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You apparently have so much empathy that you're able to guess what a hypothetical theif is thinking. What about the empathy for those who are being stolen from?
The multi million grocer won't even notice a loaf of bread and a jar of peanut butter go missing it's literally built into their margins
Hope the theft was worth the charges.
For someone that needs to steal food it absolutely is... That's why they're doing it...
And all I'm saying is not everybody that steals food needs to steal food. There are actually kleptomaniacs all over the place and /r/shoplifting is good evidence.
And I just saw a clit piercing in r/bodymods so clearly everyone who has an earring has genital piercings
I'm not the one claiming that a certain type of piercing doesn't exist. I'm claiming that a certain type of theft is not always altruistic. Everybody else in here seems to disagree and think everybody that steals food is always doing it to survive.
And what everyone is trying to tell you is we can stand 1 person in 10 who steals doing it for fun because the other 9 are doing it to survive. We're ok with 1 person needing counseling if 9 others get to wake up tomorrow.
Go to the fucking food bank. Don't steal.
So just for fun I decided to investigate. It appears that yhe nearest food bank is about 45 minutes from where I live by car. Which I can't afford if I can't afford food. So it's really just over 2 hours both ways by public transit (we're gonna assume I can afford that). So we're talking 5 hours just to get a night's worth of food (I hope you like cold beans and stale bread). Now there does appear to be 2 options closer. 1 that requires I enroll online (with what computer/network idk, hope your local library is still recieving funding) and the other is a once a week church meal. So idk, to me that doesn't feel super livable.
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Doesn't make stealing not a crime.
A shop is not a person. They're not breaking into your house and stealing, they're shoplifting food. I've worked in a shop, you should see how much shit just goes into a fucking dumpster. A shoplifter isn't even a blip on the daily waste radar.
Empathy is literally about understanding the feelings of others.
It's about putting yourself in their shoes, and ask yourself how you would feel in their situation. What led to them being where they are today. Sure some people like to steal, but the vast majority of food thieves in society today are literally going hungry otherwise, often due to situations outside of their control.
What would you do if you lost your ability to feed your family tomorrow, lost your job, many folks would lean on family or friends, but what if those weren't in the picture, or in a position to help. Imagine what state of mind you would be in. Would you risk getting caught stealing some storebrand food if it meant feeding yourself or your family?
Now, let's say this particular instance isnt that. This is just someone stealing for the fun of it. You can't honestly say that the above scenario doesn't happen every single day, all over the world? Should we not try to help those people, even if it means someone may benefit from it that doesn't need that assistance? Or that we shouldn't help them because it wouldn't completely eliminate shoplifting, so why bother? Since obviously the risk of being caught doesn't also eliminate shop lifting, why bother with it then?
And it's obvious that the threat of being caught doesn't eliminate this behavior, since desperate people literally steal to survive, and the thrill seekers are literally drawn by the danger, is it not in the store owners best interest to help those in need, as it will eliminate that segment of shoplifting? Eliminating food/housing insecurity is the first step on getting those that are so desperate back on their feet, and becoming functioning, productive members of society.
So yeah, having empathy with someone who is struggling (maybe not this person, but all those who steal food) is far more productive than assuming the worst in them and feeling vindicated.