Wrexify

Last night, my car was broken into. I normally don't keep anything of value in there, but by a very unfortunate coincidence, I forgot my iPod Touch and cell phone in the center console yesterday. It was shut, so there was nothing out in the open for this thief to see if he/she/it was just walking by. He just decided to give my car a try and happened to break into it on the one day it was holding over $500 in electronics.

This obviously has me pretty pissed off, but it also has me thinking. What happened to the time when I could feel that my little quiet neighborhood was a safe one? Now I understand why so many people tend to assume the worst in others... Is trust a thing of the past?

I've called the police, so I'll meet with them after work to file a report. This also seems pretty hopeless though... I'm told that the chances they can do anything are slim.

It looks like a pretty good time to be a thief. He gets my $500 worth of stuff and I get to go replace it with my money. If you don't have a conscience stopping you from doing things like this, why wouldn't you just go around taking stuff out of cars at night? Apparently, there are no consequences for doing so.

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Punk.of.Ages

Man, this is very unfortunate...

I hate thieves. It takes a really low individual to take something they didn't pay for from somebody who did pay for it...

Unfortunately, in this type of situation, there just isn't a whole lot that can be done. I had my iPod nano stolen from my bedroom by one or more of my roommate's five friends that came over that day, and I still have no clue who did it...

To offer a bright side:

At least they left the car for you...

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PonyPotato

I had to fire my barn help on Tuesday night after we discovered more missing items. The others could have been flukes - mail carrier made a mistake, the bag that disappeared was never seen by anyone else and may not have come to the barn at all, the saddle cover is small enough that it could have fallen into a tight spot and never come out - but having jump blocks walk away on their own is pretty fucking impossible.

We filed a police report and the cops ran her record and recommended we "get rid of her now" based on her other offenses. I feel bad for the other barn she works for - if I were them, I'd want to know she just got fired for theft, but I don't know if I can contact them and tell them? Meh.

My sister stole from me all though high school and when I went home from college. She once had the nerve to tell me she hadn't taken a shirt from me that had been hanging in the laundry room before she got home - when I pulled the pillow out from under her head because I was pissed off and wanted her to get her ass out of bed, guess what I discovered hidden underneath it?

Theft is one thing that makes me boil with rage.

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Wrexify

True, and they closed the door behind them so my battery wouldn't run down overnight. How considerate!

Sorry to hear about your thefts, punk and pony. Your roommates' friends and your sister? Those are the kind of people I would normally trust without a second thought. I've never really had anything stolen from me until now, and I'm starting to rethink my trust especially of my community.

Theft is something I'll never understand... I don't give a damn who you are or what your life situation is, there are better ways to handle it. I hate when people say "you don't know what they're going through in their life, maybe they need to steal things to live". Bullshit. There are much better ways to get money/food/whatever.

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dlish

arent i glad i live in the UAE!

one of the advantages of living in the UAE is the relative comfort people live in. personal safety usually never crosses anyones mind. crime here is extremely low. people leave their car doors and windows open, as well as at home - everyone leaves their balcony door unlocked, people walk the street without looking behind their backs to see if someone is coming, and you can go to a bar or club and expect to not get into a fight!

i never had that security in sydney, and its probably the best thing about living here.

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Push-Pull

I feel for you. I had a complete set of mechanics tools (a hip-roof tool box PACKED) stolen out of my friggen' CARPORT the one night I had the tool box in the cab of the truck AND accidentally left it unlocked. Fortunately, home-owner's took care of that.

A few months later, I had my truck parked on the street and someone took a partially full gas can from the bed. Being the vengeful type, I pulled out another crappy gas can, filled it with a crap load of used oil, water, sawdust, dirt, pea gravel, and just enough gas to make it smell like gas. I left that in the bed and had it disappear that very night. A day later, I was walking with my wife in my neighborhood and found a couple of teenagers wrenching under their car. I asked them what was wrong and the one said that he must have bought some crappy gas because his car started running really rough and stalling. I just smiled and wished them luck.

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DAMMIT! -Jack Bauer-

Punk.of.Ages

Yeah, things like that are the reason I don't trust anybody... Ever.

Exactly! I'm a fucking jobless couch surfer and I don't steal shit to survive...

If it's not yours, don't touch it!

__________________
"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager

"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike

LordEden

That's something I don't understand, and I mean this in NO way as an insult to POA, but the couch hoppers I know are fucking bums but they have better morals than some of my "friends". I have a good friend who couch surfed for over a year at various places and never ONCE stole something from me (beer doesn't count he somehow replaced that when he took it). I could leave him alone for DAYS at my house and not one thing would be touched or out of place. I invited a few people over one day, BAM the ipod I had was missing and NO ONE would fess up to it. My friend let me look through his backpack that he always kept with him just to let me know it wasn't him. Pisses me off to no end, how could someone steal from a person they KNEW? To look someone in the eye day in and day out and KNOW you stole from them. Amazes me.

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Punk.of.Ages

No insult taken, at all....

The thing is, us couch surfers understand that if we pull shit like that, sooner or later we won't have anymore couches to surf....

__________________
"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager

"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike

Reese

This might not help you get your stuff back, but you can contact apple and they'll lock that ipod the next time it connects to itunes. Your cell service can probably do the same thing, hell they might even be able to trace it. I'd give it a shot.

