Tipped

I’m putting the following on notice:

The homeless lady who claims to be hungry but refuses my offer of food
Bootleg DVD Man

This list is not inclusive.  As a matter of fact, if given more time, I could add about a dozen more to this list.

This new revelation comes on the heels of the passion I witnessed last week and lunch conversations with two other folks that feel we can tip Upper Darby.

The easiest way to bottom line The Tipping Point is this handy guide here.  One of the ways I can explain it is to think about an epidemic and how something can tip either good or bad.  In the broken window theory, the broken window gives the impression that a neighborhood just doesn’t care.

I remember my grandmother was notorious about keeping her front swept.  If a stray piece of paper blew by, she was on it, sweeping and gabbing with the neighbors.

I vowed never to never be that lady who screamed and hollered at people being people.

Then I became a mother, homeowner, and tax payer.

As a mom, it’s my responsibility to raise my children so they have a semblance of decency.  They reflect me in public and I can either fret that they aren’t prepared, or I can stand confident that I did my best.  Most times I’m confident. I’ve learned that not all people feel the same. There are those who think it’s okay for their kid to come home with an item they KNOW they didn’t purchase; use language that makes me at my maddest blush; and act a damn fool.

As a homeowner, I know the importance of keeping my home neat and tidy.  My rose bushes must be maintained, and even though I DESPISE barbecued flavor anything, I have to clean up the stray bags from others.

Same with being a tax payer.  I can’t complain about high taxes and not attend a council meeting or school board presentation.  I have to hold my elected officials accountable for the promises they made and I also have to do my part.

Which is why I’m tipping.

In Wawa this past weekend, a woman asked each patron for fifty cents to get something to eat.  Since NOTHING in Wawa costs fifty cents, I offered to purchase a sandwich for her to eat.  She refused, saying she wanted cash to go to Burger King.  Perhaps she was going to Burger King, but I have been taught to never look a gift horse in the mouth.  In my experience, the pan handlers are using the money to purchase anything but food.

Mulling this I was then accosted outside of the store by Bootleg DVD Guy.  People mistake the locs for something else, because he started to run down all of the Tyler Perry movies he had.  Not just because of THAT insult, but it’s bad enough I can’t leave the market with the Hack Man mobbing me or some wayward kids ‘helping’ with my groceries.  Now I have this guy selling illegal downloads.  What’s next,
Two fo’ Five Sock Man?

I told him that when I returned if he was still in front of the store, I would call the cops.  He flipped, immediately telling me that I was trying to keep a brother down.

Sigh

No, sir, I was not keeping a brother down.  I was preventing a crime.

These crimes are like the people who eat fruit in the grocery store or nibble a hand full of nuts in Whole Foods.  They seem victim less  but they have serious consequences.  Prices go up, cashiers are laid off to stave off the raising costs, CEO’s start prophecizing the second coming.

Please follow and share: