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'The Overlord' Egg Moderator
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Posted: Jun 29, 2008 10:26 p.m. - Subject:
Yes, Redsand, that is what I was looking for. I appreciate all of your input. I was also hoping to find someone who did understand the mentality it takes to steal from an individual. Not because I wanted to argue with them, but because I wanted to understand the mindset. Sort of a social experiment. Anyway, keep posting. It’s interesting to see the views.
Normal Egg
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Posted: Jun 29, 2008 10:34 p.m. - Subject:
I think it depends. I personally don’t steal any more, but I have. The only time it’s not so bad is when prices are jacked way up. Like at amusement parks, where they charge you $4.00 for a bottle of Coke. Steal that shit if you can, because they’re robbing you.
Normal Egg
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Posted: Jun 29, 2008 10:55 p.m. - Subject:
It’s entirely circumstantial for me, hard to put it in general terms.
I guess in a nutshell though - The more that a victim of theft takes from an honest person on a daily basis, the more they are deserving to be a victim.
So your average hard working blue collar guy I would never take a dime from, but large corporations and hoarders deserve whatever they get.
Master Egg
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Posted: Jun 29, 2008 11:01 p.m. - Subject:
If someone is stupid enough to leave an iPod laying down on a table at a party, they deserve it to get stolen. Not also is their stupidity to blame, but it’ll teach them that in future, don’t leave your goods vulnerable for theft.
Normal Egg
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Posted: Jun 30, 2008 3:40 a.m. - Subject:
Then again, I should elaborate on the fact that if I have no connection to the individual whatsoever, I feel no guilt in stealing minor objects and possessions.
Actually, it’s more of a compulsion, and half the shit is just useless trinkets I don’t need.
I have no problum, braking in to some ones house and robbing them blind, or stealing money from them. Why? it simple, i have no feelings for them, fuck um.
I think its fine to steal if its neccesity. Stealing from stores who have trillions of dollars and/or dont deserve the income they make is fine. Stealing from individual people is wrong and should only be done if you need money for food or shelter, not if you want a video game.
Power Egg
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Posted: Jun 30, 2008 10:06 p.m. - Subject:
Basically, I agree with Chief and Dofo.
If you need to survive, do what ever you have to do. Someone who has an abundance should already feel compelled by human nature to give some back, if they don’t, then it’s only likewise human nature to want to take some of it.
Master Egg
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Posted: Jun 30, 2008 10:16 p.m. - Subject:
I agree with what Trouble said. If you don’t know them, its easy to not feel guilty.
But with family, friends etc etc, Its fucked up. I’ve done it a few times, and it can make you feel like shit for a while.
"Take these words from someone who steals and has stolen alot in the past. Anyone who steals and tries to justify it is kidding themselves and you need to get your punk ass robbed too. Whether you think the person can afford to lose money or not it is still stealing someone’s money they’ve earnt. Just admit that you’re stealing because you can, you want to and because you want more money. Fags who try to justify their irresponsible activities are the twats I steal from.
stop trying to kid yourselves into thinking you’re doing nothing wrong by stealing from someone rich or even a company..I’m not saying you have to care who you steal from or why; just don’t try to justify it. Also don’t say shit like the person deserves it or karma’s a bitch; karma only happens if you believe in it.
Power Egg
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 6:41 p.m. - Subject:
Yes, I’ve stolen shit when I was much younger, and no, I’m not proud of it. I’m proud of destructive pranks, but not stealing. I won’t do it now, but I can think of a couple of moral lapses.
Last week, before a McDonald’s pigout, the bill was $11.20. I gave the dropout unwed mother a $10 bill and two singles, and she gave me three quarters and a nickel, totaling $.80. A manager came by, and for some reason, she told me, "Hold on; I have to give you your change!" The manager opened the drawer, and she gave me $6. I should have ordered more.
Having slung grease for years, one of two things can happen. One, she could lose her job, but that’s highly unlikely, as it seemed like the manager made her do it. Not to mention, despite the worsening economy, McDonald’s needs all the warm bodies they can get, and wouldn’t want to replace her if it’s her first offense. She’ll get a formal reprimand, if anything. And if she should lose that job, it’s not like there aren’t others.
