I saw a woman shoplifting a dozen eggs from the supermarket.

[hunter]

She noticed me noticing, but she looked hungry and afraid, so I looked away and did nothing.

I don't like living in a nation where people are hungry and afraid.

[bettyellen]

1. I'd have given her a ten spot.

[JustAnotherGen]

6. You rock!

[bettyellen]

8. well I was a little light fingered myself back in the day. so, that's my karmic solution.

[hunter]

10. She wanted most at that moment to be invisible.

For posters below I've some connections with our local food bank.

[bettyellen]

12. She knew you saw her, so I don't see the harm in perhaps helping her avoid arrest. YMMV.

[msanthrope]

87. You don't have to defend..you did the right thing at the right time. nt

[leveymg]

28. Someone didn't have enough $ ahead of me, started putting things aside, so I bought their groceries

for them. Been there. Paying back.

Could be a basis for an entire economic system.

[onehandle]

2. Part of the 'cost of business' in running a supermarket.

I'm not going to ruin someone's life for taking a couple of bucks worth of eggs.

[Syzygy321]

21. Thank you. I'm an ex-shoplifter.

I was nabbed twice. Long ago. The store security people scared the shit outa me and let me go.

Sometimes I wonder how ruined I would be today if they had called the cops. No college? No career? I would have survived but it woulda been different...

[Munificence]

63. Do tell

if you ever returned to the store and thanked them/spend your money there now?

[Syzygy321]

67. Nope. It was long ago in a different city.

But I visit there sometimes.

I was banned from one place for a two-year term. It's been 25-plus years now, but i'll never step through those doors again. Those store cops read me my rights, made me think I was going to jail... I'm still traumatized (as I deserve)!

[StarzGuy]

136. Young People Do Stupid Things..

..and I was one who was given a credit card to buy some clothes. Unbenounced to me the card was stolen and they did call the cops. I pleaded guilty not wanting to get the friend into trouble but I was underage so I got off with some stern advice and was put on a 6 month probation. I finished the probation my record was expunged and I never did any such thing as shoplifting, etc., since.

[jb5150]

138. Not just young people ..

People who are hungry and desperate do things they ordinarily wouldn't.

[yeoman6987]

62. Yep and just ask A&P how that worked out for them

Everything that is done results in something that could be negative down the line. Oh well thousands of workers out of work. But those grocery stores can absorb thieves taking from them. Cost of doing business.....is this really DU?

[MaeScott]

114. A & P own employees stole from them....

I know because I would see a supervisor mark whole sides of meat bad ( I worked in the warehouse) and have it sent to his cohort manager to sell on the DL

I have problem understanding what happened to A and P. Corrupted staff from top to bottom.

[ieoeja]

141. Senior management decisions by A&P are a classic example of poor accounting.

Their stupidity used to be taught by accounting everywhere.

A&P decided to shut down unprofitable stores. When a warehouse supplying 10 stores had 2 stores shut down, the warehouse went from profitable to unprofitable. So they shut *that* down.

The 8 stores now had to receive their supplies from a warehouse farther away. This increased costs to the point where some of these stores became unprofitable. So they shut them down.

This made the new warehouse unprofitable. So they shut it down.

This spiral continued until no store anywhere was profitable. And A&P became history.


Not quite as bad as the Woolworth UK blunder. They sold the stores in the UK valued on the worth of the businesses ignoring the worth of the real estate. The buyer shutdown one-third of them which paid off the entire purchase with plenty left over to revamp the other stores into profitable businesses. But A&P's blunder is still a classic.

[npk]

84. Right who cares about theft

If everyone shoplifted here and there stores would see a significant loss to their P&L, which could cause them to have to raise prices or cut staff. One person or a thousand stealing is wrong. If someone is starving then there other resources available to them.

[Tsiyu]

148. That follows with theft of wages as well.

When every employer is paying below-subsistence wages to employees who bring 50x more value to their employers, it takes a real toll on the economy.

Just as businesses cannot sustain chronic losses of income, neither can individuals, families or communities. Funny how some people only see the hazards inherent in one side of the "cheating" equation though. The phenomenon makes these people blind to the reality of economics.

I never understand how callously these people disregard the harm done to one entire group of humans, but they get all weepy for the corporate side. It's an amazing study in the human's capacity for denial.

[KamaAina]

3. Was her name Jean Valjean?

[dixiegrrrrl]

48. Well said!

[msanthrope]

88. This reflects badly on you. I would self delete. nt

[Syzygy321]

116. Not taking sides, but curious what you mean.

Are you defending Valjean from being compared with an egg-thief? He did live in a time without WIC and his youngest nephew was actually starving. So he was probably was worse off than the egg woman.

Love Valjean. Love Javert. They're my favorite doomed couple from literature.

[msanthrope]

125. the implication is that the OP is relating fiction. nt

[KamaAina]

137. No, the implication is that our society has become Hugoesque.

Or the analogue from English lit, Dickensian.

[Syzygy321]

144. That's how I read it. nt

[closeupready]

142. Completely disagree. I also draw analogies to works of fiction when

reality starts to resemble a set of circumstances, where you say, "you can't make this stuff up."

