a bottle of red, a bottle of white, perhaps a bottle of rose instead
billy joel
some stories arouse a morality debate. a new york bodega incident is a story of biblical proportion. every teen and adult in the united states should view both the video and read the account of what happened. this story is how about how things can go really wrong. it is a case about what a society should view as justice.
this post will summarize the incident. the summary is not complete. the video must be watched as well.
a 51 year old bodega clerk, mr. jose alba, assisted a young lady who was there with a 10 year old child. she tried to purchase items with an ebt card. the card did not go through. the clerk attempted to take the items back and the customer became enraged. she reportedly knocked things over and she threatened the worker that she was going to bring her man there to deal with the situation. [commentary: the woman perhaps felt publicly humiliated by having no funds and having the items taken away. with humiliation, anger can arise.]
her friend, the man, arrived. he reportedly went behind the counter. [commentary: he entered the space which was exclusively for employees] and confronted the bodega worker. there were words said. the man pushed the worker against the wall and he fell to a seated position. the man was towering the worker. [commentary: the worker reasonably could have had fear that more violence was to occur.] the worker grabbed a knife while he was still down. he arose and there was a struggle between the two men. the worker then used the knife to stab the man. he stabbed the man to death. there were reportedly five stabs. the woman, about this time, took a knife out of her purse and stabbed the worker.
the worker has been charged with murder and no charges have been filed against the woman. the man who died had a criminal record which involved violence. there is no report of the worker having a criminal history.
there are those in the neighborhood that are upset over the arrest. it is reported that “one regular at the bodega claiming if alba isn’t freed: ‘we have no law here in this city.’ dailymail.com this matter is clearly about the nature and extent that one is allowed to defend themselves in a threatening situation. dailymail.com
there is a graphic video of the incident. as such, all watching can see and appreciate the possible emotions and thoughts that the worker possessed.
please go to the nypost article to view the video and get additional information.
in this matter, there is the district attorney’s office which has injected itself into the controversy by not only charging the worker but also requiring a bail amount in this case. this also raises eyeballs as the ny district attorney’s offices have created a revolving door for chronic offenders and have let them out on their own accord. one must question why is this worker behind bars?
in sum, this story and video is something that should be shown to teens for them to understand and appreciate how small matters can escalate into a fatality. further, a debate should occur as to whether an individual defending themselves should be subject to prosecution.
be well!!
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