During the summer, people might come in and order only one drink, and pay with exact change. Pocket the money and hand them a cup. If you work at a movie cinema, collect the ticket money from patrons, then ring them in with a senior citizen’s / handicapped discount, and pocket the difference. Your employer steals from you every day. This is probably why most restaurants have a "receipts for everyone" policy these days.
More than 10 years ago, I took my pitpful paycheck to the bank. It had been in my pocket the night before while pretending to wash dishes, so it got wet, and some of the printing was smudged. The first digit was 3.
I absolutely hated taking checks to the bank to deposit them. To this day, I always use an ATM, and have direct deposit for my paychecks now. But I didn’t have either option then. The bank personnel always have to pretend to make small talk, then try to sell me certificates of deposit or some fucking thing. The name of the nationally-known restaurant was printed on every check, so they’d open the phony conversation with "So, you work at Grease-On-A-Shell, huh?" I always wanted to reply, "Keep your voice down! Do you think I want people to hear that?" But I never did; I’d generally reply with monotone grunts and syllables to their banal questions.
I refused to use deposit slips, so they’d fill one out for my deposit. I watched as the peon filled out the deposit slip for $800. Did I mention the check was for $300? Apparently, the 3 was smudged, making it look like an 8, though the second line of the check, which had the words "three hundred and blah blah blah" was legible.
I thought for sure the bank would catch the error in a couple of days, but they never did. Maybe they did collect $800 from grease-on-a-shell. That was a winning lottery ticket if there ever was one, and I’ve never had such a windfall since.
Normal Egg
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 7:20 p.m. - Subject:
H-Dogg, your stories about life never cease to amaze me. I think it was Gimp that once suggested you should’ve been a writer, and I second that opinion.
Even though you don’t post often, it’s always a treat when you do, because I know that there’s going to be some fun-filled reading ahead of me.
You have a gift, man. You should put together a book of your life stories.
I third that option. I know plenty of writers that bust their ass for a living to be a writer that tour around the nation and they tell stories much similar to yours, about life experiences and stuff.
As for stealing, I hate it. I’ve stolen maybe 3 times max in my life. I think that if you don’t have it, and you can’t afford it, then you should just wait until you can obtain what you want. I guess I can kind of agree with the corporation stuff, but from family, friends, and other individuals, stealing from them is something I can’t ever look past in a person.
Power Egg
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 7:32 p.m. - Subject:
Did I mention the time I was about 11 years old and found $40 in the yard?
It was, and still is, my usual habit to run over objects in the path of the lawnmower rather than pick them up. On this particular summer day in nineteen eighty-something, there was an envelope in the grass, and it hit it. It ripped into a few large pieces instead of shredding into many small ones. On my next pass with the mower, I saw 2 $20 bills on the freshly cut grass, which I pocketed. I retrieved the remains of the envelope, and saw it was addressed to a TV minister. I felt I could do God’s work with the money better.
I probably bought Atari cartridges with it, but I don’t remember which ones.
Power Egg
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 7:37 p.m. - Subject:
The demand for writers will never exceed the supply. I suppose I could write technical specifications, since most engineers have trouble writing.
If you’re female, (I am male,) and have a technical / science education, never admit you can write or type. You’ll become a glorified secretary, something you could have done with a 9-month business school certificate.
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 8:08 p.m. - Subject:
I used to steal a lot, but I rarely do it anymore. I knew it was wrong and I knew if I got caught that there would be shit to face. Reading H-Dogg’s post motivated me to tell a little story as well.
I liked to steal from people for many reasons, mainly because people are less secure. The reason I stole from people rather than stores is because it was easier. Stores have cameras and all that shit and people don’t. Stores have security guards and shit and people don’t. It’s much safer to steal from a couples idiot rather than a store.
I can only remember stealing from a friend once. I won’t say he deserved it, because he really didn’t. I knew the kid for years too. We were good friends as well.
This happened like 4 or 5 years ago. I went to the kids house to get back a game I let him borrow. It was around 5-6 pm. I rang the doorbell and shit, but no one answered. So I checked to see if the door was open and it was. They forgot to lock the door. I went in and called out his name to see if he was in there. I checked his room and shit, but no one was home. I then thought about it for a quick second what I should do and I came to the conclusion that I should jack his shit. I went back home to get my friend, he was spending the night at my house and didn’t want to go with me to get the game. So went to the house and we cleaned them out. Well not exactly. We didn’t know any better so all we took was his games and shit. Because of that, the kid’s mom knew that the people that "broke in" had to be teenagers. One thing funny also happened, my friend that I was with took a 12 liter bottle of Sprite out of their fridge and when the kid was telling me what happened to him and shit, he also told me about the Sprite. I thought it was funny because they wondered why someone would take that. I felt zero remorse for what I did at the moment, but I feel a little bad about it right now. I don’t remember all the shit we took, but I remember a few: Original Xbox(with controllers and shit) + like 10 games(including the one he owed me), Gamecube + games and I knew we took something else that was good, but I don’t remember exactly what.