[Agschmid]

4. It shouldn't have to happen.

[JustAnotherGen]

5. I would have looked away too -

Or did as bettyellen suggested . . . then invited her to my community kitchen and helped her get to the food bank.

Note - I'm actively involved in community hunger issues and I'm not 'picking at the look away'. You have a good heart - and now you've seen what every day hunger in America looks like.

If you have a few extra dollars - canned tomatoes and pasta (when you can buy them in a 3 for $1 or 4 for $4) are huge in the north east food banks. And with apple season coming - if you drive by a bushel seller/farm - that's like gold to someone who is trying to eat. We don't get enough product.

[Warpy]

7. I'd have told her to put the eggs in my cart

plus any other staples she needed. No one should have to risk jail because they're hungry. No one should have stock stolen out of their stores by hungry people with no money.

Eggs are a real luxury food if you're poor. I had to rely on powdered when I baked during my poverty periods. Powdered eggs have the advantage of keeping for a very long time. They're just not great by themselves, scrambled, although they're edible.

[hunter]

11. She was exiting through the "IN" door.

Quickly.

[Warpy]

14. In that case, I'd have been selectively blind, also.

[Omaha Steve]

16. Me too

[Aerows]

22. I have to admit

I would have suddenly had something in my contact lenses and couldn't make out that anything was happening, either.

[George II]

23. Great idea.....

It's really sad that many Americans have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from.

I could get into all sorts of stories about what my parents did for poor and homeless people over the years.

Their last crusade, into their late 80s, was to collect used clothes for newly-released prisoners in NYC. That was just the way they were.

[homegirl]

56. Many of us

were raised by parents who married during the Depression. I remember my mother making grocery bags for men who were on strike and my father slipping a few dollars into the bag. My mother went to the small local market and bought groceries for the needy family across the street. When she asked the manager to have the groceries delivered he said "I know Mrs.______ can't afford this, go pick up the same dollar amount and I will match your gift."

Whenever I see a hungry person, you know the homeless guy nursing a cup of coffee or the fellow digging through the trash can, or the sad case on the street; count your blessings and open your wallet, a fiver goes a long way, or even the "doggie bag" you were taking home for the next day.

Never forget how fortunate you are and how little it costs to help others.

[Cracklin Charlie]

85. My mom had a thing about clothes.

I can remember her going around to all my brother's friend's parents every year to collect money so one of the boys, whose parents didn't have much money, could have some new clothes to start school.

She could usually get enough money to get him a couple pairs of jeans, some shirts, and new unmentionables. He went school shopping with her and my brother every year. And he never had to be ashamed of his clothes on the first day of school.

[No Vested Interest]

99. Your Mom did a good thing. It's very important that children - boys and girls-

feel good about themselves on the first day they present themselves at school.

First impressions are important, and if a child feels embarrassed or lesser than others, it will likely affect his attitude and school work in a negative way.

[Cracklin Charlie]

146. I grew up in a very small town. Those places can be brutal.

I imagine first day of school was anticipated with dread by a lot of the students.

My mother was one of the best people I, and many other people, have ever known. She taught me all about compassion. I miss her every day.

[No Vested Interest]

98. Eggs are higher priced recently and now because the bird flu

in some areas has necessitated thousands, tens of thousands of laying hens had to be destroyed.

$2.00/dozen and more.

[olddots]

9. I have done the same as you Hunter

and always will .

[ellisonz]

13. I'm glad this post doesn't include her getting caught by the store and arrested by the police. n/t

[bvar22]

15. This breaks my heart.

We keep chickens, and have too many eggs.
They generally go to those around here who can't afford them either.
I wish I could meet her today and give her a sackful.

[JDPriestly]

17. Next time, if you can afford it, offer to pay for them for her.

She could be arrested for shoplifting.

[merrily]

101. See Reply 11.

[Scarsdale]

18. Food banks

I drove through Beloit, Wisconsin yesterday, and saw the people lined up for free food. Many with carts, strollers and boxes. Gov. Snotty Walker needs to visit the town on those days, talk to people. He thinks he has done so much for Wisconsin, let him see what he has really created.

[Liberal_in_LA]

19. food banks are seeing increase in business -people w jobs

[Aerows]

24. It's a damn shame

that people with jobs can't afford food.

Hell it's a damn shame that anyone in this country, period can't afford food. We waste more food as a nation than many nations consume. It's a sorry situation.

[mythology]

20. That would require Walker be a decent human being

He's unfortunately a piece of crap.

[ChazII]

26. There are two churches that I am actively involved

with. The American Baptist has a clothing/appliance bank that also has lunches for the homeless. It is opened MWF and they homeless can get a lunch on those days. Yes, I realize that people need to eat each day but the food comes from our congragation with no support from the larger food banks. For people who are not homeless that get an emergency bag of food (a 1 week supply) once a month. To learn more click on the link below and then go to Missions.

www.fbcscottsdale.org


St. Stephen's is Episcopalian
www.ststephens.org Click on out reach ministries to learn to learn more.

