Punk kid stealing stuff at Fred Meyer, my rant! Yes, this is a rant! Be warned!

[DireWolf]

Nice sidetrack. Theft is theft, period. If you did it once or twice long ago and repented and don't do it no more then that's different. If you do it now and think you are cool you are an asswipe

Asswipe makes it through the censor. Interesting.

I actually asked someone at Safeway about this great crime question.

"Not a big deal. If there was a real problem a manager would say something. It's only considered theft if you don't pay for it and leave the store."

So. The hypocrites in this thread can stand down. They can be free worry about their own rule breaking that undermines the great society, and who they will snitch out for the greater good.

 

[Barefoot343]

well then by all means take your fat a$$ to safeway and eat some of those fine pastries, while you are at it eat anything else that strikes your fancy. I find it interesting you have to ask someone at safeway about whether something like that is right or wrong, but hey who needs any absolutes or a moral compass right? if it feels good or in this case...tastes good to you... then go for it! and don't let ANYBODY tell you no, you deserve them, your special.

 

[Redcap]

well then by all means take your fat a$$ to safeway and eat some of those fine pastries, while you are at it eat anything else that strikes your fancy. I find it interesting you have to ask someone at safeway about whether something like that is right or wrong, but hey who needs any absolutes or a moral compass right? if it feels good or in this case...tastes good to you... then go for it! and don't let ANYBODY tell you no, you deserve them, your special.

Thanks, I will.

 

[mud]

How many people here can honestly say they haven't shoplifted at least one thing in their youth? Come on.

the bins at winco "no sampling"I've sampled, don't want to buy a three pound bag of something that tastes like crap sorry

 

[Black Dog]

the bins at winco "no sampling"I've sampled, don't want to buy a three pound bag of something that tastes like crap sorry

If your proud of doing that GOOD for YOU? I get real tired of people sticking there FILTHY hand in and get a sample. I've seen it over and over and all I can think is WHAT a LOW LIFE! Buy a little and if you like it come back and get some more. Some people have just turned into real JERKS and think what ever they do is OK? Good Luck boys you are taking the Human race right back to the CAVEMAN stage!

 

[mud]

it's intresting to me how many seemingly good folks(seemingly cause of your opinions i don't really know u maybe your an ars i don't know)can be so far on different sides of the fence on this.If it wasn't a punk kid loitering around would would you be worried about if they will pay or not?If i'm in the store carharts button up shirt name on the pocket tucked in filty after crawling under houses for 14 hours cart full of food are you gonna follow me around?I agree kids these days need a large dose of"act right " but I'm grown I don't steel and everybody needs to stay out of my business

 

[Barefoot343]

it's intresting to me how many seemingly good folks(seemingly cause of your opinions i don't really know u maybe your an ars i don't know)can be so far on different sides of the fence on this.If it wasn't a punk kid loitering around would would you be worried about if they will pay or not?If i'm in the store carharts button up shirt name on the pocket tucked in filty after crawling under houses for 14 hours cart full of food are you gonna follow me around?I agree kids these days need a large dose of"act right " but I'm grown I don't steel and everybody needs to stay out of my business

Look Mud (and others), respectfully....when I am debating this I am looking at it ONLY from a point of view that one or two on here seem to have.... "I don't care what the rule/law is, I am just going to go into any store I want and eat/drink (whatever) I want, whenever I want, and nobody is going to stop me, and screw the store and the workers, I am above anybody and everybody" attitude. NOT the folks who may grab it, eat it, but have every intention of paying for it once they get to a register, there is a HUGE difference.

I mean if you have the first attitude where is the line drawn for you? is it ok to just go to the gas station and take gas without paying for it? or what about somebody you see walking down the street, you going to just go steal their wallet? what about a car you like? or a bank, you going to hold them up and take their money? I am just bringing up examples. I am not advocating drones to watch you in the pastry section (already have that anyway) or being a narc, or people watching you with binocs, but I am hoping parents would simply do their job (including me) and teach their kids about right and wrong (even though they will still make mistakes-we all do) then we wouldn't be having this debate. I am just having a hard time understanding why anybody would side with this kid....IF...IF he really did steal it. I am pretty amazed this thread is going the way it is.

Anyway big difference in a kid who knows what he is doing, goes and eats it without paying and somebody who will pay.

on a side discussion, for those who don't think its a big deal I am curious for the sake of discussion ... when do you teach your kids to do or say something, or at what point would you? if you are the business owner (regardless of what kind of business) surely you wouldn't just let this go if indeed he stold from you would you?

 

[CLT65]

I'm not going to address the "snitching" issue, but it bothers me that several here seem to think that petty theft is no big deal.

How many people here can honestly say they haven't shoplifted at least one thing in their youth? Come on.

