people are doing something wrong, maybe miscreants won’t be trying as hard to see what they can get away with.
So, I like the message to care about your surroundings. Pay attention to what’s going on, and take action if someone is trying to get away with something that is not right. Had I been there, I’m not sure what I would have done, but how much trouble would it have taken the time to call 911 and report what happened, to describe who did it, and what kind of car they drove away in? Not so much. The story goes on to show that eventually the offenders were apprehended by the police, and I really like that ending. It shows that sometimes there are repercussions for the actions that you take, and I hope that message is not lost.