This is a food bank only. While our congragation also donated food and money to buy 'extra's (like turkeys at Thanksgiving with all the trimmings-last year 75 families) we are also partners with St. Mary's Food bank. Over 200 boxes are delivered each month along with bags of food. The bags are added to the boxes depending on the size of the family. A family with 5 or 6 get one bag added to their box. A family with 7 or 8 get 2 extra bags and families with 9 or 10 get 3 bags. We seldom get families with 9 or 10.

[Enthusiast]

105. Walker would just think 'those people' are lazy.

He is horrible. He would never win an election if Wisconsin elections were fair.

[Turn CO Blue]

25. I was kind of shocked to learn the other day that the grocery store keeps infant formula

locked up behind the service counter for loss prevention reasons, but I also wondered if it is a form of price-fixing (limiting availability and limiting bulk-buying opporturnity and supply, and increasing inconvenience in order to gouge young families and daycares...

They do keep the single cans still on the baby aisle, but yeah right, how convenient.

The young couple in front of me in line was trying to buy formula at night with a WIC thingie or SNAP thingie and the clerk couldn't find any management with a key to the front storage where the formula was kept and she really seemed to have attitude about the whole thing. Then the clerk was saying couldn't use coupon thingie for certain types or sizes. It was just so much bureaucratic crap and bad customer service.

The mom was embarrassed. I told her later, that I could not believe that this in this nation we can afford all the $35Billion fighter jets whenever some weapons manufacturer needs a financial windfall, but we can't get formula for infants without hassles and lectures and redtape.

[Glassunion]

41. Sadly it is a high shrink item.

I'm of several minds on this.

1. No mother should ever have to steal formula to feed their baby in this country. Period.

2. The stuff is expensive, and the retailers shouldn't have to absorb the loss. So locking up a high theft item does make sense. They even make special display cases that lock the formula in.

I personally think that if it was just struggling mothers stealing formula, that there would really be no issue, and the store could accept it in their normal shrink levels. The problem is that there are actually rings of thieves stealing the stuff because it can be use in the manufacture of drugs. As well as reselling it to other below-the-counter retailers to stock their shelves with. At upwards of $20 a can, it can be a large loss, especially for the smaller mom and pop grocers.

[Codeine]

69. People steal it nonstop. It's easily resold

in the parking lot or on the sidewalk. We lock it up because people suck.

[msanthrope]

89. This,..diapers and razors too. nt

[MADem]

113. And TIDE detergent--that's a big 'rip off' seller, too, for some reason...?

[Enthusiast]

107. ...

35 billion dollar fighter jets and no one to use them against.

[RKP5637]

27. I would have looked the other way too and gone about my business. n/t

[Igel]

77. If you had been the owner, great.

Otherwise you'd be sort of happy at being kind and generous with somebody else's stuff.

It's not like it's the public commons' being trashed, which apparently is okay these days.

[RKP5637]

78. Imagine this country with Trump as president!

[Enthusiast]

108. He would have such empathy.

[RKP5637]

126. He so represents the ugly side of America! I watched a video recently of what he did

in Scotland with his golf course. Trashed the locals. He's such a disgusting POS IMO.

[Enthusiast]

127. The Donald is not very popular in Scotland.

[RKP5637]

128. This is the video I watched, probably you've seen it. He's a ugly monster IMO!

Donald Trump Exposed, A Documentary That everybody Must See

[davidthegnome]

91. I don't think anyone would be happy about it.

However, it is not your responsibility, or mine, or that of another poster, to police these stores and protect their product/s. Security, the protection of merchandise and so on - is the responsibility of the owner and of employees if so delegated.

I can't speak for anyone else - but when it comes to my own stuff, I would happily hand it over - or pretend not to notice it missing, if it was going to feed someone who was hungry. I guess you never really know for sure...

Still, I remember being a very young adult with two hungry children and the shame of digging through the couch for pennies, searching the streets for bottles and cans... and worse things, for the money to buy milk. Yeah, I ended up shoplifting a few times myself. It vaguely occurred to me that, sure, I could have gone to jail for it, it would have made it even harder to find work. I guess I just considered that an acceptable risk when it was a choice between that or letting my kids go hungry.

It's one thing when you haven't felt that hollow pit in your stomach - the one that starts out as pain and slowly becomes just a gnawing agony that you ignore (because you have to). It's something else entirely to be able to even function when you know your kids are feeling it.

No one in this Country should have to go hungry, no one in this Country should have to steal eggs for food. Cuts to food stamps, the slow weakening and sapping of our social safety net, Republican Governance - rich assholes who think they need tax breaks more than the working and poor need to eat.

If theft is what it takes, if "trashing the public commons' is what it takes, hell, whatever the hell it takes, people need to eat. I wonder when people like Walker, LePage, Romney, Trump, and so on... I wonder when (if ever, unlikely, I know) they will realize that you can't get by eating cash, or numbers in a bank account. All it would take is a small number of people to stop being assholes (or to stop voting for assholes) and we could put a stop to things like this.

For now though? I have worked in retail, I have known (and know) many store owners, even from the little mom and pop stores. My sympathy is with the hungry thief. So should any human's be.

[kag]

133. Well put...

I couldn't have said it better. No one should have to go hungry in this country. Period.

