Let me start off by listing two other possible motivations for stealing:
4. Boredom. We are raising a nation of bored, directionless children, with social media being one of greatest contributors to this problem. There is a rush (see #2) to taking something that isn't yours (so I hear), and it simply breaks up the daily tedium.
One antidote to this factor is to have a real life: a fulfilling job, meaningful relationships, and a touch of character and courage, works every time.
5. Anger. This sounds something like: "I couldn't help it, I was ticked off." This is the "blame game" rationale and it is so full of holes that it's hardly worth wasting even moments addressing it. In this case, the blame is based on family life (usually no father present), the colour or race card, or socio-economics factor. These are all real issues, no question, but they are never excuses to go out and rip someone off. Never.
Have you ever considered the cost (pun not really intended) of taking what is not yours? We referred to places where stealing can take place, but I will remind you what I said last week:
"There are job sites, supply yards. regular retail outlets, public places and institutions, and, of course, houses, where we call it breaking and entering." I must add that mugging people and robbing banks should be listed, too. Let throw the way our taxes are dealt with by the CRA, while I'm at it.
Things stolen must be replaced. Inventory that was purchased must now be purchased again. That likely leads to greater surveillance, more staffing to maintain that surveillance . Perhaps there has to be a re-working of how merchandise is presented.
And that all costs money, which will be passed along to the consumer. So, in other words, the thief may not pay, but you and I will.
There may be the shortsighted view that it's just one chocolate bar, or one light bulb, or one tie, but it's not. It's one item by one person in one store at one time. Multiply that by many items stolen by many people in many stores over many hours –all in one day—and you get the picture.
There are many ways that stealing takes place. It may be by shoplifters in some retail outlet. It may be fraudulent returns. It may be employees ripping off their employers.
Then there is gas and dash, where it may actually cost the clerks their lives, in trying to stop scumbags from gassing up without paying. And beyond the cost to the retailer, there is the cost to family life and the courts when these people are charged and put away. Stealing is a very expensive way of getting free things.
I did some googling on the cost of stealing. The dates are a little old, but that only suggests to me that the figures are higher today (as we're not getting better as society, you know).
They say that shoplifting costs retailers worldwide $112 billion (that with a "b," not an "m") on an annual basis. Even when employees rip off their bosses, it costs the employers anywhere from $20 billion to $40 billion (again, starting with a "b"), though I don't know if that's here in "enlightened" North America or worldwide.
There's more, but I trust you get the picture. The main thrust of this eighth commandment is the forbidding of taking something that is not yours.
Here are a couple of really simple principles to live by:
1. If it's not yours, don't take it. Plain and simple. If you want it and it's available, go through the proper channels, namely, pay for it, work for it, or earn it somehow. There are agencies that help people who just can't afford the basic necessities; ripping others off is not an option.
2. If someone else is stealing, deal with it. Dealing with it could involved being a "fink," one way or the other. I know that word is so '60ish, but it fits in right here. Maybe you do not have the physical or personal wherewithal to confront the thief, but there is a 9-1-1 phone call/text to the cops, the venue itself, or even a friend.
And yes, we would be much, much better off if we stopped stealing. It makes sense at every level.
No comments:
Post a Comment