• Pyro@programming.dev
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    1 year ago

    I have no respect for people shoplifting non-essential items (like makeup, etc) but essential items like food is a different story.

        • DreadPirateShawn
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          1 year ago

          Lots of people get by without wearing glasses too, but that doesn’t mean that my blind eyes don’t need them.

          Lots of people get by without a therapist, but that doesn’t mean my crumbling mental health doesn’t need one.

          Everyone needs different things to lean on – don’t shame others for having their own needs, even if you don’t understand what it’s like to be in their head. :-)

        • DillyDaily@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          They don’t get jobs as flight attendants. If you already work in an industry that mandates make up use, and you’re doing it tough, shoplifting make up seems like a smarter financial choice than getting fired over a lack of make up and having to find work in an entirely new industry.

          As someone who currently doesn’t even own a single article of make up (unless you count tinted zinc), yes, you can get by without it, but not everyone can, and loosing your job over other when you’re already struggling financially isn’t ideal.

    • electric_nan@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      The world is burning down around us, and the only people with the power to make an actual difference are throwing gas on the fire. Why the fuck should I even notice somebody shoplifting? Save your disrespect for the real criminals of society.

    • thearch@sh.itjust.works
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      1 year ago

      (legitimate question) why don’t people in need use food availability programs like food stamps instead of stealing for essentials?

      • Patches@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Because if you make over $1400/month then you don’t get food stamps. That isn’t even rent where I live.

        The median STUDIO apartment costs $2100.

      • funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        when you have children to feed and you’re hungry yourself - standing in line to fill in a form and wait an interderminate amount of time to be potentially denied something that comes with a huge amount of restrictions it’s just easier to steal.

        There is enough food and wealth to feed and home everyone. Theft is a service issue.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          “Are there no prisons?” asked Scrooge.

          “Plenty of prisons,” said the gentleman, laying down the pen again.

          “And the Union workhouses?” demanded Scrooge. “Are they still in operation?”

          “They are. Still,” returned the gentleman, “I wish I could say they were not.”

          “The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigour, then?” said Scrooge.

          “Both very busy, sir.”

          “Oh! I was afraid, from what you said at first, that something had occurred to stop them in their useful course,” said Scrooge. “I am very glad to hear it.”

  • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Here people are stealing expensive cheese and meats to sell to pay for drugs

    I’m not particularly sympathetic towards that.

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        1 year ago

        I think most stores stock cheese and it’s fairly cheap if you use the five finger discount

    • MacN'Cheezus@lemmy.today
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      1 year ago

      The fuck? How/where do they sell them? Who in their right minds would buy cheese or meat from a sketchy source?

      • drathvedro@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Streetfood vendors mostly don’t care about sources as long as the goods are good. I had a favorite place before that sold chocolate bars with no markup compared to nearby stores, and I was wondering why they’d even sell them given that chocolate doesnt really go well with their main offerings. Until I witnessed a junkie carry a box to them from the nearest supermarket and it all fell into place. Selling stolen product right across the road might’ve not worked in their favour though as the place changed hands not long after.

      • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        They sell to people they know. And they’re still in their packaging and you know they’ve recently stolen it, so why not. Really cheap too

        • MacN'Cheezus@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          Because I don’t know if they’ve been storing it at the appropriate temperature for it not to spoil?

          • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            If it’s stolen the same day then there’s no huge risk, if you prepare it soon after. With cheese even less risk. But of course there’s always some risk buying stolen shit from junkies.

            Often from what I know it goes like this: they owe money to someone, can’t pay it back because naturally all the money goes to drugs so instead they’ll steal shit for you. So you’d be sending them to steal specific expensive shit and would be waiting for it and know it’s stolen the same day and whatnot.

            Though it’s fucking idiotic to loan money to junkies in the first place but I guess this way you’ll recoup some of it at least.

            • MacN'Cheezus@lemmy.today
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              1 year ago

              I just don’t understand why you’d steal stuff that easily spoils in order to resell it when there’s durable goods that don’t need an uninterrupted cooling chain, I guess.

              • Riven@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                1 year ago

                They steal stuff that doesn’t spoil as well. It’s been on the news for a couple years now but laundry detergent. Shits expensive and never spoils.

              • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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                1 year ago

                Placement in the store, how easy it is to steal, how easy it is to offload etc. Food stuff like that is easy to steal and it’s not too cheap to not make it worth the effort but also not too expensive to make it harder to offload. Also even corner stores have that stuff so you can go to multiple places in one go, I’ve been told that’s an important factor. And those corner stores are often busier and less guarded.