[Stargazer99]

29. and we are proud of this nation....

Among developed nations the US is a sorry excuse thanks to those running the place...Christian nation my tail feathers!

[prayin4rain]

30. Poor lady, that's so sad. :( n/t

[N_E_1 for Tennis]

31. You are a good person...

We need to look the other way sometimes in regards to our peers.

Personally I would have stood as as lookout and asked if she needed any more.
I always wear cargo pants. Big pockets.

But this aspect of our country just pisses me off.

[valerief]

32. Well, taxing the rich to provide for our society is out of the question, and all taxpayer

dollars have to go to war. This is America, home of the free, where everything is free if you're a billionaire. If not, you're up Shit's Creek.

[frazzled]

53. We do provide SNAP (Food Stamps) to 46 million Americans

in addition to WIC (for women, infants, and children). 53% of all American infants receive WIC assistance. There is also Temporary Assistance to Needy Families.

I just want to make it clear that not all people living below, at, or near the poverty line are forced to steal, or that we are not a compassionate society without programs. Sure, they are never perfect and can always be improved, but but they help significant numbers of people in this country. And we should applaud those programs, even as we work to raise incomes for lower-wage workers.

I think the problem with this thread is that it is completely anecdotal. We don't know why this woman stole a carton of eggs. Or why she looked scared. Was she unable to get food stamps or was she just mentally unstable? People who have plenty have been known to shoplift, including big-name movie stars whose names we won't mention. The likelihood is that this is a person who has fallen through the cracks for one reason or another. But it could also be a totally different story. We have no way of knowing.

And yet everyone is jumping on a bandwagon to imply that anyone who needs food in American is forced to steal it. It's just not true.

[davidthegnome]

92. Not everyone.

A growing number, though. Particularly in states with Republican governors. If you earn minimum wage here in Maine (7.50) and work around 30 hours a week, you don't actually qualify for food stamps unless you have dependent family - and even then, the amount received is often very little. Food is expensive - and healthy food (if you don't know what you're doing) is a lot more expensive. I don't know what the great depression was like. I don't what it's like in third world Countries where people have greater issues with hunger than Americans, overall - but I know hungry people, and I have known the pangs myself.

Do you know what you can pay for on minimum wage, at full time, by yourself? Or even with a child or two? Not a whole heck of a lot. Once you've managed rent, a car payment (if applicable), heat and electric, you're left with a very small pittance for anything else, which includes food, which is kind of necessary.

Our food stamp program does help people - some times. Some times it helps them a lot, some times it helps them a little... but as someone who once benefited from that program - and someone who knows many more who could, I can tell you that it is not enough.

If anything, things are even more difficult now than they were when I was younger. More people need food stamps now, and fewer receive the benefits - and for those who do, they often receive less. This should not be the case. There is no justification, no excuse, no pardon. We are, supposedly, the wealthiest Nation on earth. Our people should not have to go hungry.

We can pat ourselves on the back because of those these programs have helped - and indeed they have helped. They have been life-saving and much needed and deeply appreciated by many. At the same time though... we need to recognize that it is not enough. This is why we can't afford Governor Walker, Governor LePage, Donald Trump, Jeb Bush, Mitt Romney... they, and those of their ilk, have neither empathy nor compassion for those who are hungry and poor.

We need a new new deal, a better deal, than what the Clinton, Bush - and Obama years have left us with. This is why I'll fight for Bernie Sanders. Anything less than our full effort, our full compassion... is unacceptable, when people are hungry and cold.

Not everyone who needs food in America is forced to steal it - but many are. Also - those movie stars you mentioned... somehow, I doubt they were stealing cartons of eggs.

[Enthusiast]

109. +100%!

[frazzled]

129. Excuse me, but ...

you appear to be incorrect about a single, minimum wage person not qualifying for food stamps in Maine. For a household of 1 person, the income may not exceed $21,775. The other requirement is that you have a current bank balance (savings and checking combined) under $2,001.

Your example of a single individual earning $7.50 minimum wage for 30 hours a week represents an annual income of only $11,700 per year—just a little more than HALF the income eligibility for the program. This would certainly qualify, unless you are somehow stashing a lot of money in a bank account (which is unlikely). A person could earn almost double that wage and still qualify.

The federal government sets eligibility for income (and also pays 100% of the benefits); states may set the savings and bank account limits, and there may also be adjustments for high-rent localities.

See: http://www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1272

[irisblue]

33. Alert results

some stupid foolish f-er alerted this thread....I was Juror 6....BTW foolish one...HAHA


ALERTER'S COMMENTS

This is meant to make women appear like thieves and dishonest. Males steal too.

You served on a randomly-selected Jury of DU members which reviewed this post. The review was completed at Wed Aug 26, 2015, 03:14 PM, and the Jury voted 0-7 to LEAVE IT.

Juror #1 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: It is just a post about how hard it is for people. There were no highlighting of gender.
Juror #2 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #3 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #4 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: No explanation given
Juror #5 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: I really don't see it.
Juror #6 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: stupid foolish alert LEAVE irisblue
Juror #7 voted to LEAVE IT ALONE
Explanation: Silly alert, post in now way focuses on women but bemoans that hunger and need for theft occurs at all. LEAVE IT.

