91–100 of 132 posts
I'm all for vengeance but it just seems ironic and unfortunate that Johnny Boi will almost inevitably get out of prison sometime in the next 2 years more hardened and better equipped to be a complete fuckup, undoubtedly progressing to even stupider but possibly more violent and disruptive crimes. Just saying.
So, the better option for dealing this thief would be...?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, the better option for dealing this thief would be...?
Community service. Monitored parole. Work programs... The guy stole a backpack from an unlocked car with visual valuables. Police in my area once tried to make it a crime to have visible valuables inside of a vehicle, locked or not, because it encouraged crimes of opportunity by casual criminals. It essentially wasted their time . This guy wasn't going to pass the car by and then decide to murder an old lady.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So his friend is going to risk 20 years in prison just to get revenge? This guy has already been in prison; he got caught stealing and was sent back to finish his first sentence. Not everyone is the mafia don that you see on Law & Order. This guy probably has no connections and no money. Which means he has to do his dirty work himself. And after two years in prison, I doubt a direct ticket back is his first priority.
Statistics would argue with you. Most sources put the proportion of repeat violent crime offenders at around 60%.
Of course, she could be the lottery winner, finding the guy who was looking for a reason to become the next serial killer, but that is unlikely.
In fact, it is highly unlikely the guy will ever come across this article. He doesn't seem the type to google his own name.
I found the post on Craigslist the next day and contacted the person with a fictitious email and name. He emailed me back asking for my phone number to set up a meeting.
At that point I had three options:
a) File a police report/contact the insurance company and have my insurance rate hiked up (for a I chose C as I didn't like the outcome of A, nor the possibility of him and his hooligans retaliating against my family if I went with B.
It strikes me that people who are bothered by theft in the modern age just haven't got the whole digital revolution on quite a profound level. She lists the things that bothered her as "the BlackBerry with contact information for dear old friends, the wedding anniversary wallet that her husband bought her when she finished chemo, stuffed with about two years' worth of love letters from her toddlers, hopeful doctors'…
Regarding the comment, the problem is that the "data" is more than the actual pixels on the scraps of paper. The data includes the knowledge that the scraps were actually held by the giver. The data includes a part of the relationship that is embodied by the the scraps of paper. A digital version would never replace that.
If you are robbed, it is not your fault. While I agree that our current efforts aren't working and really need to be re-evaluated (unfortunately, that always falls on idiotic, extremist "hang them all" or "give them a kiss and tell them it's all right" politics), when you are robbed, it is always somebody else's fault, even if you left the garage open and the car unlocked.
Excusing others' illegal actions will never make the problem go away, and there will always be sociopaths who believe they deserve what they take. They will never have permission to take from me.
FWIW, this is completely the opposite of what pg suggests: http://paulgraham.com/top.html Turning the other cheek turns out to have selfish advantages. Someone who does you an injury hurts you twice: first by the injury itself, and second by taking up your time afterward thinking about it. If you learn to ignore injuries you can at least avoid the second half. I've found I can to some extent avoid thinking about nast…
That is the short sighted view though. If everyone always turns the other cheek then there is little consequence to hurting or screwing others, which then reinforces the wrong-doers behaviors and perhaps even encourages others to join in. Within reason, one should always make it clear that certain actions are simply not acceptable and that there are clear consequences for those actions. If not for your self, it may s…
This highlights the value of contingency planning and tenacity. With the suspect's photo in the McDonald's, the police might have been able to find him, and convict him for possession of stolen property, especially with his criminal history. But the author wasn't done! She turned his email address into his complete online identity. This provided an extra link to the crime, the stolen GPS, and some extra supporting in…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
So, the better option for dealing this thief would be...?
Community service. Monitored parole. Work programs... The guy stole a backpack from an unlocked car with visual valuables. Police in my area once tried to make it a crime to have visible valuables inside of a vehicle, locked or not, because it encouraged crimes of opportunity by casual criminals. It essentially wasted their time . This guy wasn't going to pass the car by and then decide to murder an old lady.
Just like the one before her I guess - he was already on probation.
> I ran his e-mail address through a reverse e-mail finder, which cost me about 15 bucks for a month's worth of "surveillance." Can anyone enlighten me on what she means?
There are a number of paid services on the net where you give them an email address and they slurp up all the information out there associated with that person. http://www.spokeo.com is one of many and might be the one used in the article, though Spokeo gives you 3 months for your $15.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
There are a number of paid services on the net where you give them an email address and they slurp up all the information out there associated with that person. http://www.spokeo.com is one of many and might be the one used in the article, though Spokeo gives you 3 months for your $15.
How do they find out what you've used your email address for? Do they buy that info from the websites?