Has someone or something stolen from you? Do you know who/what it was? Did it affect you? Do you care?
Doesn’t have to be serious.
Share your stories!
I don’t think I have, but I’m always mildly irked by broke people stealing from other broke people instead of from people that can afford to replace the stolen whatever.
I used to steal food from the local big chain supermarket.
In uncivilized countries like the USA I’ve had many things stolen from my porch, from my car, even an entire car.
I now choose to spend most of my time where I can leave my valuables unwatched in public and my house door unlocked. Living in fear and around crime, adds so much stress, anxiety, and general angst to your everyday life. Life is too short to live in a terrible place
Where did you end up if you’re willing to share? I grew up in what was considered a pretty crime addled place, and have lived in several major cities over my lifetime but I legitimately have never had the level of issues that I have had out West. People got some real shit ass fucking head trauma going on. But I also do get the idea of - if everything in your life is shit, you burn the world around you. It just sucks, because instead of helping people out here, they throw them some food and leave them to live and die like dogs. Worst yet, when I was working directly with the homeless it always seemed like the shittiest people who were great at manipulation were the ones who got into housing programs. But I am being kind of extreme in the sense that I know one very special person who works their ass off who got housing and they are absolutely amazing. And there are a couple of people who are no-to-low drama decent folks. But a majority are total scum of the Earth shit heads.
I agree with you though. Especially on account of having gotten our place shot up by some asshole in some bull that we were not related to at all. Still fucks me up, and it’s because people are lenient af out here and it’s trickle-down shittyness.
My choices are generally not popular with an American audience. There’s a lot of propaganda in the world, everyone does it, but the US is the best at it so it can be very difficult to see things outside those borders.
I live all over the world, still do. But I spent over 20 years in the US primarily. I lived in low crime, affluent areas. But the low crime is still absurdly high crime, but is normalized. I won’t share all my story but being victimized for my possessions was annoying, but not the end of the world. That’s what insurance is for. My breaking point was the second time I was almost murdered by the police for being the wrong colour in my own neighbourhood. I’m talking guns pointed at me for no reason and lots more I don’t discuss.
My primary residence is now in the Middle East. Almost immediately, most people make a confused face and the first questions are usually “why” followed by “aren’t you worried about…” and then a laundry list of manufactured issues that don’t actually exist, or exist equally where they live.
The bottom line is that my front door is unlocked and stays unlocked. When I go the park, beach, mall, restaurant, wherever I can reserve a spot by dropping my wallet or cell phone and walking away without worry. I have all the modern conveniences of the USA and more. I use an app on my phone and a fuel truck comes to me to fill up my car. Leave your keys on the windshield like everyone else and they will fill you up as you’re elsewhere. Use the app and get laundry services washed, dried, and folded with pickup from your house and drop off with tip for the cost of a cup of coffee. No tipping culture of 50%, a dollar or two is plenty. I can buy a meal in a restaurant that feeds 4 people for about $5 with apps, entrees, dessert, and tip. I can also buy a stupid gold steak for $2000. The choice is mine.
Public transport works. Food from every part of the world is minutes away. A woman can walk by themselves at 3am with no fear.
I’m currently on a holiday to a different country a few hours away. My door is still unlocked.
When I talk to Americans that have made the move they almost all say the same thing. It takes a few weeks for the constant fear and guard to start to drop. It takes about 2 years before you start to live without that burden.
Every time I am in the US it is just worse and worse. Crime, political discourse, and just general everyday anger between people in every interaction. Walking down a sidewalk or road rage or unfriendly staff, just general anger. When you’re around it constantly, you never really notice it. You only notice the extreme outbursts. But when you go somewhere that’s finally peaceful, you then become aware of the constant noise and the huge outbursts.
Only other thing I’ll mention as this is way too long already, is that the excuse of “I can’t just pack up and move” is just an easy excuse. You absolutely can. It isn’t easy. It can be isolating if you’re going by yourself. But you can. One of my grandparents fled from war with nothing but a single suitcase for 3 children and the 2 adults. Lost everything they had to get a better life and start fresh. Another grandparent immigrated with a whole ship worth of crap. My parents immigrated yet again with moving trucks. I immigrated by air and a couple suitcases filled with everything in the world I hold important.
It takes more money and privilege to immigrate with your possessions. But that’s a luxury upgrade. It isn’t a requirement.
Oh yeah, no I hear you. I’m mixed and the police have fucked with me a time or two. But I am like mystery meat, so like…idk? Sometimes things are chill, sometimes things are bad. I can imagine in wealthier areas if you’re not seen as a novelty you’re probably a pretty easy target. Sounds like you might be mixed too, maybe not ethnically but culturally? Or maybe both, cause who the hey knows? I am going to guess part-Palestinian? On account of hearing similar stories, but then again the refugee story is pretty similar across the board. Could be Somali just as easily. Or if they’re immigrating by land second go round - Viet or Korean Venezuelan. Okay, yeah no. A lot of refugee stories can come from the same pot. Ugh. Nevermind, I’m gunna stop playing guess-who of ethnicity.