(should clarify before I'm told I'm wrong, Apple can't lock Ipods, all they can really do it prevent it from using iTunes. You'll probably have to do some slick talking to get them to do that.)

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Amaras

I just had my backpack with about $200 worth of stuff in it, including library books stolen.

My philosophy is that the thief must need it more than I do (well, no).

That idea would change if I caught the person, though.

Just trying to avoid blaming humanity for one asshole's misdeeds.

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Jetée

Isn't it always the case someone steals something you truly cherish, need, or will find difficult to replace?

I've had numerous belongings of mine stolen from me, including no less than $ 4,000 American accrued over the years, three portable electronic diversionary devices (i.e. read as: Gameboys), a car, and a few items of furniture, as well as a very valuable painting that is one of a kind (at least in my mind I think it is).

I'd love to have the power to ascertain the original thief, go over to them, ask them why they felt compelled to steal my livelihood, and see if I could barter it back. I'd much rather lose and/or pay 20% more of the selling value of my stolen car to the perpetrator than the car itself, but its rarely the case we are confronted face to face with our assailant trying to negotiate terms of our robbery (without an intimidating weapon present).

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Xerxys

^^ You're a good man.

I usually break their legs and make sure they pay me the full amount the commodity is worth on top of returning it back. Or else they die. After they do, I kill them.

thespian86

Never had much stolen before. A bike when I was a kid. Other little things I'm sure.

A story:

I did a sociological experiment in high school based on thievery and class. I realized that those who steal millions (white collar) are almost unseen and most are apathetic to it, while "common thieves" are often equated with the lower class and people make comments and judgements on a daily basis involving them. My hypothosis was that I could go into an HMV (CD store) 3 days a week and steal merchandise without being caught, or suspected. To further my point, I went into another HMV in town, dressed in my construction clothing (dirty, ripped, worn in), and a different physical appearance (slouching, less hip looking hair, older out of style glasses, unshaven) with the same attitude/friendly disposition and not be able to pull it off. My hypothesis was to prove that the objective appearance of high social standing (my parents have money, and, in high school, generally spent most of my time with kids in my neighborhood who also had money by default) is more important then the person. To prove my point I had someone, sometimes two people, record me while I was in the store.

I was right:

Dirty Taylor was treated badly, followed around the store, constantly asked if "I need help", would not respond to my humor or nature, did not try to connect with my personal taste in film or music. After the six weeks of three days a week, I picked up a CD, was carrying it around the store, and before I could even go to the cash, or the door, was asked if they could ring me in. Oh, Brother.

Clean Cut Taylor however made friends with every employee, was on a first name basis with the manager, discussed the same music at length with a few of my favorite employees, even got asked out by one employee, and one day, at the end of the six weeks, I walked out with a bag of about twenty stolen items. When the alarm went off, which was part of my plan, I spun around and looked at the manager and said "Do you want me to come in or...?" and he just waved me off and told me to have a good one.

The next day when I returned it I lost all my friends but I got an A+ on my work. And I realized that my research had a lot of flaws (no real sample size, depended on the employee's nature). After my work i returned to the store and gave the manager the edited version of the research and he watched it and emailed me by saying what I did was wrong and very sneaky but that he understood the point, and would make it a point not to discriminate based on the appearance of class.

/tangent.

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ASU2003

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It harsh, harsh but fair.

I have no problem doing that to people who have been caught a few times. I know I would never steal anything in the Middle East. I don't care if no one was around.

Then again, wouldn't they just bleed out and die? Wouldn't it get infected?

(You had problems in Sydney? I thought Sydney was one of the least crime-ridden places I have even been to. There and Canada are pretty safe I thought.)

dlish

ASU, just so you know, the UAE does not cut peoples' hand off for stealing.

dont want to threadjack this thread, but you could ask me in the 'ask a muslim thread' and i'd be happy to answer any questions.

if you read the do you know any murderers thread, you'll see i lived in a not so good neighbourhood. so there was a higher incidence of crime. where did you stay in sydney? all over Sydney you NEED to lock your car and your front door. gone are the days when we used to sleep with the doors open on hot nights

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An injustice anywhere, is an injustice everywhere

I always sign my facebook comments with ()()===========(}. Does that make me gay?
- Filthy

Wrexify

I have to continue your tangent because that's pretty cool. I suppose I'm guilty of thinking the same way sometimes, though I tend to assume kids are more likely to steal than anyone else.

On another tangential note, I don't think I've ever been stopped for setting off an alarm at the door. I just do the "hold my bags in the air and shrug" move and they always wave me on without a thought. Maybe I should try that after growing my beard for a few weeks.

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"Nitwit! Oddment! Blubber! Tweak!"

Punk.of.Ages

I used to wear one of those anti-theft strips in my shoe when I was 18 or 19. I did it just to see how it would play out at different stores...

Most of the time they'd just wave me on too, but a couple times it created quite the ordeal...

__________________
"The fact is that censorship always defeats its own purpose, for it creates, in the end, the kind of society that is incapable of exercising real discretion..." - Henry Steel Commager

"Punk rock music is great music played by really bad, drunk musicians." -Fat Mike