This Savage Shaming of an Alleged Fall River Tequila Shoplifter Is Wild

In case you live off the grid or under a rock, ‘tis the season of holiday shopping. While most people will do the bulk of their holiday shopping online, there is still a lot of stuff we’ll need to go out and purchase in real life, like alcohol. With the mega staff shortage that is affecting everyone and retail in particular, store owners are on high alert for anyone who may be thinking about doing some "free ninety-nine" shopping.

In doing said real-life gift shopping this week, I found myself stopped dead in my tracks in the entryway of a Fall River liquor store. Maybe I’m naïve, but quite frankly, I could not believe that store management would be so bold as to post large, color prints of one of their most recent alleged shoplifters.

I loved it.

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Not only did they make the effort to post her photo front and center for all to see, but they used three photos to get all her angles: a giant, neon pink sale call-out card stock card to give shoppers some background on who she was, and a fun little sentence highlighting why she was on display. She’s not just a nameless shoplifter that the store needed help identifying. They know exactly who she is, and they are naming names and her drink of choice.

In most cases, I would expect photos and names of suspected shoplifters to be kept to the 86-list of someone's back office or employee break room. At the same time, when you go into a liquor store with a giant handbag and appear to steal three handles of tequila, I imagine you make it really hard for business owners to keep the peace by keeping your identity safe from the general public.

Maybe other shoppers disagree with the store’s policy to put supposed shoplifters front and center like this, but three bottles of tequila isn’t exactly a basic need, either. This savage shaming of the alleged tequila shoplifter is totally justified.