I come from immigrants (both sides) too, but I have no emigrated myself. I have wandered all over the US. But I’ve only traveled NA as a whole. On account of being small, relatively impoverished (although I’m doing okay right now), a vagina-holder, and incredibly gay. My own country wasn’t here for me, and I don’t have faith in many others being there still. I agree you get it from all sides in this country, but I don’t really know anywhere there’s a collection of humans in which this isn’t true. And collectivism is beautiful, and homogeneity can make for easier politics, but I also believe it carries some real issues too. I’d say the simplest one I’ve experienced in my own life is that it’s very easy to be manipulated in the name of the greater good. As the child of a collectivist individual. But I will also say I think individualistic societies can be so self-centered and broken up that even the family unit can be comprised of “a group of strangers, all living under one roof as roommates.” I also think there is a “forever young” sentiment that gets passed around and I have seen a lot of people never grow out of being in their late-teens/early-twenties even with dependents. And I am not saying don’t have fun. But it tears me up inside when I see kids getting abused (and I was gunna go in on some of the stuff I’ve seen but I just waved it off because it’s hard to express in a cohesive way but for sure I’ve seen people at the bottom work their asses off to make sure their children have better lives (and in turn-their children’s children) or being totally-self absorbed drug-addicts who destroy everything around them). I also don’t have children, so the only skin in the game I have here is just you know…being a humanist.
I think…the media machine is huge and I get what you’re saying because America is a huge-producer of “culture.” But I would argue that there’s equal footing in a couple of other countries (predominantly because culture-wars are easy to spin-up in these modern times). Anddddd, like you said - every culture does it. I gave up on what any of it means. And a huge part of why I made a PieFed account was to avoid seeing so much spammy bullshit. Because I think most news articles are just chatter. And a huge reason why I wanted nothing to do with Reddit is because it was ALL bullshit. But it was also a place where people…once conversed? Sometimes you would get a little drip-feed of conversation among a sea of stupid joke-y responses. It was so fucking cringy.
But a ton of stuff is mind control. I wrote more but I just trashed it cause I hit the limit. Eh! Either way, thank you for your response. I am glad that you have found peace in your life. Because no matter where you are, it’s good to find your fit.
I lived in an apartment complex in my early 20s. Left the car unlocked one night and someone rummaged through it. The only thing they took was my prescription sunglasses. It aggrivates me to think that the moment they tried it they realized it was a prescription and threw em out. $600 just gone to steal something absolutely useless to anyone but me.
Like bruh.
Woah, I talked about someone who had their car broken open and the only thing they took was sunglasses @_@. Totally, like bruh moment. I’ve heard people say it’s easier to keep nothing in your car and keep it unlocked than to keep it locked with stuff in it. Shrugs.
Either way fk thieves!
The value of my labor, daily.
The nominal “cost” of my healthcare, at every encounter.
Etc.
Yeah, that’s true. I once read an essay by a dyke who was a construction worker and wondered what life would be like if people just did the work they were interested in and everyone got paid a flat rate. I’m not sure it would work, but it is something to think on.
When I was first on my own, I was living paycheck to paycheck and only ate ramen and oatmeal at home because I couldn’t afford decent meals.
The first Christmas when I could finally afford to buy presents for friends at work, I went shopping and carefully picked a gift for each person. Nothing fancy as I was still on a tight budget, but things I thought each person would enjoy. Then I splurged and bought gift bags and decorative tissue paper.
I left them all in the back seat of my piece of shit car to bring to work the next day. I figured it would be safe in the garage in a gated apartment complex. Someone broke into my car and stole it all.
They left fingerprints on my window, so I thought the police could track them down like on TV, but the police couldn’t care less. It really deflated me.
but the police couldn’t care less.
The police protect property, not people. Your property was just too insignificant for them to care about.
If you have a net worth in the many dozens of millions at minimum, they respond much better to even tiny incidents like that.
I think they protect certain people. I also think there are some good cops out there. People state outright that all cops are bad cops if they are part of an institution of evil. But I mean…my existence whether I like it or not is fueling harm in other locations. And I am still buying in, soooooo.
I only say this because I have legitimately met good cops and bad cops. But I also know bad cops are fucking brutal to minorities (and sometimes even to majorities). And they are firm believers in guilty until proven innocent. But they don’t fuck with a lot of shit, and have most def been terrifyingly atagonistic in some situations of my life and radically aloof in others (like say, a child being raped). So yeah. It’s just something I sit around and “huh” at because I am not sure what else to do.
