Commentsby
Bob Brandon....
Hero
2-Zero
There's
more to this outrageous and intriguing situation than meets your eye, so
read it carefully.
The
idea of a 7-Eleven blazing away in the night has different connotations
to different people. If you're in need of a quick jolt, you'll go
for a hot cup of their famous coffee...if you're in need of money, you
may use the ATM, or a sawed-off shotgun.
That
was the case in Martinsburg, West Virginia when a would-be robber threatening
an employee's life, was confronted by clerk Antonio Feliciano. Even
though company policy forbids it, Antonio grabbed the rifle and wrestled
the perpetrator to the floor and maintained control of the situation until
the cops arrived.
The
asailant, 35 year old Glenda Renee Hull apparently wasn't quite tough enough
to deter Feliciano. When asked about the ordeal, and the fact that
7-Eleven strictly prohibits this kind of bravery, he said "I just wanted
to be sure that I was coming home that night." Corporate honchos
at the Convenience Conglomerate were less than thrilled by the exploit.
To
show their appreciation, and to honor the fact that his life was already
on the line when he made a split-second decision, they fired this loyal
employee. Instead of following the edict that says "Just hand over
the cash", this young man seized the opportunity, and turned a potential
disaster into a happy ending...sort of. As they say, no good deed
goes unpunished, that's why he's now unemployed.
When
asked to defend the indefensible, the 7-Eleven guys glibly state "No asset
in a 7-Eleven store is worth defending with an employee's life."
There doesn't seem to be much wiggle room here. If you're a clerk
working the graveyard shift at the local 7-Eleven, that bastion of supurb
selection and fair prices, and some hopped-up freak crashes in waving a
gun in your face, you'd just better hope your insurance is paid up.
There are times when you've got to fight back, or else. Unless you
work at the Red and Green.
That
takes care of the outrageous part, now for the intrigue: The internet,
with it's decentralized nature is a great place to research unbiased news,
but just try and find out details surrounding this story. The robbery
ocurred July 14th, and Feliciano was fired for heroism on Monday.
Just try to find out more.
Chances
are, you're going to come to an abrupt dead end. I wonder why?
Go ahead, check Fox News, the outfit that broke the story in the first
place...you'll find the story teaser, but click on the link and you're
staring at a File Not Found screen. Or maybe the Washington Post,
a national leader in news reporting, Nope. USA Today, NY Times, MSNBC,
CNN, sorry, no dice.
It
seems so improbable that the financial might of the great 7-Eleven ad budget
could possibly influence reporting of this story, so I'll just forget that
stupid idea right now...but you know, a story like this couldn't be good
for the company's image, kinda makes 'em look hard hearted, and unfeeling...nah,
they wouldn't ever pull any strings to shape the reporting of facts on
which you depend. It's just not possible, even though most of the
major news outlets are owned by major corporations that do major advertising
business with companies like 7-Eleven.
There's
no way any of these big dollar guys would let the possibility of cancellation
cloud their objectivity, is there? |