[hunter]

34. Oh my...

Where does an alert like this come from?

[Marrah_G]

37. Stupidest alert ever

[AngryAmish]

64. Well, I got alerted on once

The text of the post was essentially "I think AngryAmish is an asshole." Personal attack they said.

I wanted so bad to get it hidden.

[Marrah_G]

74. hahahaha

That is awesome!

[merrily]

102. You disrupter, you!

[Enthusiast]

110. Almost.

[uppityperson]

39. I was asked recently if I'd seen more frivolous alerts and said no. Now I have

wtf.

[Facility Inspector]

40. wow.

chilling effect.

[Glassunion]

42. Oh for fuck's sake.

Tell me you alerted on the alert?

[irisblue]

45. Oh yeah

foolish alert

[MerryBlooms]

47. Okay, that's one of the weirdest alerts I've ever seen, and there have been some doozies.

[Syzygy321]

70. False flag alert?? Is that a thing?

The alerter's opinion is too ridiculous to be anything but snarky fakery.

My money is on someone who got riled up on a certain different thread today and got his little feelings hurt, and wanted to come here and continue the "look at silly females inventing zany complaints!" BS.

Is there any way to find out?

[Sheldon Cooper]

79. That would be my guess as well.

[Duppers]

83. Crossed my mind too.

[merrily]

103. That was my thought too. Someone trying to make the board's more militant feminists look bad.

Losing alert privileges for 24 hours is the only penalty for a 7-0 Leave vote, even though you wasted the time of at least seven people. I'd up the ante, but I'm not the board owner.

[Syzygy321]

117. I see. Thanks for the info.

By the way, I'm a strong feminist but I dislike the word "militant" because it implies "violent" (with a dog-whistle toward mannish, jackboot-wearing, and/or crazy).

Uncompromising feminist might be a better term. As in: people who notice gender inequality and speak up about it,

as opposed to those who often shrug it off and don't resist it.

[merrily]

118. It's just my hunch about the alert, not info, per se.

I take your point about "militant" implying violence and I did not intend to imply anything about violence. I am not sure I agree with everything else, though. I am an uncompromising feminist and I have seen some posts that I consider beyond uncompromising.

[Syzygy321]

121. Everything good can be taken too far.

But I would argue that the far bigger common enemy is vast gender injustice (better in the US than in many elsewheres, but still), and its cushion of apathetic passive viewers and/or promoters.

I've seen a couple posters take feminism in a direction I dislike. And I know plenty of posters have the same reaction to me. Hope we can still stand together.

[merrily]

124. Coincidentally, I just did a post about the ERA. You might be interested.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=7114618

[Agschmid]

120. Literally the most rediculous alert I've seen on DU...

And I've seen some things.

I usually don't think alerts are frivolous, I give people the benefit of the doubt... But this one.

Whatever.

Good jury obviously.

[hamsterjill]

35. I probably would have done the same thing.

I'd like to think I'd have asked her if I could pay for the eggs for her, but sometimes you can just tell from someone's look (as you indicate) that perhaps they aren't in the mood for a discussion at that moment.

I wholeheartedly echo your comment in that I don't like living in a nation of billionaires where some people are hungry and afraid.

[turbinetree]

36. Two weeks ago.......................

I came up to the stop light and saw this young man standing at the corner with his card board sign: Homeless will work for food.
I asked what happened , and he told me----------I looked at him and asked KFC or McDonald's.
He said KFC, I said what do you want, tacos or bean burritos or something else, he said both if I would, because the bean burrito's could be eaten later.
I did for $14.75 for two human beings
I said, I will be right back, I went in and ordered 8 burritos and 8 tacos and it came with a ice cold Lemonade-------- half gallon, because he and his aunt were both standing on different corners begging for anything to get by for the day, living in a tent in the woods.

I went and spent over $14.75 to feed a human being because the county, society and the everyone on this train-----have abandon, the poor and the homeless, and use them as fodder of what is wrong with this country----when they should be looking at themselves in the god damn mirror and seeing that they are the problem.
I looked him in the eye and told him that I have been were you are, for two years, and all of these people driving by don't get it, they keep there windows rolled up and look straight ahead like the problem will just go away and if they do look they just stare, like get a job--------------hypocrite with no principles or shame.

He lost his job in construction, because the industry is just down or people are just under cutting bids to get work.
He said he's been talking to a couple of roofing companies contractors and he said that he might have something------------

And now this country is going to be invited to watch this worthless right wing Congress come back from another vacation and do nothing to address the lack of job creation that they are suppose to be helping this young man get back on his feet.

What's is really classic is that this right wing do nothing congress people are making $174,00 and $225,000 a year to do what, take another god damn vacation -----------------------while for $14.75 cents they could feed this young man and his aunt-------------that is a ISSUE that needs to be addressed




Honk------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[Unknown Beatle]

46. Republicans ran on a jobs platform in 2012 and won,

mostly by stealing the elections. So people asked the repugs, "Okay, where's the jobs?" Their answer, "Get a job on your own and pull yourself up by your bootstraps, ya lazy bums."