I will also say that crime in Seattle where they shooed out the cops went up ten fold. But that cops in Seattle are racist pigs. So…eh? But shout out to that one cool cop I saw in Tacoma who was trying his best to just be a human!
Besides the obvious like surplus labour value being stolen by my boss I’ve been stolen from a couple of times. I had my car broken into once (I accidentally left it unlocked since I had a family emergency to get to), they stole my jacket and some change out of the cup holder. I didn’t really care since I had more tragic matters to deal with at the time and if they needed to steal my jacket they needed it more than me. I was/am lucky enough to have a spare so I really didn’t think much about it. They did leave a half carton of coffee creamer behind though, I was a little confused about that
Yes, you stole my heart
<3 <3 <3!
Here’s three back, pass two on, steal another - keep the cycle going =)!
Yes! Two days ago, someone stole my bike. That is, I had parked it (and locked it) in a bike garage monitored by CCTV at the train station where I commute and when I came back from work my bike was gone and only my broken lock was left. However, as I looked around a little the thieves had not moved it far, only down a floor into the premium “bike hotel” area that is an actual locked in area as well. So I just called the company, and they let me in and gave me my bike back.
Afterwards, I called the police to let them know someone stole my bike and that the whole ordeal was caught on cameras (they have to open an official investigation before the footage can be used due to surveillance laws). As I tried to report the theft (or attempt thereof), I had the following fun conversation with a policeman:
- Me: Explains the circumstances of what happened.
- Policeman: (Interrupts) “Yeah, maybe you should keep that in mind for next time.”
- Me: “Uhm what?”
- Policeman: “Yeah, maybe you should be a little bit smarter with regards to where you put your bike.”
- Me: “Uhm OK, I just told you I put it in the designated parking spot that, as pointed out, is monitored.”
I get that they do not really care about bike theft as they account for 30% of reported thefts, but I mean come on. They obviously moved my bike (along with others, I assume) to a nearby area so they could collect them all in a van later that night and drive off unnoticed. The police could have sent one patrol there at the right time and have them caught red-handed with video footage of the entire ordeal. Incompetence and unwillingness to actually do their work is precisely why there are so many thefts to begin with. Had I said I was a shop owner and had a bike stolen, I am certain they would show up in no time.
TL;DR: Bike got stolen and the police sucks. Thankfully, the thieves sucked marginally less, so I got my bike back.
a) Glad you got your bike back.
b) I know for a while they sold a thing for bikes to identify them and get stolen bikes back. But I am not sure the system really works and I think it’s on a sticker. And can’t you just peel off any sticker @_@!
c) Cops suck hard at things they find inconvenient to them. I didn’t know the reports were that high. I think it’s because you’re actively messing with a person’s means of transportation, that they get reported so much. But nowadays cops don’t show up for car accidents. So it’s really hit or miss in general.
d) I loved imagining this inconspicuous scrapper-esq van that whisks away all the stolen bikes with the little punk ass thieves thinking they got you so they moved on to the next one. Maybe in you figuring out their bs they might move their bike-hotel to another space.
In the UK I think there’s a scheme where you register your bike and engrave a serial number on the frame somewhere, so if it turns up stolen it’s easier to prove/legitimate sellers won’t buy it off thieves. Don’t know how well it works personally.
I was wondering if it was kinda like bullets (don’t bullets have serial numbers engraved on them? I suppose they do, but I am not sure if it really matters?) or like car parts. But I will say that for a lot of stolen electronics I’ve seen and heard about - individual indentifiers didn’t ever seem to mean much ultimately.
As far as I know all bikes have these. The number is definite proof of ownership, but can of course just be removed by the perpetrator (if they bother).
Back in primary school someone stole one of my bakugan out of my bag. It was the snake trap which folded into a cylinder instead of a sphere like the normal ones. So sad.
Ohhh that takes me back. I forgot all about those. I wasn’t really interested in them, but kids at my school were. I’d steal them from stores and trade them for stuff I actually wanted.
I always played with them a tiny bit before I’d trade them. They were pretty neat. Lots of different shapes. I have no idea how they were actually meant to be used. Hard nostalgia wave, though.
Legitimately, while I write all this fuck thieves shit I will say that when I was a kid I sometimes got cheap stuff from a “friend” (who’s name i sitll remember probably on account of being one of the only people around with green eyes, let alone being black with green eyes). He would always bring me stuff and trade me for things or if I had a little cash I could buy it. I later realized (much, much later) that he was stealing it from ??? but I def had a cd player from him and rocked it for like…fifteen years? So in one sense that’s pretty cool, but in another it is a =(!
