Social Justice or Stupidity?

Oberlin.

Ever been through it? If you haven't, Oberlin is a sleepy little town of just over eight thousand residents and a hair under 5 square miles in size, located in Lorain County southwest of Cleveland.

It is also home to Oberlin College.

On the ninth of November a student from the college was in a small 'Mom and Pop' store close to campus, Gibson's Market. It's a family-owned business which has been in existence for decades, due mainly to the college's student/customers. The student, 19-year-old Jonathan Aladin, decided to buy a bottle of wine, which in itself would have been illegal since he's not twenty-one; an additional problem was, Aladin had concealed two other bottles of wine under his shirt in an attempt to steal them. The clerk told Aladin that he knew there were concealed wine bottles under his shirt and, as the clerk attempted to take Aladin's picture with his cell phone, the suspect slapped it away, causing it to strike the clerk in the face.

The clerk came around the counter and attempted to stop Aladin from leaving with the shoplifted  wine; Aladin threw the bottles to the floor, began struggling with and striking clerk Allyn Gibson, the owner's son, managed to break away and flee across the street, where two female Oberlin students were waiting. Gibson chased Aladin and was then assaulted by all three students. As Oberlin police arrived, they observed Aladin on top of Gibson, punching and kicking him; the two females were also still engaged in assaulting the victim.

Jonathan Aladin was arrested for robbery, which was a result of using physical force while committing a theft offense. Robbery is a felony. The two female students were also charged with assaulting Allyn Gibson, a misdemeanor offense.

A simple case, right?

Not so, according to the Oberlin Student Union. Several other students were apparently in the area outside the store and witnessed Allyn Gibson chase Jonathan Aladin across the street. It was Gibson, they say, who was the aggressor, never mind the beatdown Aladin and the two women were administering or what had occurred inside the store. They claim Aladin was just a victim of racial profiling because he is a black man, that Gibson had no right to stop Aladin for the theft from his family's store.

Since the afternoon of November ninth, the Oberlin College Black Student Union and their sympathizers have been protesting outside Gibson's Bakery and Market, holding signs and chanting slogans denouncing Gibson's as being racist.

Gibson's cashier Trey James had this to say about the incident: "The guy got caught stealing and got arrested for it. It was a pretty clear-cut case. If you shoplift, you get prosecuted, regardless of your orientation, race, background, political viewpoint or anything else."

Trey James is himself a black man. He gets it.

The Oberlin students protesting still today do not, choosing rather to play the 'race card' without knowing the facts or the law. According to a source out of Oberlin...and this is mind-blowing to me...the protesting students are getting class credit for missing class to protest.

Unbelievable.

I am seriously considering making a trip to Gibson's Bakery and Market this coming week, just to buy something from them as a show of support. Included in that purchase will be, of course,...

...a donut.