Tales from the zombie apocalypse

By Ivan Morgan

Last week I read a great column in the National Post by a fellow named Christopher Dummitt. He suggested we were all living in a real-life zombie apocalypse. He wrote – as I have – about the growing drug problem in his community. As I read the piece, I assumed he was writing from Toronto, or Vancouver or some other big Canadian city. Imagine my shock when I realized he was writing about Peterborough, Ontario!
I spent time in Peterborough many years ago. Great town. I always got a St. John’s vibe. A no-nonsense Northern Ontario town.
Not, according to Dummitt, anymore.
I thought of that article the other day when I found myself in a pharmacy. A young woman employee was accosting a young man in a hoodie with wraparound sunglasses. She asked him to show a receipt for the many items he had on him. He laughed at her, saying the cashier didn’t give him one. When referring to the young man at the cash, he used a racist term.
She insisted he either pay for the items or put them back. He started howling he wasn’t going to pay for the stuff twice. Then he changed tack. He’d put the stuff back if he got his money back. By then some young security people had appeared. He used racist terms talking to them. He used violent sexual imagery speaking to the young employee who stopped him.
Here’s what struck me about the whole incident: he wasn’t the slightest bit afraid.
He wasn’t nervous, or defensive and didn’t seem stressed. I remember when people caught stealing knew they were in trouble, knew there were consequences, knew they had done something wrong.
Not this guy. If anything, he seemed slightly amused.
This young man’s confidence gave him real power. He knew there were no police coming any time soon. He knew the three employees had no real authority. I was there at the cash watching. Never mind the young cashier looked humiliated. Never mind the young woman was risking her safety for the lousy wage the pharmacy pays her. Ditto the young “security” folks. This guy was cocksure.
He surrendered the stuff he had and walked out, hopped into a car with his buddies and drove away laughing. In an odd way it was the only admission of guilt.
Police had been called but didn’t show.
I’m not blaming the cops, theirs is a hard job on a good day.
I have written about this before and have been told what the solution is. Law and order must be restored, say some. It’s a problem with the schools, or the home life, say others. There is no teaching morality anymore, says another.
Perhaps. To me this seems to be a societal problem. This young man showed no fear. No remorse. The concept of right and wrong didn’t seem to apply to him. Speaking with others who work retail, I learn this isn’t a one off. He is far from the only one robbing businesses in broad daylight. Is it even robbing in the traditional sense? Traditionally, shoplifters hide what they take. Not these young people. Cashiers tell me they come in, help themselves and walk out knowing nothing will happen to them.
There’s an election coming up and this does not seem to be an issue. The PC Opposition’s best angle is to blame government. The rise in crime is their fault. I bet they sat up late thinking that press release up.
Some offer solutions. Right now, a lot of money is being spent on harm reduction, a philosophy that says drug users need non-judgemental support and health care. They use drugs but they should be safe. I fully understand and support the concept of harm reduction. I am always on the side of compassion and patience.
I see drugged out people on the street every day now. Thin, shuffling, wandering out into traffic, sleeping on the sidewalk. So many of them need help and they need it now. In columnist Dummit’s uncharitable words, they look like characters from a zombie apocalypse. Of course, harm reduction is important.
My question is, when does it apply to us?
Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivanmorgan@gmail.com