The Man With No Soul

Dear piece of shit store manager at Sears-Eaton Center.

I wish I had asked you for your name because I would have LOVED to have been able to post it for the world to see. 

You are a bad man.

On Friday I met my mom at the Toronto Outdoor Art Festival. Now a quick side note/ pitch for this exhibition- it is wonderful. Being cheaper than the One of a Kind show, this exhibition boasts similar Canadian crafts but is more accessible for newer and student artists. It is really quite amazing how much talent we have in our city. If you missed it this year, go next year. You will not regret it.

Anyways, went to the art show and since it was such a nice day we decided to stay downtown after we were done and just wander around the stores. As we were heading out of the Eaton Center towards Urban Outfitters on Yonge, we saw an old woman looking terribly beaten and battered lying on the ground outside the doors where Roots and Sears are. She was so abused looking that I had to stop and assess the situation. 

It seemed to me that she was desperate for help as she was moaning on the ground, and that most people were literally stepping over her and walking away. It is this kind of shit that makes me just hate people.

Sure, she was visibly weird- she had on old clothes and had no bottom teeth. It isn’t like she was looking to crawl into bed with you though and I was shocked that no one bothered to stop and look at her and notice that this person needed help. Because, after all, that is what she is- a person?

Anyways, what really caught me was how badly beaten her face was-  I dialed 911. I have never had to call 911 before. While I stayed on the phone describing the woman, her wounds and our location, my mom went in to look for some kind of mall security. What she found was the manager at Sears.

Fuck you, manager at Sears. You are a true piece of shit. 

He came out of the store, barely looked at this woman lying on the pavement and said, and I quote “oh her? She has shoplifted before so she is banned from our store- just leave her on the street and ignore her.”

Now, like I said, I know that this woman was homeless, or on drugs, or mentally unwell or all of the above. SO? Does that mean we are excused from providing basic human care and empathy when we find her lying on the ground with a mangled face in a dirty pink cardigan? Are we meant to, as this awful man suggested, ignore her? Pretend that she is not calling for help? Is she not owed basic dignity? 

Ok- she shoplifted and is banned from your store- totally reasonable except when you find her visibly absued and incapable of standing up in the doors of your store- at what point do you say that you will help? At one point does your conscious kick in?

How does this poor excuse of a man go home and look at his wife, mother, daughters and feel good about his decision to ignore a battered woman at his feet?

The ambulance came and took her away- she will likely return to whatever street or shelter she came from in the end and proceed to lurk around Eaton Center or wherever she belongs- but that is another story.

In the meantime, to this disgusting man in particular and to everyone else who just stepped right over over her or pointed from a distance less 2 or 3 good people who bothered to stop and see if she needed help- you should all be ashamed of yourselves and pray that one day if such an awful thing happens to you or someone you know, that the people around will pay more kindnesss than you did on Friday.