an interesting moral quandary... is there karma when it comes to big corporations?

So... here's what happened. i won an ipad from a website i participated in and took a survey from. it came today. but instead of "thanks highjinx, blah blah blah" it says "If Found contact Tyler (xxx)xxx-xxxx". Obviously i got someone else's ipad.

here's the thing though. i look @ the model. it's 64gb. i look at my packing slip with the one that has my name on it. 16gb.

that's quadruple the space and 200$ extra to boot if you buy one.

SO.... would it be so wrong for me to just keep it? no one could come after me. i didn't sign up for an account with them. apple's a big company and i can easily seeing them not batting an eye to replace this one with Tyler.

I'm usually painfully honest, i've found wallets and returned them with all cash intact. but could i morally view this as a simple lucky break and keep on keepin' on w/ my extra 48gb?

on top of that the website i won it from is all about positive stuff in the universe like self empowerment and getting over large personal obstacles. so it makes it a little tougher. it might be harder to live with.

the truth is that i've already contacted the site i won it from and they're going to get ahold of apple. i've refrained from activating it or setting up and i've put it in it's box to ship to apple or whatever. that said, if i really wanted to i could just stop talking to them.

what do you think?

 

I can tell you that I would be having the same moral considerations as you and that I would ultimately do exactly what you ended up doing. It's tempting to say fuck it and keep the model you have but on the other hand you are still getting a free iPad so it isn't like you are out anything.

 

What do I think?

Well, you said in your last line "If I REALLY wanted to I could just stop talking to them". I don't know you well enough to be certain, but your language presupposed that you DON'T want to: c.f "IF I really". No matter how big the size of the corporation, it's about Your integrity. What you REALLY want or don't want or support in the universe. "Stealing is wrong, except when it suits me" is not a moral principle. The fact that 'what suits me' might include emotive buzz words like "Corporation", does not alter the fact that wiggling is taking place.

If, for example, I, your new friend, Zen, on this forum am a small business, then you behave impeccably UNTIL I reach a certain level of success, then it's OK to rip me off because 'I can afford it' or I have now become 'The Man to whom you may stick it' etc ? Is that the way it works? If there IS a threshold, where is it and who decides at what point it is OK to steal from me?

On this and other forums, I've seen posts started by people who are contemplating violating their own criteria. Typically, they are trying to get support for their 'weak' side ... so they can go off and do that thing that deep down they know is NOT really what they reckon they should do. You, hijinx, on the other hand - I'm again reading what you've written - sounds like you're feeling the temptation "Wouldn't it be nice to have, unexpectedly, something EVEN NICER than the nice thing that's already coming to me", Your FEELING it, and you'll be swearing and inwardly screaming and grinding your teeth ... as you pack that thing and send it back to Apple or wherever with the message "this AIN'T for me".

That's the thing about principles: there's be times when you forego short-term benefits because you're sticking to them. But that's how you build and become guardian of strength. Strength whereby you move Mountains, at the moment they most need to be moved. I'll use the word KARMA .... BUT I won't get mystical. It's practical common sense ... assiduously practice keeping your principles regarding the small stuff ..... computers 'n'shit. You'll develop the moral muscles of an Adonis and the ethical reactions of a world-class MMA fighter. You remember that Jean Claude Van Damme movie where he's getting trained … and his test is to simply keep his grounded stance firm and true, whilst his irritating teacher walks around him with a big stick and whacks him, trying to knock him over? This is the test you're facing here in your warrior's path. You're not confronting a corporation. You're confronting you.

And I reckon you know it: you mention that you're "painfully honest" and cite prime examples of opportunities for …er … opportunism. But the REAL 'pain' probably is felt only by those who may feel pissed off with you because you show them up. There are plenty of places where you'll be popular for dropping your standards ... I'll bet you may even have received some flack for being a goody two shoes.

So, what do I, personally think? Well, OK, this is a message board, and you're coming across to me as a principled person who basically wants support to stand fast and true to those principles and to reject the Mac of Shame as Odysseus did the Sirens, so these are just words from you, writing on a forum ... HOWEVER .... if this is a talk that you actually walk, then you're certainly a welcome member of MY team, and I'd certainly be proud to be a member of YOUR team.