I can, at least not from a store. I watched a friend do it once, and made such a fuss about it that he got scared and put it back before we left the store. I did once steal a chunk of modeling clay from school in fourth grade. It ate at my conscience so bad that I took it back a few days later. It was ingrained in me at a young age that stealing is wrong, and to this day I can't stand a thief. If my son was stealing a doughnut I would sure appreciate someone calling him out for it- for his own sake.

 

[CLT65]

Well, I guess I will address the snitching issue, at least my perspective for what it's worth, since it's at least as much a part of the thread as theft.

Personally I probably wouldn't have said anything about a doughnut theft either, unless it was someone I knew. The value of a doughnut is negligible and the store likely wouldn't even say anything about it, but it shows a cavalier attitude about theft and a disrespect for other people and their belongings. If it was a kid I knew I would be concerned about them heading down that road and I would say something, to them first of course.

If I owned a small store and someone was stealing doughnuts on a regular basis, I would like someone to clue me in on it so I could tell the thief to get lost. Running a small business is hard enough without someone eating your profits. At the same time, I would much rather give away $10 than have $1 stolen from me. It's a principle thing, something that seems to be lacking in our culture nowadays.

As to snitching about other things, to me it depends. I'm no busybody, and I believe in going right to the person if there's a problem, but I also have absolutely no problem reporting something serious.

For example, I personally hate drugs, including marijuana (yes, I know I just offended half of you all) but if my neighbor is smoking pot in his garage I figure it's none of my business unless he's trying to give it to my kids. I doubt that he's really hurting anybody but himself. On the other hand, if he's cooking meth over there, I'd go straight to the phone and "snitch" to the police, in a heartbeat.

This "no-snitch" thing goes way too far in some places. I remember reading a story (don't remember where it took place) about someone who was lost in the wrong part of town, robbed and violently beaten on a public street in view of many witnesses. Nobody saw nuthin'. A violent felony took place, but nobody was willing to "snitch". Truly sad. "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

 

[Barefoot343]

CLT, I think you are right on, balanced and thoughtful answer. Thanks for taking on the question.

 

[Black Dog]

Well I think SNITCHING, SQUEELING whatever you want to call it is a good thing. If someone will STEAL in a store they will steal anywhere. I really dislike people that think that if they see something they like and want they can just take it. If it's a little kid under 10 I will tell them to put it back. Older then that I WILL TELL ON THEM! So many of the young people today think everything is owed to them. Today a lot of parents just give their kids what they want and don"t teach them that the day is coming that they will have to work for what they want.

 

[Burt Gummer]

I have to call BS on this Burt. You are too interesting of a person to be squeaky clean. You have to be boring and dull like myself to be squeaky clean.

Well I did pour boxes of Tide in a fountain once at 2am causing a traffic jam the next day. 15' tall, 1/2 block long wall of foam. Lots of things like that. Not entirely innocent. I could say which fountain because it has been over seven years (statue of limitations lol) but I fear there are people that are still pissed about it. Luckily, that was then and not now. Today, it was be probably considered a 'terrorist' act and not a prank. We have all become so wimpy and compliant, including myself; so sad.

Note/clue: To this day that fountain remains turned off at night.

Watching the movie Problem Child I did note that I had done about 3/4ths of the things Junior had done. Including shooting gold fish with a BB gun point blank in an aquarium (my sister's goldfish).

 

[sealine]

the bins at winco "no sampling"I've sampled, don't want to buy a three pound bag of something that tastes like crap sorry

Many years ago, I used to work loss prevention for FM. And the shoppers who "sample" items that are in the open containers just give me chills down my spine. Have you ever wondered why they put those "no sampling" signs there? They could care less about losing a 1/10th of a penny on an item such as an olive. What they care more about is the possible funk that gets into those open containers by someone reaching their hand in there.

Ever see those homeless people hanging out around the bottle can return outside the store? Guess where they were right before that....you guessed it; inside the store, reaching into those open containers, bare (dirty) handed, "sampling." So, enjoy those free samples and whatever comes with it.

 

[Certaindeaf]

Needs more bubblegum.

 

[DireWolf]

well then by all means take your fat a$$ to safeway and eat some of those fine pastries, while you are at it eat anything else that strikes your fancy. I find it interesting you have to ask someone at safeway about whether something like that is right or wrong, but hey who needs any absolutes or a moral compass right? if it feels good or in this case...tastes good to you... then go for it! and don't let ANYBODY tell you no, you deserve them, your special.

Project much?

Happened to be walking through the place, and thought of all the people like you getting worked up about nothing.

the bins at winco "no sampling"I've sampled, don't want to buy a three pound bag of something that tastes like crap sorry

Thief.

Look Mud (and others), respectfully....when I am debating this I am looking at it ONLY from a point of view that one or two on here seem to have.... "I don't care what the rule/law is, I am just going to go into any store I want and eat/drink (whatever) I want, whenever I want, and nobody is going to stop me, and screw the store and the workers, I am above anybody and everybody" attitude. NOT the folks who may grab it, eat it, but have every intention of paying for it once they get to a register, there is a HUGE difference.