Feel The Bern! - 2016

[turbinetree]

49. Yep, they sure did.......................

and there are 45 million children going hungry in this country and over 4.5 being denied to get unemployment benefits because these same right wing hypocrites gut and cut the social programs for tax cuts, and they are coming back from "vacation" making $14,500 a mouth drinking rum and coke like the orange guy does at his favorite country club there in good old Ohio and doing nothing the lazy bum

Honk---------------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[BlueJazz]

50. I love people like you.

[turbinetree]

52. Thank you.............................very much...........

------------------bringing out my Hippie days------------Love--------Peace and Woodstock






Honk------------for a political revolution Bernie 2016

[irisblue]

38. don't know where the alert comes from

but this one was from a fool obviously

[frylock]

43. Sometimes you do what you gotta do

[Lyric]

44. I was her, several times in my life.

True fact--if you put several packages of meat and beans and peanut butter into your large diaper bag while you're shopping with your WIC check for infant formula, cereal, and juice, you can get enough food to survive the ten days until your partner gets her first check from her new job, even if you don't have any money. I did that once. I was lucky, and didn't get caught.

I once also deliberately wrote a bad check for $200 to Food Lion for a cartload of groceries plus soap and toilet paper, because I was seven and a half months pregnant, my Mom was in the hospital having chemotherapy for leukemia and wasn't able to work any longer, my meth-addicted parasite of a stepfather had stolen our grocery money to continue his drug habit, and we had absolutely no food in the house. I remember feeling terrified that my baby would die if I didn't have enough good food to eat. I was 20 years old. It took forever to get approved for Food Stamps because they wanted fifteen kinds of verification that my poor cancer-ridden, hospital-bound mother was truly "incapable of work". The welfare system in right-wing states is truly abhorrent sometimes.

A few weeks later, Food Lion Corporate called me about the check (instead of just calling the cops--amazing, right?) and I explained the whole situation to them while sobbing on the phone. They forgave the debt, wished me well, and sent me a $25 gift card in the mail later. I am a firm union supporter, and I used to avoid Food Lion because they aren't unionized. That day changed my mind; later on, when I was finally approved for Food Stamps, I gave Food Lion 100% of my business until the day we left Virginia. Union or not, I felt like companies ought to be rewarded for behaving with such kindness and compassion. And for not sending me to jail. I felt like I owed them at least that much.

[MADem]

115. WOW.

What a powerful story. How wonderful of the Food Lion to understand and reach out like that. I'm astounded. I'd have never expected such compassion, but I have to say I'd shop there too if I had one near me after hearing how nicely they treated you. When I lived in VA I lived not too far from one, but only went into it once (during one of the worst snowstorms ever; it was the only place open).

[BlueJazz]

51. This is to all the people on this thread. They walk the walk.

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.”
― John Holmes

Edit Spelling

[V0ltairesGh0st]

54. We really need discuss Homlessness and the hungry DU.

It's only getting worse. Everyday i see distraught , desperate people trying to survive with everything they own carried on their back. I think we need to get our respective Candidates positions on this plague and ask them what their plans are to combat it. I know Bernie want to out tax money here in the US by making Large corporations pay their fair share of taxes instead of avoiding them, which in itself would probably eliminate most if not all homelessness and hunger in our Country.

[nichomachus]

55. Not all shoplifters are hungry and afraid

Some are kleptomaniacs and quite well off.

My other half work in food retail. He once overheard a local radio/newspaper right-wing blowhard plotting with his girlfriend to bolt with the entire Thanksgiving dinner they had ordered. My partner headed him off at the pass, and the guy paid. But he was going to try to get out with over $500 worth of food.

[uppityperson]

57. Of course, but I'd give someone stealing eggs the benefit of the doubt

[veness]

58. +1 !! n/t

[Enthusiast]

112. Me too.

[Codeine]

71. I've made my living in grocery retail.

Most shoplifters are just greedy assholes. I happily extend credit to people in need, but goddamn I hate thieves.

[Syzygy321]

75. I did it because I had a hangup about courage:

Like, "I have to steal something, to prove to myself I'm no chicken. It's a test. A matter of honor. I have to do it."

OK, maybe I was a weird teen girl. And stealing is wrong. But I am glad the people who caught me didn't ruin my life.

(biggest theft: a glass dolphin figurine from an airport gift shop, stolen while returning from college interviews. I really didn't want to risk it, but...test of courage; had to.)

[iwillalwayswonderwhy]

59. I was once coming out of an Albertson's and a security guard pushed by me

Ran out and tackled a guy in the parking lot. From his hands fell a gallon of milk and a box of diapers.

I cried all the way home. I could picture a wife and baby somewhere wondering why he hadn't gotten home yet.

[DawgHouse]

66. Oh that is sad.

[yeoman6987]

60. You were wrong. Stealing is not cool no matter what.

Plus you are an accessory to the crime now and could be charged and sent to jail when all you had to is tell the women she is wrong and give her the money for the eggs. You'd be happier and she would be too.

