The ventnorblog grapevine has heard about an horrendous incident that happened in town yesterday.
There weren’t windows smashed or altercations in the car park after chucking out time. There was simply someone making a judgement without any basis and causing a great amount of humiliation to a completely innocent party.
Unfortunately he picked on one of the loveliest people in Ventnor. Below is the email received from someone next to the situation.
A couple of hours ago XXXX went to the XXXXX shop to look for a skirt or something or other. As it often does with everyone the call of nature beckoned, so she put the skirts she was looking at back on the hangers, and went out quickly to find the nearest loo.
Afterwards she went to the XXXXXXXX shop, only to hear “Don’t serve her, she’s a thief!”, and the manager from the XXXXX shop had followed her to the crapper, then all the way to the XXXXXXXX shop, then stood ranting and raving about how she was a dirty thief in front of a shop full of people. She offered for him to look through her bag but he wasn’t interested, and no matter how much she insisted that she certainly wasn’t a thief, certainly didn’t need to steal, and certainly not from the charity shop!
So I phoned this bloke up, who told me the story exactly how XXXX had told me it: “she came in the shop, she went out quickly, I followed her, I told them not to serve her because she was a thief in the XXXXXXXX shop,” blah-blah-blah …. so I said “wouldn’t it perhaps have been better to talk to her like a reasonable human being first of all and then figure out if she had stolen?”, to which he replied “well I wasn’t sure if she’d stolen or not”, to which I said “all the more reason to talk to her first in a civil fashion and find out”, to which he said “well how would I have known?” …..
The punch line was “well if she wants to come into the XXXXX shop and make up with me she’s welcome”.
We’re great supporters of the call for everyone in Ventnor to take responsibility for what’s going on around them. But in order for it to work, it’s important for people to make sure they’ve got their facts right and be able to back them up.
It appears strange that someone can be offered proof of innocence, but not accept it.
Incorrect and unfounded accusation will only alienate people.
