Last weekend, Rep. Erica Thomas (GA-39) a Democrat of Cobb County went to Publix in Cobb County with her daughter. Rep. Thomas is very pregnant and had a few extra items in her basket and decided to use the express lane. A man, Eric Sparkes, by his own account, saw the extra items as he was walking out of the store and then went back to berate her about it. He admits to calling her a “lazy b^&*(.” She says he called her a “lazy S. O. B.” Either way, he was wrong.
Later that night, she took to Facebook Live and gave a tearful account and included the accusation that he told her to “go back to where she came from.” The next day, in front of TV cameras, the two berate each other. They were both wrong.
I have met a lot of frazzled people in line in the grocery store. I have also had some very interesting conversations with people in line. I am at an age that I try to help, rather than enforce the limits. I have been that fed-up mother in the check out line at my wits end and now I try to the nice mature woman that tries to help.
The Cobb County Police did a full investigation and determined there was bad behavior on both sides but nothing criminal.
What does this teach us about jumping to conclusions? A great deal.
I wish Rep. Thomas the best and hope she puts away her “mind reader” moniker. Going to Facebook Live instead of the store management was probably not her best move. I hope Mr. Sparkes will think twice before being the checkout police. There are people that work at Publix that can police the checkout lines.
If my children heard it once, they heard it a million times from me. “You can take a situation where you are right and make yourself wrong by how you handle it,” I would say. That’s what happened here.
Each of these grown ups acting like children should learn the grace of an apology and then go into the future. We have real problems to face every day. It is exhausting to be outraged all the time.