                What would you rather steal?

          • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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            1 year ago

            A lot where I live. It’s not like turbo fancy cheese but bigger pieces and stuff. It gets expensive.

            • BorgDrone@lemmy.one
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              1 year ago

              Here (the Netherlands) the supermarket stuff is usually not great. For good cheese you go to a specialty shop or to the market and they’ll cut the cheese to order.

      • 31337@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        A long time ago, I lived in a trailer park, and a homeless guy would come by once a week selling steaks at a lower price than you could buy at the store. Some people would buy them. Needless to say, everyone there was in a pretty bad situation, so a luxury like cheap steaks was tempting.

        • AsheHole@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I would have bet this was gonna be a trailer park boys reference when I started reading but holy shit, it may be a real thing. Meat theft rings

          • 31337@sh.itjust.works
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            1 year ago

            Lol. Forgot about that episode. Yeah, my story was real. I think that episode came out a year or two later after I got out of the park. The TPB really nailed trailer park life (real life being more depressing and violent of course).

        • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          I hate that my first thought was “How would you know for sure what the meat came from?!” Eeegggh…there’s a creepypasta plot ready to go…

      • Digestive_Biscuit@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        My brother in law used to work in an off licence (booze store) so got to know a number of customers, some of which were drug addicts. They would steal from the local supermarket which was right next door. Things like expensive meats, cheese, coffee, spirits, etc. high value products which are easy to shove in a bag or jacket. They then go and knock on the door of anybody they remotely know who lives nearby, ask if they want to buy some cheap goods. Often about 50% off.

        I know people who would buy this stuff. It’s usually stuff straight from the shop but I suppose you can never say for sure.

        • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          Why is this downvoted? I personally watched a local foodbank handout kick out somebody because they found out she was a local restauranteur trying to score free food in bulk lol.

          • Wolf_359@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, I worked for a sketchy mom and pop restaurant and while I never witnessed it, I PROMISE they would buy stolen food to save a buck.

      • glitches_brew@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        I doubt they sell it, I bet they go back to the same chain of stores and try and get a receipt-less return for cash.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      If I see someone stealing food, they could be stealing to sell it for drugs or they could be stealing to feed their hungry family. Why should I worry about the former when the latter is also a decent possibility?

      • Kusimulkku@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        Right, especially if you’re going to sell it. It used to be that you could sell the cheap stuff to Russia but even they aren’t buying it anymore.

  • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    I’m certainly not a snitch, but my respect only goes towards people who are stealing what they need rather than what they want - the former is surviving the struggle, the other is kleptomania

    • Delphia@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Stealing Pasta and canned veggies = necessity.

      Stealing Nike TNs when you’re already wearing a pair = yeah fuck you.

      • Th4tGuyII@kbin.social
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        1 year ago

        Exactly, exactly - though I wouldn’t judge people taking non-food items like soap, detergent, and other basic hygene products either. They’re low cost goods most people need but might not be able to afford.

        • DillyDaily@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          What’s your opinion on stealing name brands?

          Whenever I mention groceries being expensive, I have a few people comment that it’s my own fault for buying name brands, and I agree, name brands aren’t worth it when you’re pinching pennies.

          But I have allergies, and I have to be careful with shared equipment. I’ve had allergic reactions to certain brands of oats but not others, so even a cheap staple food like oats I may end up paying way more than the average person because I can’t risk certain brands.

          Sometimes that works in the opposite direction too, in a quest to find a brand of veggie stock powder I wasn’t allergic to, I ended up riding my bike to the next town to try their asain grocers and found a huge 500g tin of stock powder for like $4, easily 5 times cheaper than any other brand at my usual store, and I wouldn’t have gone hunting for it had the previous brand not changed their ingredients as part of a whole shrinkflation/cheaper ingredients for the same price end product initiative.

          But I often wonder if people saw someone like me stealing, or using food stamps today buy name brand products, would they prejudge me as being superfluous without knowing my allergies already severely limit my diet, brand restrictions limit it even more.

          • Chobbes@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I would try not to worry about what others think so much in these kind of situations. Eat your Quaker Oats in peace.

            • DillyDaily@lemmy.world
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              1 year ago

              I’m not personally that worried, I just don’t understand how so many people in this thread are saying they would/wouldn’t judge a shoplifter based on a bunch of arbitrary criteria for what they think is an essential item. You can’t possibly know what’s essential to an complete stranger.

