Monday, March 15, 2021

The Meaning Of Wealth

 


A recent incident at a Vancouver Pizza Pizza outlet has attracted a lot of attention. David Ball reports:

In the final hour of Feb. 20, two smartly dressed, middle-aged white guys cruising around Vancouver decided they had a hankering for pizza. The stakes seemed pretty low when they pulled into Pizza Pizza, a glowing outpost in an otherwise dimly lit plaza on the eastern edge of the Kitsilano neighbourhood.

But within a few minutes a video camera had captured the men screaming bigoted insults at the young workers and boasting of their riches compared to the servers “worth zero.”

On their way out of the store, a recording shows, the men encountered an apparently Asian teenager and physically attacked him.

The incident made the news and soon it was announced that Brenton Woyat, a wealth manager, and James Davidson, whose line of work remains unknown, had been charged with assault, and one with impaired driving.

The incident was apparently triggered by a request from the restaurant's staff to comply with the medical officer's mandate to wear masks:

That night at Pizza Pizza, Woyat stood at the counter wearing a mask. But Davidson clutched one in his hand or wore it uselessly under his chin, his mouth exposed as he declared, “You’re Nazis. You guys are complete fucking morons. COVID is a joke. You guys are fucking brainwashed.”

He shouted: “Are you fucking Middle Eastern or where are you from?” And, “I’m worth $50 million, you’re worth zero.”

There have been other such incidents:

In Prince George, a Walmart customer refusing to wear a mask pummeled a store greeter to the ground, repeatedly punching his head into the floor.

In Nelson, a hotel employee suffered a heart attack after being spat on and screamed at by a customer refusing to wear a mask. 

It appears that wealth can have deleterious effects. Wealth does not mean entitlement. It should mean noblesse oblige.

Image: 

10 comments:

Lorne said...

Your post shows that, as Canadians, we have little reason to feel smug when we look at the United States, Owen. That such incidents happen here is not really surprising, but it should make all of us feel a little ashamed.

Owen Gray said...

Canadians are not morally superior to anyone, Lorne. We can be as shameless as other human beings.

zoombats said...

Its been going on for a long time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UIo-bEsoMgA

Owen Gray said...

Mr.Dingwall said the quiet part out loud, zoombats.

the salamander said...

.. it's a fact of life Owen.. that some people are 1/2 of a collision seeking the other 1/2 of the collision. I myself have witnessed the fullfillment of their mission on a number of 'occasions' - Such 'occasions' are not to be confused with birthday parties, friendly get togethers, ladies euchre sessions

I had already seen the video of those two social failure A-holes. In my experience these are what are commonly known as 'repeat offender' vermin who mistakenly have delusions of being 'tough guys' or 'hombres' of some repute. This is a dangerous fallacy. I maintain that around any corner may come 'the real deal' male or female kick yo ass sideways then throw you in the trunk of their car and kindly dump you outside Emergency at the closest hospital. It's just inevitable for those who persist.

You must know the old story or legend of the elderly gent in the roadside resto.. and a daily regular. Well, some crude thugs came in insulted the waitress etc etc, and when he spoke up, they did mean things to his coffee and peach pie. He managed to exit. The thugs persisted with the waitress who cleaned up the mess on his table and tucked away the money he left.. while glancing out to the parking lot.

'You sure put the fear of the lord in that old gent
and he sure ain't much of a tandem trailer rig gravel truck driver
Lordy but he plumb flattened some Harley's on his way past the gas pumps'

Owen Gray said...

I'd like to think that what goes around comes around, sal. But, if that were true, Donald Trump would have been impeached. However, there's still time. . .

John B. said...

The guy with fifty million seemed a bit too desperate to be be heard for someone of his immense wealth. I wonder if he has any clients from the Middle East.

Owen Gray said...

He doth protest too much, John.

Tal Hartsfeld said...

"You're Nazis!!! ...."
How, pray tell, is someone who's essentially an "average prole" making low wages a "Nazi"?
....AND, such a myopically ignoramus statement coming from someone wealthy and upper-echelon at that?
One would think that if someone is "highly educated" and the owner or manager of a successful major business or enterprise they would display intellect and much self-restraint discipline.
....so much for stereotypes ....

Owen Gray said...

People with supposedly stellar educational credentials can also be stunningly stupid, Tal. Consider Ted Cruz.