The flower steal in Palmer

It was 6:43 on Friday morning and the Plant Owner was sound asleep when he heard his outside Ring camera alarm go off. He jumped up and threw on some pants and hustled outside to his tiny, commercial nursurey on Alaska Street in downtown Palmer. (It’s his driveway, in the middle of town and his white tents go up every spring.) He ran outside and saw nothing but his many well-tended plants in pots, flats and baskets of flowers. Nothing seemed amiss. He looked around and downtown wasn’t even awake yet although the sun had been up for a couple hours and it promised to be a beautiful spring/summer day. He went back inside and checked his camera. It showed several still photos and full video of two women stealing his hard-grown flowers. They smugly stole three hanging baskets and one full flat of plants. And they laughed while the did the deed.

Initial Solitary Reaction—Indignant and hurt, the owner posted the flower heist to Facebook. The Palmer Alaska Buzz responded and shared it widely and quickly. As the day wore on the shares were plentiful and it became a viral posting. The reach and social media traction was immense.

Organic Community Reaction—Everyone who read it was insulted by the audacity of these two women who dared to steal flowers from a local nursury. It was a slap in the face and the community reaction began to grow and grow.

Growing Outpouring of Support—Palmer responded with a collective stance. Anger, annoyance, dissaproval, and ultimately support. Our town had a huge societal response to an action that totally violated our norms and standards. The eventual outpouring of support was an action of reinforcing values.

Lots of Judgement—This was an offensive act—not a violent one and not a political one. But it offended the community. Many bad names were slung around, all with powerful negative connotations. No Moral Compass, disgraceful, shameful, low life, bottomfeeder, scum, slimebags, dirtbags, losers, and unprintable labels were all part of the immediate namecalling.

No Excuse—These thieves were well dressed and certainly not kids or drifters. There is little resale value in baskets of flowers or a flat of plants.

Discussion—This particular act of thievery stimulated a huge Palmer Facebook debate on both crime and punishment including various theories of biblical and sharia law. There was discussion and dispute over the use of AI to automatically change the photos to either beautify or alter the criminals’ images. Eight fingers on one of her hands was a clue.

Public Flogging—Great shame and ridicule rained down on the two anonymous offenders as shown in the photo above. Bad karma was predicted including the death of the said stolen flowers. While there was no digital mob justice, it is doubtful the two women will escape judgement, at a personal level. Public shaming has exposed the wrongdoing and is holding the transgressors accountable while simultaneously detering similar future offenses. No doubt they are both ridiculed and publically humiliated. And chances are high that the offenders’ friends and family members are embarrassed to know them.

A Little Thing—In perspective, this act of theivery is tiny. And perhaps it shouldn’t probably be even written about. However, the community response was organic. The owner says the community has been awesome. He has had so much business, unbridled support and donations. And that is why this story needed writing. It’s a brillant thing when a good thing grows because of a bad act. And it’s a brillant thing when a community stands up and visibly says NO, NO, NO.

Restorative Justice—It would be remarkable if the offenders were to make apology and payment for the stolen goods. This would be a much better ending to this story. However at this point, no one has owned up, and the Flower Thieves remain at large.

Barbara Hunt is both Palmer writer and artist. She works hard to keep the robust pulse of Palmer, Alaska. She shares the good stuff in the weekly Palmer Alaska Buzz Column in the Mat Su Valley Frontiersman and daily on the Palmer Alaska Buzz Facebook Group.. Contact at bhunt@mtaonline.net or text 907.315.3222.