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A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

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Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#41

Post by plasticchris »

walrus01 wrote: post #9

What I find amazing is that some retail operators apparently expect low-wage workers making like $12/hour to physically accost shoplifters or try to detain them at the exit door, at risk of getting punched in the face, bear sprayed, shot, stabbed, etc. They're not getting paid anywhere near enough for that level of risk.

Back when I ran a checkout register my manager was super clear that I should give anyone whatever they wanted so long as I reported it after the fact, and that my safety was more important than any items in the store. My uncle even got fired for running down a shoplifter, the policy around here was very clear - let the cops handle it.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#42

Post by mikkergp »

cafard wrote: post #23
feet wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Copying my other comment here. There definitely is a moral issue >busting people who are shoplifting items that they either need to survive or items that they can sell to survive to say, pay rent, because our capitalist system has shit on them and left them with no options Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

Is it OK to bust middle-class shoplifters, such as a number of my high school and college acquaintances?

Not really, no, why do we think the legal system is the solution to every problem. Besides the fact are they even doing all that good a job at this?

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#43

Post by bowsamic »

josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

Stealing a piece of inventory from a major corporation is not morally the same as stealing from another person. [Popular company] probably accidentally loses tonnes of [popular product] a week. They have easily enough money to cover that loss, money that isn't being redistributed to the people who feel they should/want to/have to shoplift. So yeah, it's pretty clear to me that for major shops, stopping people from stealing is more immoral than stealing.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#45

Post by smegsicle »

yeuxardents wrote: post #13
canjobear wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't see the problem as long as it's directed toward a prosocial aim.

Who and what is defined as prosocial has a long and sordid past and history of death and misery.

as with most important things

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#46

Post by 1986 »

josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

I'm not saying shoplifting is moral, but to play devil's advocate here:

Walmart, to take one example, is one of the top employers of medicaid and food stamp recipients (https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/19/walmart-and-mcdonalds-among-...), essentially forcing the government to make up the gap from the incredibly low wages that they pay their employees and enabling them, in turn, to make more profits. Is that stealing from the government / other taxpayers? If you felt that way, you probably wouldn't see much harm in stealing a couple of bucks worth of stuff back out of Walmart's deep, deep pockets.

Anyway, I think that's just one example of why people may feel differently about stealing from an individual versus stealing from a massive, faceless, profitable corporation.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#47

Post by karencarits »

feet wrote: post #10
josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

Copying my other comment here. There definitely is a moral issue >busting people who are shoplifting items that they either need to survive or items that they can sell to survive to say, pay rent, because our capitalist system has shit on them and left them with no options Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

On the other hand: this approach may act to disguise some of the distress that people are actually living under so that society thinks things are less bad than they are - and so less inclined to fix the problem in the "civilized" way: by welfare schemes that guarantees a minimum of dignity and daily needs

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#48

Post by hyuuu »

feet wrote: post #10
josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

Copying my other comment here. There definitely is a moral issue >busting people who are shoplifting items that they either need to survive or items that they can sell to survive to say, pay rent, because our capitalist system has shit on them and left them with no options Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

so if I just do drugs and I take your property to survive, that's okay? if I decide not to work, I can just go to any grocery stores to steal?

they need to survive by stealing is a failure of the system that is in place, either education or the social support system. Accommodating for the system's failures by giving up property rights is a defeatist take at best, virtue signaling at worst.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#49

Post by [deleted] »

feet wrote: post #10
josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

Copying my other comment here. There definitely is a moral issue >busting people who are shoplifting items that they either need to survive or items that they can sell to survive to say, pay rent, because our capitalist system has shit on them and left them with no options Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

[deleted]

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#50

Post by josephcsible »

feet wrote: post #10
josephcsible wrote: post #5

> “A lot of people are like, ‘How, morally, can you do this job?’” How did people's moral compasses get so corrupt that instead of believing stealing is immoral, they believe that stopping other people from stealing is immoral?

Copying my other comment here. There definitely is a moral issue >busting people who are shoplifting items that they either need to survive or items that they can sell to survive to say, pay rent, because our capitalist system has shit on them and left them with no options Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

> Property rights should not be above human life. Full stop.

Sure, if someone's bleeding out on the street, and you grab a tourniquet from a nearby drugstore and run out without paying for it, you should get a pass. But I think cases like that make up approximately 0% of shoplifting. Most of the times people say that shoplifting is necessary to survive, it's not actually true.

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