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Saturday, January 19, 2008

Scrolling Saturday, Edition 2

Originally posted on my other blog on December 19, 2007

Nothing says "Welcome to Virginia Beach" like...

....like having my XM radio stolen out of my van, along with my cell phone charger, and a container of CDs....which my son found in the bushes, minus *1* CD....the one positive in the whole thing...they must not like my taste in music!!!

So, I just spent a ton of time on the phone with XM, cancelling service to that radio, and reporting it stolen, and with the police, filing a report. What a pain in the rear!!!

Nothing makes me more mad (madder?) than dealing with people who steal. While working at Walmart, it was THE ONE THING that really made me mad. Grumpy people, tired people, fussy kids...none of that is too bad. People stealing...now THAT really works me up. I will never understand people who think it's okay to steal from a big company, because "they'll never miss it anyway," or because it gives them some kind of adrenaline high, or something. To me, it is just WRONG. Wrong to think that way about someone else's possessions. Wrong to justify it that way. Wrong to teach your children that it's okay to steal from ANYONE.

I MUST tell this story. While I was working at Walmart, a kid (12-14 years old) was caught leaving the store with 2 bottles of $50+ weight-loss medicine. Never mind that he had no need of this....he was stealing it. He was caught. His mother was called. She came, and was overheard severely castigating her son...."I told you never to steal anything worth more than $10.00!" WHAT?!?!?!?? This mother was basically telling her son that it was okay to steal, as long as it wasn't too expensive, and/or he didn't get caught. That is one parent you really want to slap...and then throw in jail, herself.

People that stole from us at Walmart must have really thought we were stupid, or something. They think we don't notice that they're not buying anything? That they just spent an hour in electronics, for the 5th time tonight, and for the 5th time, are walking out after purchasing nothing?!? Or that we don't know where they stash all the packaging that they ditched in the bathrooms, on the rug aisle, in produce, in dairy, in the seasonal stuff....we know. We REALLY DO know.

Oh, and don't think that this stealing doesn't affect you because it's not you doing it. If you're not stealing from the stores you shop with, I applaud you. Thank you. But realize that those people that ARE stealing ARE affecting you. THEY cause prices to be raised, to compensate for the losses that the store is suffering. Oh, and those grumpy cashiers....they just had a really bad day, because of that kid stealing from the store. He just cut their bonuses in half. Give them a break!


Go see more Scrolling Saturday here.

8 comments:

Dawn said...

Thank you for the wonderful award! I appreciate it greatly.

I totally agree with you on the shoplifting thing - and that such a stupid parent should be prosecuted right along with the kid. Our son was caught by Wal-Mart with something like ChapStick when he was about 10 - of course, it was the other kid's fault. The police talked to him, we punished him, we tried to put the fear of God in him, but unfortunately, it was only the beginning of his problems. You can read about his glorious deliverance from heroine addiction over on my sidebar, if you're interested. So - I said all that to say this - that shoplifting is a symptom, not an occurrence.

Jenni said...

I always say they should require licenses to breed!

Qtpies7 said...

I recently heard something from a Walmart employee that BLEW me away! She said she has CAUGHT people grabbing things and peeing in them and leaving them in the shelves! McDonald's cups, cups they have for sale, and specifically she caught a mom grabbing a dog dish to let her little boy pee in it so she didn't have to take him to the bathroom!
Oh my gosh! I would so freak out!

Anonymous said...

Oh my! Mother of the Year, that one was. NOT!

Unknown said...

Wow! She said, "I told you never to steal anything over ten dollars"? I'm honestly feeling sick here. My ten year old daughter asked me yesterday how graffiti just shows up over night on a bridge on a busy road. As I explained it to her, that got me thinking of what kind of mind thinks it's OK to deface other people's property just for fun...and all the other crimes people commit, like shoplifting. How does that happen that they start looking at it so lightly? I never once thought that the parents might indicate that it's OK. How in the world would a child know otherwise then? That's terrible. I think it would be hard not to be bitter or jaded, seeing as much as you do!

Anyway, didn't mean to get so long-winded, there! I came over from the SS site. This was a good post.

Laura said...

do not steal stuff over $10 --- CRAZY! I am sure you saw all kinds working there...funny how people do not respect others - stealing is wrong!

thanks for sharing!

Heart of Wisdom said...

Sorry to hear of your theft.

I found you from the Excellent Blogger Award. I got it today for http://heartofwisdom.com/heartathome (its my other blog).

Glad I found you, looking forward to browsing your posts.

Blessings,
Robin

Kat said...

I can't believe that mother said that. Nice. Good grief!