Canadian Turns to Violence Over Slow Fast Food Order
While Canadians have a reputation for being incredibly polite, a group of fast food patrons in Kingston, Ontario, witnessed firsthand that their fellow countrymen are definitely capable of completely losing it—even over something as simple as a food order that wasn't made quickly enough.
According to Kingston Police—who protect the city of over 100,000 people located on Lake Ontario about halfway between Toronto and Montreal—the incident began around 10:30 p.m. on Monday night when a 23-year-old local man at an undisclosed downtown fast food restaurant became irritable that his order was taking too long. He began harassing the employees, at which point police say other customers in line decided to step in hoping to calm things down. Instead, the irritated young man reportedly took particular umbrage to one patron’s suggestion that he simply cancel his order. That’s when things got ugly.
Police say the 23-year-old followed this customer outside and brought him down with a head butt. Once on the ground, the aggressor began punching his victim until the crowd came to the rescue. Even after that, however, witnesses say the impatient patron quickly returned to start beating his poor victim with a construction pylon. At that point, one witness told the 23-year-old he was going to call the police, which authorities say caused the suspect to hop in his car and flee, though only after the suspect got in one more threat to beat up this concerned citizen.
Thankfully for all involved, police apprehended the suspect not long after and he was charged with assault with a weapon, assault, and utter threats. According to Canada’s Global News, witnesses said they believed the suspect might have been under the influence of some unknown intoxicant, but police were unable to confirm to the news site whether or not that was the case.
Sadly, this crime comes with mixed messages. Obviously, as concerned citizens, it’s important to take action when you feel others are being mistreated, but at the same time, this assault reinforces inherent fears that sometimes stepping in—even with a seemingly benign suggestion—can turn you into a target yourself.
But one thing is certain: No matter how slow your fast food order is, just be cool about it. And if you’re really that concerned, how about asking politely about what might be causing the delay instead of being rude? Meanwhile, where the heck do you have to be at 10:30 p.m. on a Monday anyway?
