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Thugs among us
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What's wrong with people, and why are we all victims of their flagrant behavior? I was walking from the Steel Plaza T station one morning in the rain to the Centre Avenue walkway when a hooded young man walked by me and blatantly slapped my coffee out of my hands with a snicker and swaggered across the street.
My initial reaction was really? Then I felt immediate relief to realize that the assault could have been worse as I watched him scurry away across the street disdainfully. I yelled something at him and other bystanders shouted even more colorful words as I continued my commute to work.
I still felt angry and violated, but what bothered me the most was that my initial reaction to this bully thug was to go into "thank God" mode and be glad that it was only a $2 cup of coffee and imagine that it could have been a lot worse.
I remember bullies growing up. They have not been newly invented. They were always around. Somehow, though, the climate for disrespectful behavior seems to have radiated in today's society, almost to the point of acceptance. A cup of coffee today? And what will it be tomorrow?
SUSAN McKELVEY
North Strabane
First Published October 5, 2012 12:00 am
