Yesterday, I worked the night-shift with a younger co-worker. Since he's underage and has been working for a shorter period than me, I automatically have the responsibility. I, who usually worries about being robbed when given full responsibility, have finally begun to overcome that fear and begun to understand that I can't work with those thoughts. Isn't it then typical that yesterday, out of all days, my co-worker and I had a visit from 6 shoplifters. You might be thinking "Well, shoplifting happens to every store. It's not like it was a robbery!" but you are oh-so-wrong!
These shoplifters were 6 guys 10x my size (and I'm basically Betty Spaghetti so: sticks and stones will break my bones!) who shoplifted in front of my eyes. It wasn't even night and there were heaps of customers standing in line ready to pay for their groceries. They were quite discreet about it at first but when I noticed that one guys jacket-pocket started to grow, I had to be brave and make a move. I apologized to my customer and asked them to wait for a second. I walked to them and asked them if they intended to buy all the moist snuff (actually it's supposed to be snus since moist snuff isn't really like the Swedish snus. Here comes irrelevant info but did you know that it was the Swedes who brought snus to America which led them to make a version which they call moist snuff or spit/dipping tobacco? Anyways, back to the story...) and asked them to empty out their pockets. All six of them turned stupid and said "What snus? We don't know what you're talking about?" and as I crossed-my-heart-and-hoped-not!-to-die I started closing two gates to keep them locked in while calling for Securitas (a form of police-squad who back us up when needed).
In the moment of bravery, in the moment when other civilians see and know what is going on, I have 4 of these men barging through those gates and up my face saying in a low threatening voice "What do you think you're going to do?".
In that moment of fear, in that moment of realizing what could happen if I (Betty-Spaghetti) tried to interfere even more than I already did, I decided that the snus they had wasn't worth endangering myself for. I backed off - with shaken bones...
With shaken bones, I run for the telephone to try and call for back-up. With shaken bones I look at our customers, where the majority were men who didn't have the guts to help a defenseless girl like me fight off six shoplifters 10x my size, and was disgusted by them. Where is the civil courage in this country, in this world?
What drove me to basically insanity/madness was our bullshit of security. I phoned them for more than 20 minutes - and nobody answers. Hello!? Do we sleep at work now??? The first guy that answers tells me it's his day off. And when I ask for guidance about who I could otherwise call, he simply answers in a monotonous tone I don't know. WTF!?
So then I call the next and last number hoping for help, and another man answers. Lucky enough (or so I think) he's on duty BUT! the guy didn't understand what I said in swedish!!! SWEDISH! The language of the country we live, work, eat, sleep and die in! So he asks me to take it in english instead. I do and when I'm done he says that he still didn't understand. He didn't even understand the most international language which pretty much everyone knows and can speak! Instead he puts a young girl on the phone who was supposed to translate what I said... How ridiculous wasn't that? And all I could think was: HOW THE FUCK DID YOU GET YOUR JOB!?!?!? (I know, I'm a total bitch when I'm mad...)
I try reaching my boss and his wife for help but neither of them answer any phone number that they've posted on the Information board. So I ended up calling the one person I knew could help me, Helen (my co-worker). The only person who I can count on in time of need, the only person (except for Bosse) who seems to know more than our boss and his wife does!
Two hours after the incident when I try to get things flowing on as usual and try not to blame myself for everything, Securitas calls. How convenient now that the shoplifters (I'd like to say robbers) are far away and untraceable... Ignorant fool, asks me if everything is fine. I answered coldly and bitterly in a "if-a-voice-could-kill": It is now, but it wasn't for two hours ago! (Like I said, I'm a total bitch when I'm mad...)
The guy comes over after 20 minutes to check on the videotapes, and although he was really hot (I'm messed up, I know!) I still decided to be the same bitch that I was on the phone. Naturally, he prefers to talk about the situation with my younger co-worker, who - may I refresh your mind - wasn't the one with all the responsibility (and he's like 16 years old, just a kid! I count already as an adult! Going on 20! Hello!?), so really he should've talked to me about it. Perhaps it's because I'm a girl that he felt that only men could handle these things (do I smell sexism here?).
It's funny that the whole incident hasn't scared me off. That those men didn't scare the living daylights out of me so that I refuse to work again - instead, it pissed me off!
Why should these things have to occur? Why is there no civil courage? Why is the whole security and actual police system so fucked up?
