The fine art of dine & dash

In the case of St. Paul Chipotle thief Masud Ali and his friends we see an extension of the culture of victimization. Ali and friends turned up this past Thursday at the Chipotle on Grand Avenue, in one of St. Paul’s nicest neighborhoods. Recognized by store manager Dominique Moran to be part of a group from the previous Tuesday that refused to pay for their meal, Moran asked Ali to show her the money before preparing their order this time around.

Ali and friends purported to take offense. Ali posted the video of his encounter on Twitter (below). The video went viral. See the full Twitter thread here.

Ali and friends alleged mistreatment by the Chipotle’s manager. “You’re stereotyping us,” one of the group told her. “I don’t like the stereotyping.”

β€œIt sounded really racist β€” the way she said it was racist,” Ali told the Star Tribune. β€œShe asked for proof of income as if I’m getting a loan.” Chipotle’s promptly fired Moran.

Ali, however, has developed this particular form of theft into an art. At one time he bragged about it. He called the art “dine and dash” in a tweet that he deleted before claiming sacred victim status and in other tweets that refer to his practice of the art. With respect to Ali’s illuminating tweets the St. Paul Pioneer Press notes: “Efforts to reach Ali for comment have been unsuccessful.”

After further review, Chipotle’s offered to reinstate Moran. She’s thinking about it.

The Daily Mail compiled the evidence in its accustomed style. It’s a big story that can serve as a case study. The Daily Mail story concludes on this now familiar note: “Ali, who records show is on probation for theft, did not reply to a request from the Miami Herald.”

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