most people view will mr. austin simon’s as both tragic and unnecessary. a dispute over a $3.00 bag of chips should not result in a life ending moment. this life was ended as a result of policies that created “toxic entitlement.”
new york’s charging of the man, who acted in self-defense was tragic and represented the height of hypocrisy; the message that law abiding citizens would be punished for acting to save their own lives was unacceptable. mr. jose alba, the bodega clerk, who took mr. simon’s life has finally been afforded justice. the murder charges against him are being dismissed. the delayed justice in this matter was an injustice. everyone outside of the district attorney’s offices knew it was wrong.
the video and the facts are obvious, mr. jose alba, a 61 year old bodega worker, made a choice to kill mr. austin. he did so in order to save his own life. his life was reportedly threatened by both mr. simon and by his girlfriend. prior to taking mr. austin’s life, mr. simon’s girlfriend reportedly threatened mr. alba and allegedly told mr. alba that her boyfriend was going to ‘come down here right now and f–k [him]… up’.”
mr. alba, aware of the threat, still tried to diffuse the matter when mr. simon, the boyfriend arrived at the bodega. despite mr. alba’s efforts, mr. simon chose to enter mr. alba’s workspace, behind the counter, and violently push him against a wall and to the ground. further, prior to mr. alba’s stabbing mr. simon to death, it appeared that mr. simon was in a dominant position which would have allowed him to commit further violence upon mr. alba. at that point, it was clear that any reasonable person would have had a fear that mr. simon was preparing to commit serious bodily injury or murder upon mr. alba. thus, mr. alba’s action were completely justified as an act of self-defense when he took the knife he found on the shelf and used it to stab mr. simon to death. the weapon was secured by mr. alba only after he had been assaulted.
the ny district attorney’s rush to judgment to charge mr. alba was outrageous. being charged with murder and having the post bail meant that mr. alban needed significant amounts of money to cover legal expense. for the likes of a bodega clerk, these expenses are prohibitive. mr. alba’s attempts to obtain funds were stopped by a so called crowd funding site gofundme. thus, the decision to charge the case without fully investigating it cost the alba family dearly. further, mr. alba was incarcerated at a time when he was trying to heal from stab wounds inflicted from mr. simon’s girlfriend. it is reported that they became infected.
the ny district attorney’s offices have finally come to the correct their initial decision to prosecute. it is reported “the da’s office said it had filed a motion in manhattan criminal court to dismiss the case against the 61-year-old bodega worker after an investigation found it couldn’t prove the “defendant was not justified in his use of deadly physical force.” nypost.com
public sentiment and press apparently worked. “if it weren’t for the ny post, mr. alba would still be in jail,” said frank garcia, chairman of the national association of latino state chambers of commerce. nypost.com prosecuting mr. alba, for most individuals, represented the common person who found it necessary to protect himself. nypost.com
in sum, this tragic death was inevitable given the trajectory of lax prosecution and sentencing of criminals. individuals, such as mr. simon, have been given the “green light” to commit acts of violence with little consequence. government leaders, district attorney’s offices, social media, and social activists have encouraged this conduct. with this encouragement, more and more outlandish acts have occurred. store workers and security guards have received threats, have had weapons brandished at them, have been sprayed with toxic substances and have had other acts of violence upon them. a death from one of these encounters was just a matter of time. fortunately, it was the criminal aggressor whose life was taken and not a worker or customer.
while mr. alba is enjoying his freedom from government persecution, he will still suffer from both his physical and emotional wounds that he has from the incident. one can only fathom the thought of having to deal with the fact that he took another’s life. hopefully, mr. alba will find peace and be able to live out his life in a positive fashion.
in this instance, the people sent a clear message to the politicians, “toxically entitlement” is no longer welcomed. businesses and their workers are to be treated with respect and dignity.
be well!!
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