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A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

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Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#61

Post by seanmcdirmid »

trs8080 wrote: post #39
2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What country are we talking about. In the US nobody needs to steal to survive. The homeless don't even need to steal to survive.

What country are /you/ talking about? In my city, there are homeless people living in tents under every overpass, in every empty lot, parking lots, tennis courts, in broken down cars, etc. You think these people have trust funds?

No, but they have food in the cities they decide to camp in, which are selected due to weather, social services (e.g. calling Seattle as "Freattle"), and lax enforcement of camping rules.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#63

Post by jmyeet »

It's really interesting to me at how sensitive Americans (in particular) seem to be when it comes to property damage or theft while being completely uncaring when it comes to people starving, getting bombed, getting shot, living with violence, being literally killed by our health care system (eg insulin), dying in the streets or people being denied life-chaning or life-saving medical care.

I don't support stealing but there are different kinds of stealing. There's a difference between stealing cars and stealing diapers and baby formula.

Property crime (and many otehr kinds of crime) are a symptom of extreme poverty and wealth inequality.

Policing here isn't the answer. Nor is incarceration. If it was, the US would be the safest place on Earth since it has the highest rate of incarceration in the world (4% of the population, 25% of the world's prisoners).

At some point you have to realize this issue will only be dealt with by addressing the underlying material conditions of the nation's poorest and most vulnerable. The link between poverty and crime has been known for thousands of years yet Americans in particularly doggedly refuse to acknowledge this.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#64

Post by jakear »

2OEH8eoCRo0 wrote: post #20
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.

What country are we talking about. In the US nobody needs to steal to survive. The homeless don't even need to steal to survive.

More people steal to "survive" that you probably realize. In my experience with lower income college graduates (arts degrees, for instance), the question of where to go to steal food for the day is a common discussion point. Could they survive by going to food banks instead? Probably. Or by taking any other job. But stealing is easier, less "degrading", and more inline with their career goals.

That said, the system works. Some people get small personal servings for free; others pay extra for their full family's meal so the store can make up for the breakage. It's that same terraced pricing structure every SASS loves.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#65

Post by seanmcdirmid »

mikkergp wrote: post #42
cafard wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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?

Huh? In my city, shoplifters can walk out with 70 inch TVs while the police watch them do it (shop lifting is decriminalized). Everyone who isn't a shoplifter is pretty pissed off about it, I think the police are there to prevent mob justice from happening.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#66

Post by ilaksh »

yadaeno wrote: post #32

> “A LOT of people are like, ‘How, MORALLY, can you do this job?" I only know of one or two people in my entire life that think that preventing theft immoral. "A LOT" is there to mislead readers into thinking there is a moral dilemma around loss prevention. There is no moral dilemma. Not stealing is the most basic rule of society.

Unfortunately there is now a large section of the population that disagrees.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#67

Post by unreal37 »

slg wrote: post #26

>“That’s a huge adrenaline rush,” he says. “I think that’s a major factor in why people are in this field.” This should be a huge red flag that should preclude someone from working in the industry. As Dan says later in the article: >“They’re more concerned with punishing and catching, and they see asset protection as a game,” adds Dan, who requested that Input give him an alias. “I don’t think it’s healthy to have th…

It might be a red flag. But that can't be some roadblock to entering the industry.

People get into careers for all sorts of reasons. A paycheck. The thrill of succeeding at their job. The thrill of being the best in the business.

You can't just exclude those people from that career and focus on people "the goals of the business". Personal goals are better drivers to excellence than business goals.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#68

Post by frlmaowtf »

unreal37 wrote: post #53
feet wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So 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 That prosocial goal?

I once saw a guy stealing a Moleskine notebook. Maybe that notebook can be resold, and he uses the money to pay rent? Or more likely, he uses it to buy drugs. So preventing the shoplifting might just save his life from a drug overdose. It's hard to say that stealing is clearly right in almost any scenario. It's almost always anti-social.

What's the law called where you can't tell if someone is being sarcastic or actually thinks the ridiculous things they say aloud?

"Stopping someone from stealing a notebook prevented a drug overdose death".

I hope you and folks like you realize that encountering rhetoric like yours only reinforces the thought that some people are just really out to feel like they have power over others, and some folks are capable of amazing gymnastics to support the cruelty of most Western capital societies rather than confront the notion that maybe you have no god damn idea why someone was stealing a notebook and maybe just maybe it doesn't fucking matter even a tiny little bit.

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#69

Post by ilaksh »

plasticchris wrote: post #41
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.

Do the cops do anything though?

Re: A subreddit dedicated to busting shoplifters

#70

Post by trs8080 »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #61
trs8080 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What country are /you/ talking about? In my city, there are homeless people living in tents under every overpass, in every empty lot, parking lots, tennis courts, in broken down cars, etc. You think these people have trust funds?

No, but they have food in the cities they decide to camp in, which are selected due to weather, social services (e.g. calling Seattle as "Freattle"), and lax enforcement of camping rules.

I see the exact opposite of these claims.
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