I had Utena cards, freakin’ UTENA CARDS. That someone once stole. Who wants Utena cards? At leaast way back when? Nobody but this bitch. Yet someone else took them and lord knows did what with them. But yeah, I feel this.
Had a Yamaha R6 stolen from me a few months after I got it. Was barely broken in.
That sucks. Idk what happens in this situation. Like, do they insure motorcycles? Idk. I also don’t know how one keeps it from getting ganked outside of taking in indoors tbh. And that’s not always viable. But I do know people who ride love it, so I hope you got another somewhere down the line.
Recent story but not me. A friend of mine just had his car stolen two days ago. He was going to bed around midnight and heard something outside, so he looked out the window just in time to see his vehicle rounding the corner on the street.
He phoned the RCMP who managed to catch the guy a few miles down the road. The thief had ripped the Sirius radio out of the vehicle but otherwise there didn’t seem to be any damage. My friend and his mom had picked up the vehicle the next morning and was driving home when they heard a loud “pop” and the vehicle caught fire, burning to the ground. (My guess is when the guy ripped out the radio some wires got damaged and shorted out.)
So now he’s scrambling to find a new set of wheels that he can’t really afford to do because he needs it to get back and forth from work which is 16 miles one way. He will eventually get some insurance money for the vehicle, but who knows how much, and that probably won’t be for a little while. In the meantime he’s kind of up the creek without a paddle.
🚲
I mean, yeah! But there’s a ton of places in America (not sure about anywhere else) that you can’t bike. I mean, like period. Even places you can, you’re gunna get hit by a car at least once.
Doesn’t it count as a road vehicle like in Germany? Wear a camera and a hammer. You can also get one of those sticks that sticks like half a meter out so they have to pass with legal clearance.
Stuff in America is drawn out. Like super, dee-duper drawn out. Motorcylist get smashed up on the road. A biker has no chance against others. But even in places I’ve lived where they had bike-paths everyone I know who biked got smashed up at least once and had a long-term injury from it. Only the pretty extreme riders (as in wearing the spandex suits with the helmet with the lights on top and the bike that they lean forward on) are the people I’ve ever seen riding down a highway. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any bikers on the freeway. A large problem that I’ve seen coast to coast is a lack of sidewalks. Or if there are sidewalks, a lack of upkeep on said sidewalks.
Also, hi sis!
*Also this is just what I’ve picked up on, there might someone else who can say the exact opposite. Just what I’ve learned as I’ve gone through life =)
Getting a new car in a pinch is ass. Just pure ass. I think he can get a rental for now, but make sure he makes them move on it because otherwise he’ll be ass-out on all of this. We had to deal with something similar recently, and it just was 100% booty. Used cars suck unebelievably right now too. If he knows someone with an older car who’s looking to upgrade it might actually cost less to just buy it off the person than grab one from a dealer. But really, it’s all just one giant ass-sandwich. Ugh.
Yes, someone stole a game console from my room in university. Then I caught them selling it on craigslist, contacted them, got their name and got them arrested and my console back.
Lucky for me that I had reported it to the police since I was considering using insurance to cover it. The officer that took the info recognised the persons name because he had pulled the guy over that week and thought it would be fun to catch him with stolen goods as well.
It’s funny to me that there’s someone out there probably claiming that there’s a cop with a vendetta against him.
I mean, it’s really easy to see with blinders. But everyone wants to be the hero of their own story, right? I will say the more desperate a person gets, the crappier their behavior becomes. But that if they were caught speeding prior to, they might have some kinda disorder or illness that is going undiagnosed/untreated which would turn around if they had the support needed.
But life has a pretty set timeline, rules and regulations and people who do not fit into the pegs are seen as “bad” and will slowly degrade overtime until they become the degenerates life always figured they were. (But really this is a generalization and some people really are born more chaotic than others.) I guess more so I am just saying sometimes the world is really against people even if they’re being indulgent in their thought. Because in general, I believe the world is against most people. Even if you’ve got a sliver of pie. So, eh it is what it is.
I always think it’s kinda funny when people turn things right around and try to sell someone’s things right after stealing them. It’s a sure fire way to get caught. But I do have a little wonder in my head about the whole thing like. When you get desperate for cash you start just selling things. Anything. Everything you’ve got. But what happens when that runs out, and you’re still in an unsustainable place? Idk. Whole situation is booty either way =X!
And tbh, it takes a real dummy to target anything higher-education based if this is like…past 2010. Cause there are cameras evuh-ree-whereeee! And typically these kids have money, and cops will protect money =P!
Bikes. It’s always bikes
Yea, I was walking home late at night with my hands full and my phone in my breast pocket. Two folks on an electric scooter zoomed by and grabbed my phone.
It fucking sucked.
Fuck them.
Got one of those rare holo hieroglyph Mew pokemon cards stolen when i was a kid, i still think about it.
