Not far from me a formerly prosperous retail corner (bakery, pharmacy) near some medical centers has taken a drop off the cliff. The pharmacy closed in early December and the bakery a few days later. A local business owner said the pharmacy was covered in gang graffiti and spray paint art just days after it closed its doors for good.
The same business owner complained about the pharmacy never having anything available on the shelf, "everything is locked up." I mentioned a couple of other pharmacies a mile or so away, one of them part of the same chain, the other a smaller boutique pharmacy.
"That one! There's nothing on the shelves!"
"Well," I said, "you're right, I went in there to buy a bandage and the shelves were picked clean. They don't seem to have things. I thought they were having inventory problems."
"No, it's the shoplifters."
That’s just sad & pitiful. It appears that our justice system is simply okay with this now being a normal part of life. And now it is. When you see the hordes of shoplifters pouring out of the stairs you always see the “security guard” standing there like a doorman. His hands are tied too.
These thugs fear nothing. Is there anything that can save us or is this new normal a permanent feature of our lives?