Police Guarding Clothing Stores

-

Cops are security guards in some stores now. I saw them yesterday.

Public reaction to the police varies. Some people smile and feel they are safe. Others become apprehensive, is there a crime in progress? Others do like Katt Williams, the famous African American comedian. In his comedy specials, he says he just flops down, hands on his back, ready to be cuffed without committing any crime.

But police officers in a clothing store? I saw them yesterday and it brought back memories of seeing them more than once, in a mega grocery store in this town. I found it scary because they stood near the door with hands inside their body, ready to pull out the hardware. I can’t blame the pandemic, my usual scapegoat because this happened around 2019. Some locals got concerned. Why is the police guarding a grocery store? They should hire a security company. It turns out it’s a side hustle. The store pays off-duty police officers to nab people with a propensity to pick-and-not-pay. They are still in that store. I got used to their presence, I guess.

Then I saw them yesterday at a clothing store. What is happening? The manager said not to worry about a thing. Everything’s fine. If police officers/security guards become the norm in clothing and grocery stores, it can mean five things.

1. The crime rate is going up

2. Security companies are not capable (some security guards scroll their phones)

3. Surveillance like cameras miss certain things

4. Social fabric is breaking down with thieves becoming too clever for ordinary security guards

5. The cost of living is high, including food prices

Some locals are not happy. They don’t like the idea of the police, helping the private sector because their pension comes from taxpayers.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Elections And Political Bullies

-
Image
Forget democracy.   It should be called political bullying. We are watching it in the prelude to the Canadian election on the 19 th of October, 2015.   Americans have also started their political bullying for the looming presidential election next year. So many trees wasted on books about democracy.   Some countries have big budgets for invading other countries ‘ to defend democracy’ but it is seldom practised in campaigning for elections.   Calling opponents names and printing flyers attacking each other is behaviour that will not be tolerated in kindergarten, but it is all legal, in campaigning.   It is irritating and such a let-down to the whole notion of democracy.   Grown-up men and women behaving like Grade One kids. It is also misleading because many voters believe it is real hatred.   Don’t let that fool you.   These politicians play golf together, attend the same dinner parties, eat and drink at the same social events, share jokes and cut deals in parliament.   They
Read more

Comfort Food As Regret Food

-
Image
Chicken curry. Comfort food is good for the soul, which usually bleeds in winter from icy roads, bad drivers that want to annihilate pedestrians, frozen fingers and toes that take a sabbatical.   What happened to my toes?   I thought I was wearing special socks for boots? We therefore have a right to comfort food which throws doctors’ orders out of the window and has no loyalty to calories.   No calculator on the table, thanks very much.   Piece of bread 5 calories, half a banana 10 calories, sugar-free cheesecake 2,000 calories.   Ah! Ah!  We only live once. Naw!   Comfort food is old school food with its compulsory second helping.   It involves licking fingers and giving a big sigh, about the good life, which is shelter, food, love and debt.   The problem is the zip.   The jeans remind you that comfort food can also be called you will regret food .   Home sweet home is even sweeter in winter after surviving blowing snow and bumper to bumper traffic. What is more welcoming th
Read more

No Air Miles

-
Image
I don’t have Air Miles.   I’m considering putting that on a T-Shirt because I cannot go to the drugstore (chemist) or coffee shop without the cashier asking me if I have air miles. We waited for about two minutes the other day, while this guy looked for his Air Miles card in his overweight wallet.   For what?   For a few points. I don’t have air miles because Mathematics is a foreign language.   I was never good in numbers. That is why I squashed the idea of being an investment banker very early in life.   I understand you can invest in cornfields before the soil is turned up or pork bellies even before a baby pig is born. That is how I view air miles, investing in tomorrow or the unknown.   I’m the dumb one.   Some people understand this air miles’ thing so well, I overheard one customer saying: I can even convert my points into cash. Points and air miles are the same thing in Canada and the U.S.   Drugstores or clothing stores even give you a card to collect point
Read more