This morning's news had a really fascinating story about a former drug user who had stolen $300 from a deli in Nashville, TN at gunpoint and returned 12 years later to make amends for his crime. He returned the $300 plus another $100 to make amends. The deli owners could have used their cameras to identify the thief, but have chosen to give the man a second chance. Pretty amazing story!
That got me thinking about my students. The other day, we got to chatting about what constitutes stealing. One of my students took something from my desk without my permission and I had to explain that they didn't have my permission to take the item and that technically it's considered stealing and I could report them. Then a student said, "What if I took a pencil from another student's backpack without them knowing? Is that stealing?" Of course, I responded "Yes!" It scares me that they weren't aware that it was stealing.
Now, of course, I wouldn't turn my students in for something like taking something from my desk, but I wanted to use the situation to teach a valuable lesson about not taking things that don't belong to you, but I sort of realized today that I think there's a thief in every living room. Who hasn't taken a pen from their job, a mustard packet from a deli, "borrowed" something from a friend without asking and never returned it? Is it ever acceptable to steal? Does taking a pen from your job really stealing? Of course it is, but everyone does it. Does that make it right? No, but yet we all overlook those little idiosyncrasies. But how does that differ from someone who steals something from a store? Stealing is stealing - big or small. Does anyone disagree with this statement?? Just a little food for thought!
5 comments:
I don't steal from my company because it's all shit. I supply my own pens, pencils and calculator. Yes. It is that bad.
Hmmm. Pens from work? I don't know - most of the time that kind of thing is accidental, or careless. Merriam Webster defines theft as "the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it". I think intent is part of the equation when defining theft. What you're talking about is more like mooching. Not cool, but not quite stealing.
Oh, Tom, now that is sad. Kimberly, Oh, I know people who have intentionally taken office supplies. That's stealing. yes, accidentally taking something is not stealing, but otherwise... :-)
Agreed. I once had to "steal" my own software and supplies back from an internet start-up that pink slipped everyone after a few months and then tried to convince us to stay and work for free. The 90's - craziness!
Taking physical things is obvious.
Based on the The Yoga Sutra, a 200-year-old commentary on yoga, we can steal when we do not fulfill our potential, serve ourselves food we do not eat, or take credit for something we did not do.
Dealing with physical objects is easy compared to that.
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