You need to read more closely.

I said I have done it a couple times, (5?) and always paid. I've said that several times now.

It's not a violation of the law.

It's not a violation of a rule.

It's not even a violation of a policy that the employee I asked was aware of.

So get off your high horse, and make up your mind. You have a minor head explosion in the post I quoted above, now talk about their being a huge difference.

All the crap that is going on, and people here are getting their panties in a bunch about someone maybe eating a donut hole while shopping, calling them a thief, getting angry, and telling an employee. It's more than a bit nutty.

Moral compass. Get over yourself.

 

[Diamondback]

This "no-snitch" thing goes way too far in some places. I remember reading a story (don't remember where it took place) about someone who was lost in the wrong part of town, robbed and violently beaten on a public street in view of many witnesses. Nobody saw nuthin'. A violent felony took place, but nobody was willing to "snitch". Truly sad. "All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing."

Two words: "KITTY GENOVESE." Google it... IMO, that entire neighborhood committed Obstruction of Justice... and while I'm no fan of guilt-by-association and am a VOCAL advocate of Due Process, it still seems to me that those people who ENABLED her killer to go free should have been charged as accessories after the fact. Her blood is on ALL of their hands... because there wasn't one good person who stood up to do the right thing.

New York, NY... the latter-day Sodom and Gomorrah.

 

[sealine]

Well I think SNITCHING, SQUEELING whatever you want to call it is a good thing. If someone will STEAL in a store they will steal anywhere. I really dislike people that think that if they see something they like and want they can just take it. If it's a little kid under 10 I will tell them to put it back. Older then that I WILL TELL ON THEM! So many of the young people today think everything is owed to them. Today a lot of parents just give their kids what they want and don"t teach them that the day is coming that they will have to work for what they want.

If you think you're accomplishing something by telling a FM employee about a customer who is stealing, you're wasting your time. The regular store employees are not allowed to stop someone for shoplifting. Even if you were able to find one of the loss prevention employees (very unlikely, they look like any other customer) even they can't stop a person who they didn't see steal anything.

If this discourages you from telling an employee and you decide to say something to the thief yourself; be warned, there are many people out there who have no problems with taking out a weapon during your attempt at teaching them morals. At the Beaverton FM alone, I know there have been several occasions where a theft suspect pulled out a firearm, brass knuckles, or some other type of weapon when they were confronted.

 

[Barefoot343]

Project much?

Happened to be walking through the place, and thought of all the people like you getting worked up about nothing.



Thief.



You need to read more closely.

I said I have done it a couple times, (5?) and always paid. I've said that several times now.

It's not a violation of the law.

It's not a violation of a rule.

It's not even a violation of a policy that the employee I asked was aware of.

So get off your high horse, and make up your mind. You have a minor head explosion in the post I quoted above, now talk about their being a huge difference.

All the crap that is going on, and people here are getting their panties in a bunch about someone maybe eating a donut hole while shopping, calling them a thief, getting angry, and telling an employee. It's more than a bit nutty.

Moral compass. Get over yourself.

You must have been drinking when you posted and not noticed in MY post..."NOT the folks who may grab it, eat it, but have every intention of paying for it once they get to a register, there is a HUGE difference." Don't you think there is one? guess not.

I really could care less though, you have your thoughts/opinions and I am open minded enough (hate that term) that I can accept them though I disagree, and I have mine. You are not going to change me, and I am not going to change you. Its has been a decent debate with those that answered, minus you really answering any of the questions, other than to say its "nutty" and what not, again I don't really care, whatever. In fact here is a smiley for you...

as for the "head explosion" I have a sarcastic sense of humor that was how I replied. if you took it wrong then maybe I should have drew a picture (again sarcastic humor).

anyway, go have a donut hole.

 

[Redcap]

If you think you're accomplishing something by telling a FM employee about a customer who is stealing, you're wasting your time. The regular store employees are not allowed to stop someone for shoplifting. Even if you were able to find one of the loss prevention employees (very unlikely, they look like any other customer) even they can't stop a person who they didn't see steal anything.

If this discourages you from telling an employee and you decide to say something to the thief yourself; be warned, there are many people out there who have no problems with taking out a weapon during your attempt at teaching them morals. At the Beaverton FM alone, I know there have been several occasions where a theft suspect pulled out a firearm, brass knuckles, or some other type of weapon when they were confronted.

Funny what happens when you stick your nose where it doesn't belong.

 

[Black Dog]

If you think you're accomplishing something by telling a FM employee about a customer who is stealing, you're wasting your time. The regular store employees are not allowed to stop someone for shoplifting. Even if you were able to find one of the loss prevention employees (very unlikely, they look like any other customer) even they can't stop a person who they didn't see steal anything.

Go back to POST TWO (2) and read it.