I see it as things returning to how they were. In a small town, the person running the fast food joint often did work there for decades and everyone recognized everyone. Theft was hard to get away with because you don't just blend in to the masses like a modern city. Now tech is allowing us to hold people accountable again.
I think that’s a romanticized memory. While holding people accountable is good, so is eventual forgiveness. If you steal a candy bar from Old Man Smith at the town’s only gas station, and he’s the kind to hold grudges, you’re boned. Never mind teens trying to buy condoms when every cashier in town knows them.
There’s a happy medium in there somewhere. You don’t want to let repeat offenders off scot free, but there needs to be a cooling off period, too.
