Would you stop someone stealing actual food to eat if you worked at a store?

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#41
I just don't think society can function that way. If people can't trust each other, if numbers don't add up, that puts society on a very shaky basis, makes it impredictable and impossible to control.
This I do agree with. There have to be certain rules IN PLACE, to have a functioning society. And for the most part, these rules do work. Most people don't try to steal anything. However, when one is desperate enough, they're not going to follow the rules because the rules aren't helping them any...and it's extremely hard to get others to pay for your food, for that matter (I've seen people try).

BUT if we consider how that same person would probably feel if someone were to, say, come up to him/her and just rob them of everything they had, they wouldn't like it either. And bottom line is, it's not that some necessarily want to be doing what they're doing. But like I said, it's a very complicated issue, and sometimes you just don't have a choice. And then you can also look at this way: in every society where there are, in fact, rules, there also HAVE to be certain people who try to break them. Because if no one tried to break the rules, what would be the point of even having them in place? You understand what I'm trying to say?
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#42
why the bare minimum to not die of starvation is an acceptable definition of necessity
This is also a great point. How do we define where necessity stops and luxury begins? For instance, take my opinion as an example, which was basically along the lines of--food is OK, but candy is not. But then you DO have to think about how much food is acceptable and what kind, and what other snacks aren't acceptable? That totally does make sense, and there is no clear definition of this, obviously, it was just my personal opinion on the matter.
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#43
I'm sure you've all heard this famous phrase: "For each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction" - Newton's Third Law. Well, it also works the same way with emotions. For every emotional reaction (to a behavior), there has to be an equal and opposite emotional reaction. Hence, when people steal, and it makes them feel good that they get away with it, it stirs up negative emotions in others (or at least, some). This IS the way that society functions, whether we like it or not. Because like I said, without people who break the rules, there would be no need for those rules in the first place.

In Kant's view, the ultimate unconditional good was good will. Hence, the whole treating people as an end and not a means to an end thing. But the problem with that is that people treat each other as a means to an end all the time, which is why I said it's much easier said than done. The guy who buys his wife an anniversary gift, for instance, in order to avoid getting yelled at is treating her as a means to his own end and not an end in itself. That's one of the main problems I see with Kant. People behave unethically all the time and they can't really help behaving selfishly because it's in our nature to do so...but it doesn't mean they're not good people overall or don't have good qualities.
 

Walker

Admin
SF Social Media
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#44
I think the theft in this case is "morally wrong" or whatever.... But I'm still not stopping it. Not for a one off person I see lifting food. If there was a way to buy it for them then I'd go that route (I don't know the situation here) but overall, people shouldn't go hungry. If they're in there again tomorrow then we might start having a problem.
 

Aurelia

πŸ”₯ A Fire Inside πŸ”₯
SF Supporter
#45
I think the theft in this case is "morally wrong" or whatever.... But I'm still not stopping it. Not for a one off person I see lifting food. If there was a way to buy it for them then I'd go that route (I don't know the situation here) but overall, people shouldn't go hungry. If they're in there again tomorrow then we might start having a problem.
Lol I was in the exact same 3-4 stores, sometimes multiple times a day when I was broke and had no food. I'm sure they probably forgot me by now because I haven't done it in so long, but it used to be that as soon as I stepped foot in one of those places, I'd have like 3-5 people on my ass haha.
 
#46
Oh, absolutely not. They wouldn't pay me enough to stop shoplifting. I'm pretty sure most actual retail stores train their employees not to stop shoplifters these days anyways (for safety/liability reasons).
 

Flying Fox

Upside-down Hugger
SF Supporter
#47
I wouldn't stop them if they needed the essential foods (eg bread, fruit) just to get by for the next day or so. Heck, if I had money on me I would offer to pay. It would make more of a difference on their day than mine to have that food. There are a lot of people out there who are homeless with no food, and a lot of others with homes but no food.

A huge amount of food is thrown away each day while there are starving people on the streets.

There are bakeries and donut stores and so on who throw away whole boxes filled with dozens and dozens of muffins and donuts into the trash when they could give them away to the hungry. It's stupefying if you ask me.
 