[davidthegnome]

94. Easy to say.

In general, I would have to say that, yes, shoplifting is wrong. It enters a much more morally grey area though, when we are considering hungry people who can't afford food, feeding themselves, possibly their families. An accessory to a crime? You know, I think it would be tough to make that one stick.

I have traveled by bus to many different parts of our great Nation (it was necessary in my teens and early twenties) and I have seen many things. I have seen a lot of begging - I've seen a whole lot of beggars told to fuck off, or threatened with arrest, or simply ignored. I have often wondered whether I could do it - and if I could, whether I'd end up with enough to feed myself. I have heard some joke that beggars some times make better money than someone who works for a living - but I don't believe it. In large part, because begging seems like hard work, with an unbelievable rejection rate.

If the system cannot or will not provide, then perhaps begging is an option, though a risky one. Yet, walk into a store, slip some food into a coat, pocket, or bag, and walk out without getting caught... and you have, for certain, a little food. Maybe enough not to be hungry for a little while.

I am well fed now, I live with my family and definitely take advantage of having food around - and I remember what it was like when I did not. I remember what it was like to watch my toddler son cry from hunger, to curse the day I was born, my uselessness, my lack of talent, skill, or anything that might have provided food and security. I too, became a thief. I was raised to believe it was wrong - and indeed, when you are fed and comfortable, I believe very much that it is wrong. When you are hungry and desperate... it is another matter.

No, stealing sure as hell isn't cool - but it beats the shit out of starving, for sure.

[ProfessorGAC]

119. Accessory?

I don't think so. We as citizens are under no obligation to stop a crime, or even report it. That's choice. At least it is in Illinois. You can't be considered part of the crime merely by doing nothing. That's Seinfeldian.

[LanternWaste]

139. I used to pretend I knew what would make other people happier

I used to pretend I knew what would make other people happier during circumstances I didn't have absolute knowledge of too.

"Stealing is not cool no matter what..."
No one is forwarding that; it seems more like a premise you reached yourself to have something more dramatic to argue against.

[yeoman6987]

145. Morals and ethics are not supposed to be easy

Some have them and others don't.

[d_r]

61. I used to work in a grocery store

There was a guy, we knew he was a vet, so probably a viet nam vet, I guess he was homeless but he hung around and was often drunk. I always just let him steal whatever he was stealing.

[AngryAmish]

65. A dozen eggs can keep you alive for a few days.

No need for refrigeration, either.

[Nye Bevan]

68. I too would not have gotten involved. None of my business.

Having said that, years ago when I was poor and hungry I never thought to steal food from supermarkets.

[Imajika]

72. Oddly enough, many of the shoplifters I caught weren't poor...

I grew up in a pretty well to do area (Northern VA) and worked retail in H.S. and part of college for spending money. I did Loss Prevention a couple times and you'd be surprised how many very well heeled adults shoplift for........I guess the thrill of it - some kind of addiction as it would often turn out they'd been busted before. Some of these people drove very nice cars, dressed in expensive clothes, etc. I think this group can often get away with it more because they don't get profiled/followed and when caught they can say something along the lines of "look I have plenty of money, I was just in a rush". Society tends to give these people the benefit of the doubt that they'd never give to someone truly in need.

At the drug store which I worked the other group we busted most often were young teen girls stealing cosmetics.

Obviously we also got the kids stealing candy and such, but that seems to be a phase most kids go through (as did I).

In my rich area, I don't think I ever saw anyone shoplifting that appeared truly in need. If I had, especially considering I was a kid that really didn't care about much of anything, I'm pretty sure I would have turned a blind eye.

If I saw what is described here in this thread as an adult I'd probably just look the other way. Offering to pay might get the person noticed and caught. Looking afraid suggests she isn't some kind of thief at heart. Good thieves don't look afraid, they blend in and look perfectly normal. If she did get nabbed and I believed she was truly hungry and afraid, I might offer to pay to get her out of there if I thought it would help.

[hunter]

73. Nah, we live in a place that's not wealthy; with a lot of homeless and/or mentally ill people about.

Yes, there are social services available, but it's difficult enough to "jump through all the hoops" even for some totally together person's only serious problem is poverty. Our local food bank is a bit difficult to reach for some people, and the local "soup kitchens" and church group handouts are in places that can be downright dangerous.

This was not a thrill seeking kid or Hollywood kleptomaniac. My best guess is she was someone who was hungry.

[Syzygy321]

76. A medical resident I trained with got kicked out of the program

after being caught shoplifting a quilt. (Who shoplifts a quilt? She had problems; that poor woman - I hope she ended up okay. It's terrible to be kicked out of residency.)

Another doctor in my city - aristocratic European ancestry - is caught stealing little things frequently. Apparently she can't help it? Her husband quietly settles up with the store owners.

People are weird.

[Kelvin Mace]

80. I was in a Target store

and noticed a box of sanitary pads torn open and obviously missing some of its contents.

We live in a sad land when women have to shoplift menstrual supplies.

[randr]

81. When you wittness anothers need

you need to respond by filling the need.
I hope that if this ever happens to you again you consider buying the eggs yourself.

[eggplant]

82. David Bowie from Space Oddity (1969): God Knows I'm Good

Everything old is new again.

