jesus christ. I was in a gas station in this same area last week and a clerk and a youth got into a fight over one of the 33 cent bags of cheetos. The clerk said he stole, the youth said that he had already gotten it somewhere else and was just eating it in the store.

I dunno who was telling the truth. The clerk began slamming his hands on the counter and the youth yelled at him and then left. They both seemed frustrated by their inability to communicate through 3 inch thick glass.

I know this might be unpopular but IMO the bullet proof glass doesn't do much for store owners. They might get more respect and be able to keep a better eye on their store without it. In other cities and even in this city there are stores in bad parts of town where the clerks do not hide behind glass. Its clearly a result of overt racism, and the customers feel it and respond accordingly. I've seen stores here without glass, owned by Chaldeans, who received great respect from the relatively tough community without the bullet proof glass. I lived there for years and never witnessed a serious problem, everyone called each other by name and respected one another for the most part.