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MAC0

Y.N.W.A
SF Supporter
#48
Years ago I worked in stores especially during the financial crash remember when we figured that would be the worse it could get

anyway we had a store policy if you caught someone stealing you were to bring them into the back and ask them why if its just thief we got the police involved if it was generally someone needing help we made a deal we would not involve the police if they did not get caught by us again and we gave them info on support services and a food bank to help

while I was there no one we offered the chance to ever got caught again
 

WildCherry

Owner Emeritus
#50
Years ago I worked in stores especially during the financial crash remember when we figured that would be the worse it could get

anyway we had a store policy if you caught someone stealing you were to bring them into the back and ask them why if its just thief we got the police involved if it was generally someone needing help we made a deal we would not involve the police if they did not get caught by us again and we gave them info on support services and a food bank to help

while I was there no one we offered the chance to ever got caught again
I really like that way of handling it!
 

Nick

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#52
I don't know why I've never seen this thread before now ...
I see both sides of this. We've had grocery stores close here because the theft was too high and they decided to no longer operate in the area. It's left huge gaps where there are no stores, which makes it a lot harder for the people who live there. When a store isn't making enough to stay open that's a problem. On the other hand I don't really want to see people go hungry either and I know some people are only stealing because even getting help at foodbanks and such is hard here. You limit resources enough and people get desperate when tough times fall.

For me it would most likely depend on what I saw them stealing on how I handle that. Is candy bars and popcorn? I'm not feeling very sympathetic, is it high end food that I've never been able to afford? Still not feeling the sympathy. Is it regular every day grocery items to feed yourself and family? In that case I'm probably going to offer to buy it for you. I don't have money to spare, but if you are so desperate you need to steal I'll throw it on my credit card so you can eat.
 

KM76710

Kangaroo Manager
SF Pro
SF Supporter
#53
I am with some of the others, it depends. If they are taking things like flour, cornmeal, peas, beans, rice I am quite sympathetic. They are just trying to get food stuffs to feed themselves and hopefully they can find long term aid for themselves in that regard so as not to have to resort to what they probably would not do if not from hunger and feeding their families.
 

MAC0

Y.N.W.A
SF Supporter
#55
As an update to this with the cost of living and people not having money to eat or heat there homes people have neen stealing cheese so now supermarkets have added anti thief things to cheese

think the majority will steal for need and expect to see a big jump in shop lifting
 

Unenthusiastic

Well-Known Member
#56
As an update to this with the cost of living and people not having money to eat or heat there homes people have neen stealing cheese so now supermarkets have added anti thief things to cheese

think the majority will steal for need and expect to see a big jump in shop lifting
They'll load up on cheeses and cart 'em directly to the nearest trap house in exchange for dope.
 

MAC0

Y.N.W.A
SF Supporter
#57
people here in the UK are more likely to steal to eat then for drugs

if your an addict here they rob your house or mug you at knife point in the road
 
#59
I definitely wouldn't just because what could they possibly do with that bread/peanut butter/cheese/lunch meat, etc. besides eat it themselves? Can't sell it for drugs. People don't steal food when they're getting high. People steal it when they're hungry and need to eat.

My brother and I just had a debate over what we would do because i said I would turn the other cheek and not try to stop the person. If they stole stupid shit, however, like candy, makeup, etc., then yeah, I'd follow them the fuck around and try to catch them stealing. But if it was food, nah...because I'm sorry but what does two dollars worth of bread and peanut butter cost my company? Absolutely nothing. It doesn't affect them in the least. My brother however thinks that people shouldn't steal no matter what, so I told him he has the morality of Immanuel Kant, who believed that it was our "moral duty" not to do so. But he also believed it was our moral duty not to lie, which is fucking impossible. Lying is human nature and everyone does it.

And I'm sorry, but if someone was hungry enough to steal food, I would absolutely let them go with it. People "deserve" to be able to eat, I think. And stealing food does NOT make them bad people.

What about you? What do you think?
It really depends on the situation, if I'm gonna be punished for not intervening then yes, I will. If not, I'll turn a blind eye from time to time. The pandemic really screwed everyone over and if theyre just stealing food then I think it`s fine. Stealing money is not going to slide though (mostly because idk what theyre going to buy, like homeless people where I live often buy a shoe shiner called rugby which they use as an inhalant drug to not feel hungry; which can put others or themselves in danger)
 

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