 

"Karma" would be if you kept it, lost it, and someone returned it to Tyler. Legally (in the US,) if you didn't order it but they sent it to you without terms in the contest entry about returning mistakenly shipped prizes, it's yours.

 

Wait a minute, you took a "win a free iPad!" survey... and you actually won a free iPad? My mind is permanently fucked.

 

In situationszs like this I like to think that returning it is the right thing to do.

I like to think that I do unto others what I would like done unto me.

I like to think that, hey, I am not really out anything. No cost to me to ship it back. Nothing lost. Just being a good samaritan.

I also like to think that the world is not so naive to believe in Karma and I'd most likely keep the damn thing.

Just saying.

 

I think that many people actually DO think that Karma is some sort of system set in place to right all wrongs.

In fact, I think that's the exact meaning of Karma. What goes around comes around ... etcetera.

 

That book saved a good prisoners life and killed a bad one once. Maybe Karma does exist!

 

thanks for the feedback. i ran it by several of my friends and my ultimate judge, my mom. they all said to keep this one, my mom with the caveat that i should just tell the people i won it from who ordered it up front that i decided to keep it and to let me know if apple pursued anything when they never got a package back from the mailers. if they did i'd cough it up at that point.

but i had it out and i was looking at it and thinking of getting it going and set up, and i thought of a couple things. one is that i've had a great run of good luck lately, (i actually won concert tickets last friday AFTER i'd gotten the email about the ipad), freakish really, and it all has kind of been being built on me making solid decisions in my life and being aware. i realize that GETTING the 64gb version could be considered part of my luck or good karma by the right person, but still. the other thing is totally random, but i've been reflecting about how powerful names really are lately, and i just don't like the idea of walking around with a personal item that has someone else's name on it. that creeps me out more than any possible corporate karma.

so i decided to send it back. but it's a joyless decision. i'm not about to complain, i still won an ipad, but i have to think about what i gave up and wonder if i was an idiot/naive. and i have to think about it for however long it takes them to send me another, which could be weeks for all i know. and i have to wonder when the other shoe is going to drop and i REALLY feel like an idiot when i need the extra storage space and no longer have it. those doubts make any pride at doing the right thing not just cold comfort but no comfort at all. i'm not about to say i wish this never happened at all, but a lot of the childlike excitement i was feeling is now certainly diminished from all this and i feel like i'm missing out and even guilty about going there because i won it to begin with... all at the same time.

having said all that, that last paragraph looks really whiny when i look at it and i already know there are a lot of people out there that would LOVE to have this problem. i'm sure i'll get over this emo phase; i just have to process it. but it's gonna be a pain in the ass when i follow up with my mom and my friends. i just want to forget about it at least till i get the miniature ipad meant for me.

 

I want you read the series of A song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.

See where nobility gets you.

 

Tell the people what they want to hear? Shut up and take their money.

 

haha, yea, i thought at first it was like the mythical $1000 walmart gift card when i got the email. but then i checked out the sender and it was bona fide. between that and winning concert tickets, i am all about sweepstakes now.

and i read those game of thrones books when i was a kid. i'm not sure what i'm doing here is nobility. if it didn't have tyler's name on the back i would have been off the bubble and kept it i think.

i'm feeling better about it after i slept on it and i'm realizing it helps that i have no notion of what i'm giving up really. i've never had a tablet so i have no idea what i'd be filling up all that extra space with. my plan is basically using it for kindle books and maybe a little skype in there. i don't picture myself putting a ton of music or movies or games on it as i play games mostly just at home on my pc. i tried angry birds and it's retarded to me compared to gotham city impostors and skyrim. anyway overall i've decided to put off being depressed about it until i actually need the extra space.

 

another note about karma... i've wondered this before...

is karma necessarily on a timeline? what with the balancing stuff and the universe. do you think something bad can happen to you to set something good up? does redemption work as karma where someone does something awful, feels a crapton of remorse, and then does a lot of good to make up for it? can something awesome happen to you when you're 6 years old to reward the good deed you do when you're 23?

idk, just something to think about.

 

The idea of karma as a balancing force is some bullshit someone made up. Things happen; sometimes something you do or that happens to you can be part of a chain of causes and effects that "comes back around" to you, but most of the time it's random. In fact, here's a really good book on it Amazon.com: The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives (9780375424045): Leonard Mlodinow: Books