      • Nudding@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        You think the slaves that made those Nike’s aren’t getting their days pay because some cunt in another country stole them? Fuck Nike.

        • deeferg@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I doubt people are stealing directly from Nike. They would be stealing from Foot Locker or some shit, which means Nike already made their buck off the shoes. But whatever justification people need to snag a free pair of shoes, I guess.

  • Bonehead@kbin.social
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    1 year ago

    At Walmart, or at least the one I worked at, every single case and jar of baby formula was tagged with a security strip that sets off the alarms at the door, on the inside of the container to make it difficult to remove. Baby formula was the most stolen item in the store. It’s also one of the most expensive food items in the store.

    Coincidentally, I would also find empty packaging with the security strip still attached in the handicap bathroom that was far away from the front doors and the alarm sensors.

    • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      How fucking depressing is it to live in a country where people have to steal baby formula just to feed their babies?

      • Player2@sopuli.xyz
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        1 year ago

        Sounds like the education system should be improved to inform people of just how expensive and time consuming it is to procreate. All the time you see people do it who definitely do not have the means, and then being forced to steal and/or just suffer for years

        • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Humans are animals. All of us. Our genetics drive us to procreate. That is our base nature. Now, you can easily argue that our Big Brains have the capacity to reason, understand, and logic our way to a path that avoids self destructive behavior. That is true. Yet here we still deal with things like drug abuse, war, violent crime, and yes…unwanted pregnancy.

          You aren’t going to stop people from banging and having kids. It’s written into our genes. What you can do is make a society where those numbers can be reduced as much as possible with education (you got that part right, but that access should be from primary to higher education), cheap/free contraception, abortion access (dare I say “free” medical care?), and basic food/child care that is accessible to all. So that poor person’s kid has a shot at not following the same path.

          Wagging your finger in sex ed saying “no, no…don’t fuck, it’s expensive to have a kid” really isn’t going to fix much.

        • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Maybe we shouldn’t blame poor women for stealing to feed their babies and should blame the government that allows it to happen?

          • CallumWells@lemmy.ml
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            1 year ago

            Yeah, the government should just sterilize poor women so they don’t get a baby to steal baby food for instead. That fixes the problem right?

            ;P

        • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
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          1 year ago

          All for improving that education system!

          But we’re also already in a situation where infertility is on the rise and people with means are culturally enticed to worship their careers so much they just skip procreation altogether.

          Stable relationships in which to foster healthy children are also becoming rarer across the board.

          So now all the powers-that-be that encouraged this Grand Canyon-sized, gilded-age class gap in the first place, and said “Well if you’re poor you’re obviously unfit to survive so don’t make more of you lol”, and also decided “retirement age” shouldn’t be a thing, are currently losing their minds as they read reports about our population falling “dramatically below replacement levels.” :D

          “NoBoDy’S LeFt To WoRk AnYmOrE :(” lol

    • PotatoKat@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Whose pocket does it come out of when someone steals from Walmart?

      Whose pocket does it come out of when Walmart does its stealing?

      • corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca
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        1 year ago
        1. the store . easy question. They pay more for insurance, and maybe the store stocks more garbagey stuff so the loss isn’t as much.
        2. people who chose to shop there. Another easy question.

        These were hard for you somehow?

        • PotatoKat@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          It comes from Walmart the billion dollar corporation.

          Walmart, which steals from the pockets of all their employees in the form of wage theft, and steals from us in the form of tax avoidance, paying employees just enough so they qualify for foodstamps and Medicaid (programs which come from our tax dollars) and pay to show them how to sign up for those programs instead of paying them enough money for groceries and insurance (which they have way more than enough to be able to do). Money they have by stealing customers from small business by underpricing for a loss until Walmart is all that’s left so they can raise money and steal from those customers by inflating prices for profit of the owners.

          You only think it’s simple because you don’t actually know the problem.

          If you hold a light in a dark infinite room, with all the things you see being the things you know and the circumference of the circle of dark around you as the things you don’t know that you don’t know,

          Your light would be a dim candle that doesn’t even let you see enough to know what the problem is, let alone that light being bright enough to know the answer.

  • katy ✨
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    1 year ago

    stealing a loaf of bread? good

    stealing silver from a bishop? also good because he’ll also give you some silver candlesticks too