I never stole in grade school — instead I assumed the role of morality police. When hearing stories from friends of their torrid adventures stealing Lip Smackers from Claire’s, I’d condemn them immediately. “Stealing is bad. Don’t you know you’ll get bad karma?”
“Karma?” they’d ask me, and I’d righteously explain: “What goes around, comes around.”
All Canadians, especially marginalized individuals and low-income families, have been personally affected by inflation. Beginning in 2022, we saw food, transportation, and housing prices increase. Although inflation rates are slowing down, its effects leave Canadians struggling with the cost of living. When I moved out of my studio apartment this year, the building management tacked on an additional $300 per month for the next tenant to “reflect the market.” I had only occupied the unit for a year. I feel bad for the next tenant, personally victimized by this arbitrary and invisible market.
I am one of those Canadians who doesn’t understand the mechanics of our economy, but I can and do accept the realities of inflation as it rises and falls, and I try to adjust accordingly. However, it’s a tough pill to swallow; a week of groceries for myself costs well over $100, and this year, Canadians struggled to put food on the Thanksgiving table. Moreover, as economic despair worsens, Canadians who are not currently homeowners are beginning to believe that they may never be. With all of these economic fluctuations outside of our control, how are we supposed to cope?
And no, it’s not robbery. Canadians aren’t sticking up their neighborhood Superstore for $11 brie cheese. We modestly and politely take our theft to the faraway corners of the self-checkout. We don’t want to actually burden another individual with our wrongdoing. We watch our own faces in the pixelated security scanner as we forget to scan the $11 brie, the $13 Genoa salami, and the butter, because seriously, when did butter start averaging seven dollars a brick?
As kind as we are said to be, we don’t feel bad about our crimes either. In the spring of 2023, Canadians sat back and watched as big grocery chain heads defended their profit margins in the House of Commons. We have to wonder if the increase in our grocery prices is a result of inflation or so-called greed-flation?
So when a friend casually throws into the conversation that they stole the chicken they are using for their meal preps this week, I don’t bat an eye. “I won’t do it again,” they say, but I am no longer the morality police. Somewhere between student loans and moving back into my family home, I became sympathetic to this guilt-inducing act of resistance. It may be the only control we can exert over the unseen economic forces that mystically fluctuate around us.
Kiara Okonkwo is a writer and creative. She received a diploma in Screenwriting from Vancouver Film School and is pursuing her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and Media and Communication Studies. Kiara values self-expression and authenticity.
