By Jonathan Wolfe - Opposing Views




Lost in all this hooplah surrounding the gun control, Obamacare, and drug policy debates, is a subtle but dangerous problem impacting our nation’s livelihood: Hello Kitty doll fraud.

Oklahoma news station News On 6 reports that a man working a game booth at the Tulsa state fair allowed patrons to bribe him with money in exchange for Hello Kitty dolls.

The man, Frank Feikema, was arrested (yes, arrested) when an undercover Tulsa police officer struck a deal with him: for $40, if the officer popped a balloon with a dart, he would automatically get the highest prize at the booth – the Hello Kitty doll.

According to the deputy, this agreement represents a serious breach of fair prize protocol.

“The rules state that the participant must win a certain number of each size prize to trade up for a larger prize," the deputy’s report said. "You continue to trade up until the largest prize is won."

"I took a dart, popped a balloon on the first try, handed him $40 and asked for one of the largest prizes," the deputy said. "He handed me the Hello Kitty that I asked for and I walked away."

Five minutes later, the deputy and his fellow officers arrested Feikema and charged him with fraud.

Congratulations, Tulsa police. Amidst the pickpockets and drunks at the fair, you identified and reprimanded the true threat to the safety of the fair: the man taking bribes for Hello Kitty dolls.

Now for some good news: we’re not the only ones who think Feikema’s arrest is silly. Oklahoma community organizers Lisa Bowman and Joanna Francisco are speaking out against Feikema’s arrest and raising money to have him released from jail. Here’s a statement from Bowman:

“If the money taken from me, involuntarily, in the form of taxes, is funding the institutions that are in place to fight crime, then I expect them to focus on true crime. What I see here is a voluntary exchange between two consenting adults, where one party is being set up, caged, and exploited. The cost to tax payers (victims) for this act is not justified. The only justice in this case will come in the form of nullification or dismissal.”