Hasty Dum-Dum

This evening as I was leaving Hiller's Market, I stepped over a Dum-Dum on the sidewalk. It hadn't been eaten -- the wrapper was still loosely on it -- but it had been crushed and reduced to a pile of crystalline slivers. Hiller's gives these away at the customer service desk, so the origin wasn't in question. But what had happened in the twenty feet from there to here, the spot beneath my feet?

(A) Had a child taken one without her mother's permission and had the mother been angered to find out, pulverizing it beneath the heel of her boot? (B) Had a careless teen grabbed one without looking at the flavor and discarded it after seeing it wasn't the flavor he wanted? (C) Had someone grabbed a handful of Dum-Dums and carelessly dropped one making a hasty getaway? (D) .... Well, you get the idea.

The point is, I've taken this probably harmless scene and cast all my worst pessimisms about human nature on it. The abusive parent, the careless teen, the cheat, and many others were responsible in my mind. But then again so could the innocent, the kind, the hopeful.... And if I could have this reaction to a Dum-Dum which means nothing (and which literally is worth nothing), could I just as easily have this reaction to a person who is (or should be) worth a lot more than a lollipop?