Yesterday I witnessed a disturbing scene at the football game. I've been debating the ethics of posting this, but I won't mention any names and I believe that nobody will/can get in trouble over this.
I was in the bleachers cheering for the Rebels, and standing next to somebody I'd never met before. He started chatting with me, introduced himself, and then proclaimed "we're best friends already, I love it." This didn't bother me at all, I figured he was just being friendly.
However, then he whispered something to a boy walking by, and that boy went and talked to a bunch of his friends, and soon there was a line leading up to the boy next to me. My "new friend" pulled off his backpack, and I soon learned that he was selling miniature bottles of vodka "on sale" for $2 a piece. Since I was right next to him, I heard all his conversations and saw all of his customers (there must have been at least a dozen). I didn't know how to react, so I just turned to talk to my friends on my other side.
WHY do people find it so exciting to drink at football games? At a school function on school property, and especially as underage drinkers, they're just asking for trouble. Is that risk what makes it so intriguing? My other issue was this - was the boy I just met really friendly and interested in being my friend, or was he just gaining my trust or testing the waters to see how I'd react to his alcohol deals? I felt played, and found myself in an extremely awkward position deciding how to react. The entire situation caused me to leave the game early I was so disturbed.
You should know that there are those who are so desperate for fun that they will deliberately break a rule or law just for the sake of deriving pleasure from giving the metaphorical (or literal) finger to "The Man". Or, in this case, a fool may derive his pleasure from irresponsibly indulging in substances.
ReplyDeleteEthically speaking, I think it is fine of you to keep the fool's name anonymous, but it is your responsibility to report this incident to authority.
Also, you should know by now that just because someone calls you a "friend" is by no means reason to trust them. I, in fact, am very suspicious about people that call you "best friend" when you have never met them. This is likely due to years of harassment from random people like this that have tried to irritate me because I stood out. This fool was clearly trying, quite naively, to exploit your good nature to make you look the other way when illicit sales were in progress. Some are less persuaded by friendly talk; if I were in that scenario, it would probably take nothing short of a concealed knife to keep me quiet. Even then, I would tell someone. This idiot should be suspended immediately (if he is a student, else he should be arrested for dealing to minors).
The more I thought of reporting him later that night, the more I realized I probably couldn't even if I wanted to. I was already unsure about the name he introduced himself as, and even if I could remember that I'm almost positive that it was a nickname. Either way, I felt that removing myself from the situation was the best thing I could have done in the moment.
ReplyDeleteI also see your point about my easy manipulation. I often find myself extremely trusting of others, and more than once I've been burned by this. That's the other thing - do I give people less of a benefit of the doubt after an experience like that? Do I let this one boy diminish my faith in people's goodness? Ughh. What a frusterating situation.
Don't let one bad person ruin your outlook on people (I'm sure it won't). Don't, however, put all your faith in one person. Watch out for yourself, but be courteous as well. Do you need me to tell you this? :)
ReplyDeleteRegardless, if you were next to this guy, you could have gotten a profile of his appearance and given it to law enforcement. This kind of thing slips by too often.