Being in college is hard as hell. Especially when you have no money. I have a friend that I'm really concerned about because she just got convicted. No she didn't kill anyone or hurt anybody; she just stole food from the grocery store to eat, got caught, and now she has to go to court in a few days about her misdemeanor charge.
I feel sorry for her. I mean 1. She's poor 2. She has to steal in order to eat 3. Now she has to go to court to face this misdemeanor charge. She does have a job but like most college students know tuition and rent isn't cheap. She only has a few bucks to spare every month after tuition and rent. Now I'm not saying that's an excuse, as poor as she is I'm sure she could've gone to the welfare office and got someone to have mercy on her and give her food stamps. But sometimes when you do everything on your own it's kind of hard to ask for help when you need it. I understand where she's coming from is all I'm saying.
So what do you think? She did technically do a crime according to the law, but do you consider what she did a crime? Stealing food in order to eat? Leave your comments
Sadly for your friend, I do think that she was committing a crime by stealing food. Just because one is in a desperate situation does not mean that one is free to take that which belongs to others.
~Violinstef
You ask, "technically did she commit a crime?" Well, technically, yes, she did. Unfortunately, she looked to the wrong solution for her problems and in her desperation made her situation far worse.
If she's really that badly off, then I'm sure she would be eligible for food stamps without having to beg for them. Also, does she have family who could support her? Charities (like food banks) for the destitute and hungry also abound, though I doubt that a college student would be eligible for them.
My first semester in college I way over did it. To many units and a too expensive college earned me very little sleep and study time. Without exagerating I survived off of Dr Pepper and two cheese burgers. I maybe ate four times and none of it was stolen food. If you are having difficulty or have a need you should be able to go to family or friends...heck even a stranger has compassion.
Definately solved the problem going up the wrong avenue. She stole, maybe they will give her mercy maybe not. The law is clear and has no exception for the poor man sorry.
~T
All truths are easy to understand once discovered; The point is to discover them ~Galileo
Thanks. I talked to her about it and found out more about her situation. She said that she had been on welfare but that it ran out. HOW CAN WELFARE RUN OUT IF YOU STILL DON'T HAVE THE MONEY??!!!
I called a family member who had a criminal history and he said the worse they can do is probably give her community service. She doesn't have a previous record and I will definitely do everything in my power to make sure that she never has to resort to this again.
Thanks for the comments.
Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great."
- Mark Twain
Honestly I have been on that side of life that few actually ever get to. If you yourself dont know what a true hunger pain feels like...I would suggest that although you most likely mean well, any moral dissertation is going to fall on rightfully deaf ears.
The whole nature of this conversation is the dubious luxury of those who do have support systems in some form. There is nothing wrong with that. In addition to saying that when survival itself is at the epicenter of the decision making process...the sheer concept of stealing does not carry much weight in the mind.
Although your friend did break a law that is entirely necessary for those not feeling the sense of being disenfranchised from civilized society which is a feature of the mind when absolute survival hunger sets in, I don't feel they did a thing "wrong".
Without food this conversation never takes place at all...and believe me...unless you've been there you will never know the depth of your survival instinct consciously.
Just be aware that your friend may look at you funny if you have never been there. It is easy for the inexperienced to comment on the ideal...even in the face of reality.
If she is your friend why wouldn't you help her out a little bit and feed her so she wouldn't have to steal in the first place?
...and earns enough money to pay for rent and tuition, then your friend COULD have dropped out of school and spent that money on food. So yes, I think your friend is a THIEF in every sense, both "technically" and ethically. It is commendable that your friend wants to improve herself through education, but if the only way she can do that is to STEAL from others, then maybe she needs to take a step back and re-prioritize her lifestyle and goals.
TTFN,
Blackout
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What is a "Real American?"
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Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the ProU community.
Hey Blackout, this is about the 4th post of yours in the last couple of weeks that I not only agreed with you but noticed you in the role of law and order hardass. And I really like the repeated personal responsibility meme too.
What is it with people wanting to excuse all sorts of inexcusable behavior and lack of personal responsibility? I have to wonder about the kind of upbringing that people are getting. I agree completely that this person is a thief.
Now ..... if I could just get you to see the light on the death penalty and corporal punishment.
4th Post that Jack agrees with Blackout!?
Isn't that one of the signs of the apocalypse or something?
...
Well said to the both of you.
There are very few human beings who receive the truth, complete and staggering, by instant illumination. Most of them acquire it fragment by fragment, on a small scale, by successive developments, cellularly, like a laborious mosaic.~- Anais Nin
...and we both also have a very low tolerance for b.s., which I respect in principle. I agree with you more often than you might think, except when it comes to certain "social issues."
As for why people are the way they are, who can really say? I suppose it could have something to do with the evolved herd-mentality that most humans seem to have inherited from our hunter-gatherer ancestors, but again who can say for sure.
TTFN,
Blackout
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What is a "Real American?"
---
Check out Progressive PRIDE, a Gay-Straight Alliance for the ProU community.
Old post, but I can apply some of my newly acquired knowledge to it!
In my Human Rights and Africa class, we've discussed how in the Dinka culture, a person is allowed to "borrow" (what we would call steal) a neighbor's cattle or property if they are starving and need it to survive. They do not have to ask permission first, since it's considered an emergency. However, in the end, the person who "borrowed" the cattle is expected to fully acknowledge that they stole and reimburse their neighbor. If they have no money, then they must work for the neighbor (something almost like indentured servitude).
It seems like the Dinka way of looking at it recognizes both the need of the starving individual and the rights of the “victim” of the “crime.”