Lyrics:

I was walking through the counters of a national concern
And a cash machine was spitting by my shoulder

And I saw the multitude of faces, honest, rich and clean
As the merchandise exchanged and money roared
And a woman hot with worry slyly slipped a tin of stewing steak
Into the paper bag at her side
And her face was white with fear in case her actions were observed
So she closed her eyes to keep her conscience blind

Crying
"God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God may look the other way today

God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God may look the other way today"

Then she moved toward the exit clutching tightly at her paper bag
Perspiration trickled down her forehead
And her heart it leapt inside her as the hand laid on her shoulder
She was led away bewildered and amazed
Through her deafened ears the cash machines were shrieking on the counter
As her escort asked her softly
for her name
And a crowd of honest people rushed to help a tired old lady
Who had fainted to the whirling
wooden floor

Crying
"God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
Surely God won't look
the other way

God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
God knows I'm good
Surely God won't look
the other way"

[Tree-Hugger]

123. That song

....has stuck with me since I first heard as a newbie Bowie fan 20 some years ago.

[JimDandy]

86. Eggs just shot up to $3 / dozen where I am.

Times are tough. The other day at the gas station I was in line behind a 30 something guy who was counting out pennies at the gas station to get one gallon of gas. I plunked down a fiver on top of his pile (an amount I usually can ill afford to spare myself). I just patted him on the back when he feebly protested and told him I'd been there before. The next person reached around me and put down a ten on his pile.

We can help, each of us, even a little, if only once.

[Psephos]

93. that was cool n/t

[seveneyes]

90. Maybe you should have bought them for her instead of condoning shoplifting

Otherwise you support this type of action ...

[LanternWaste]

140. And fundamentally, that type of action is called "not going hungry."

"Otherwise you support this type of action ..."

And fundamentally, that type of action is called "not going hungry."

One would hope we all support that type of action, regardless of whether we righteously moralize using against the mechanism used to achieve it.

[McCamy Taylor]

95. Good for you. You are not a narc.

[eridani]

96. Am I the only one who thought "Why eggs?"

I immediately had a mental image of accidentally dropping them and creating a real mess. That wouldn't have happened with a pound of hamburger or a pack of baloney. Maybe an ovo-lacto vegetarian?

[CBGLuthier]

97. lack of refrigeration?

meat goes bad fast. Eggs can last a week or more without any refrigeration. Also are very flexible. Water, a pan, and about 20 minutes and you have an easy to carry bit of protein.

[eridani]

100. True--but I've left cheese out for awhile also

A 2 lb solid pack of cheese takes up about as much space as a dozen eggs--thinking that bulk matters more than weight here. Still, I agree that refrigeration is a real issue here. Then again, if you are hungry you probably aren't up for a lot of advance strategizing.

[GliderGuider]

111. Adults tend to steal ready-to-eat food for themselves. They were probably for her kids.

[Syzygy321]

122. Or maybe she was competing on one of thise cooking shows

that gives you four bucks and says, "Quick! Assemble everything you need and make us a souffle! Vite, vite!"

[fasttense]

132. Well at the farmer's market the other day

I overheard a 20 something man tell the lady who sells soap how he had only $6 and no food. He said he didn't know how he would spend the money to eat because he had no more money until Friday - a week away.

I'm a farmer and I sell produce. So, I took a dozen eggs and gave them to him. Eggs are very versatile. Fresh eggs don't need to be refrigerated. You don't need a lot to cook them and they are very high in protein that stays with you for awhile. I could have given him lamb but he would have had to refrigerate it and vegtables by themselves are not very filling.

[NickB79]

149. Eggs pack a massive nutritional punch in a small package

If I could only choose a few foods to live off of long-term, eggs would be right at the top of the list.

[Enthusiast]

104. I'm with you, hunter.

[Lunabell]

106. Been there

done that. Reminds me of this song:

[

|

[Octafish]

130. People are forced to steal to stay alive in the wealthiest nation on earth.

During the wealthiest times in human history, too. It is a national shame.

[grahamhgreen]

131. In Germany, I've been told, you can not be arrested for stealing food if it's in your mouth.

[DrBulldog]

134. I saw a similar thing ....

... a woman was deliberately pushing her thumb into a few eggs, then taking the entire cartons to the checkout stand and claiming they had been damaged damaged and asking nicely that she take them anyway because the store would simply throw them out as garbage. The checker agreed.

[840high]

135. A man stole 2 cans of sphaghetoos - I paid for them

so they let him go.

[fadedrose]

143. Good for you

If it was a CD, video game, fancy nightie, makeup or booze, I'd hint to a clerk that "I may be mistaken," but I think that customer needs help," and could stop them before the camera spots them...

Some people are kleptos, but some are crooks...hard to tell the difference, but damn, eggs are a hard thing to steal without breaking them, so you did the right thing. Hope she and her family enjoyed them.

(Remember the guy who was shot leaving Walmart with a box of baby diapers - maybe diaper stealers shouldn't be reported either)

[Are_grits_groceries]

147. The most stolen book is The Bible.

In addition, studies show that employees cause the highest % of theft in stores.
Go figure.