At a drugstore store near Union Square I’m searching the aisles for hand lotion when I hear a man shouting at the front of the store. Distracted, I take a few steps in the direction of the noise, then stop when I see the product I’ve been looking for on the shelf right in front of me. I pick it up, then hesitate again: the shouting of the man has grown louder as a female voice – clearly that of the cashier – chimes in. ‘Sir, don’t speak to me like that when I’m with a customer!’ The man, it seems, feels slighted because the cashier, who is busy with a long line of customers, hasn’t stopped what she’s doing to physically show him the way to the Christmas decorations. The agitator is pacing back and forth, cursing to himself, shouting every so often for the cashier to suck his ‘big dick.’ Seeing that the confrontation is escalating I return to the aisle and put my product back – I won’t be joining the checkout line in the middle of this showdown. But it’s too late: I’ve missed my chance to exit, for now the man has now taken his insurrection a step further by grabbing several products at random and threatening to walk out of the store with them. He’s standing in front of the exit shouting, ‘Who’s gonna stop me, bitch?’ Then, suddenly, a man who has been standing in line the whole time leaps out, positions himself in front of the agitator to bar his way. He begins shouting and threatening the would-be thief, tearing off his jacket (superhero-style) to reveal a security guard uniform underneath. ‘I’m in uniform!’ he yells. Does this security guard work for the drug store we’re in, or does he just happen to be shopping here, and sees his uniform as giving him universal authority? It’s unclear. In any case, his presence only stokes the agitator’s anger, and for several tense minutes the two square off by the exit, trading threats and threatening gestures. Meanwhile, the cashier is yelling, ‘Just let him go, it’s not worth it!’ The security guard has pulled out a pair of handcuffs and waives them in the air threateningly. This, surprisingly, causes the agitator backs down. Cursing to himself, he throws the merchandise on the ground and slinks out the door. As the security guard is gathering up his things the cashier tells him, ‘Thanks for your help sir, but it’s store policy to just let shoplifters walk out rather than confronting them. It’s too dangerous.’ I leave the store without buying anything, and, since I have some time to kill, I wander into a market a block away look for a snack. As I’m leaving the market I see the security guard, who must have just left the drugstore. He’s standing at the intersection waiting for the light to change. The light turns and as he starts to walk someone accidentally bumps into him. He spins around to confront this person (who has already moved on), his face a rictus of rage and injured pride.