That was the only time that I can remember stealing from a friend. During my freshman and sophomore years in my old high school I was an Ipod thief. I stole over 15 of them. At lunch, in the locker rooms, in the class rooms, even one on the bus. I got caught though. The cameras caught me. Me and my azn friend both got caught and expelled. I won’t lie, it was fun. I enjoyed their suffering. I don’t steal anymore though. Partly because I moved away from my "rich" school to an average one and I didn’t want to fuck up my senior year.
Normal Egg
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 8:29 p.m. - Subject:
I suppose I will share my story too...
I don’t steal anymore and I doubt I would have the balls to if the situation presented itself to me. But there was a time about 5 years ago when I was a one-man crime wave. I shoplifted up one side of town and down the other.
I don’t know why I started; most likely to prove to myself that I wasn’t afraid (my self-confidence wasn’t very high then). It started out small; a pack of gum from 7-11 or a candy bar from the grocery store. Over the course of a couple months, however, I upped the ante and started stealing like it was my job. Movies from Blockbuster (6 at once was my personal record). Food from the grocery store. CDs from Tower Records. A shirt. Various items from the dollar store, including, but not limited to: lighters, cheap paintings, rope, a hammer, locks, a Buddha statue. I STOLE A FUCKING HAMMER! Why, I’ll never know. A $50 baseball card of some famous schmuck. Also a package of what I thought were baseball cards, but what turned out to be some weird Japanese anime shit (wtf!!). Various beverages from 7-11. Anything that wasn’t nailed down, I saw as mine.
At one point, I realized my business savvy and opened up a store on the playground selling my stolen swag. I would take orders for flavors of AXE (remember that spray deodorant that was really popular a few years ago?) and I would go to the store and steal them. It was 100% profit, and it was perfect.
I walked into 7-11 one day and slipped some Starburst into my pocket. I thin the lady saw me, so I walked around the other end of the aisle out the door rather than walk past the cashier, which probably made me look 10x sketchier. She started yelling at me in unintelligible Chinglish, and reached her hand into my pocket and found the ’Burst. The one phrase I did manage to catch was, "I-a calling po-reese!" She grabbed my sweatshirt and started dragging me to the back of the store. I managed to push her off me and yelled an apologetic "Sorry!" as I dashed out the door. I grabbed my bike and took off like a bat out of hell.
Since then, I haven’t shoplifted ANYTHING. I’d like to think that experience scared me straight. Like I said before, I doubt I even have the cajones to do it now.
I hope I entertained you, kiddos. Remember, stealing is for bad people.
'The Overlord' Egg Moderator
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Posted: Jul 02, 2008 8:52 p.m. - Subject:
Some of these stories/philosophies are interesting from a psychological stand point. Keep in mind, I don’t know much about psychology but what I do know, I find interesting.
For example, Slim’s philosophy is of interest because he has no cognitive dissonance to overcome. For those of you who don’t know what that is... is an uncomfortable feeling or stress caused by holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously. For example, wanting to steal but believing it is wrong. A person with CD would have to find a rationale to justify stealing whereas someone without it, doesn’t. It seems he is pointing out that if you come to terms with stealing being wrong and being ok with that, there is less psychological stress for yourself.
Other people are ok with stealing but only if it’s some how justified. Either because the person deserved it or because the store is a huge corporation that steals from them every day. Some people don’t care how they make other people feel because other people’s feelings are inconsequential. They don’t thrive on the suffering, they are just insulated enough from them to not care while others actually enjoy watching the suffering. That is very intriguing to me. Mostly because I don’t have the capacity to watch someone else suffer. I’m wondering what that takes... is it anger? Is it insulation from feelings? Is it having not been made aware of other people’s feelings? Is it a sense of power? Anyway, if you have more stories, do tell. I am learning something from this. And thanks for your input.
