i'm trying to keep the amount of things i'm purchasing to a minimum, because i'm essentially ready to pick up and move at any time. but, i do need to eat. so, i'm at the grocery store, picking up some fruits & veggies, some cheese, some eggs...

i come up to the cash register, and it's a tale of two refugees.

now, i didn't see what actually happened, but my proclamations in this space will neither convict or acquit this man, so let us assume, for the sake of the narrative, that the accusation from refugee #1 (the store manager) was true: that refugee #2 did in fact bring his kid into the store in order to steal something, perhaps a loaf of bread.

i don't think it's right to ask the question of whether it's a crime to steal a loaf of bread; i think it's right to ask the question of whether it's a crime to force people into choices such as these, especially if the premise was escape from a scenario where there was no bread at all. what is a greater crime: to lack the resources to distribute bread to all that need it, or to deny bread to those that need it when it is abundant? it seems like a silly question, when framed properly.

but, what other outcome could we expect?

refugee #1 speaks excellent english, and is probably underemployed, if clearly well fed. he could have probably emigrated here outside of the refugee system. and, perhaps he did.

it is not clear if refugee #2 understand enough english to comprehend the accusations against him, and he might very well just be doing what he's always done - and perhaps what his parents always did, too.

the manager was enraged, perhaps because he saw himself reflecting back at him. his enunciations focused strongly on the premise of the child being the guilty party, the implication being that teaching a child to steal is in some ways worse than stealing. but, who owns this property? and why is this theft?

i watched the manager, a big and well-nourished man, pick this scrawny, underfed fellow refugee up and throw him across the store, to the quiet amazement of onlookers, as though he was carrying out an application of sharia law on the spot. he then grabbed him by the nape of the neck, and dragged him out of the store.

i do not know what happened next.

but, i suspect what i witnessed has happened before in this country, and will happen again.

anti-racism activists need to understand that this process has been poorly managed, and that some serious changes in approach are immediately required to prevent some serious consequences.