I fucking hate this take. It's so middle school edgy it cuts my cringe receptors into pieces.
I get what you guys are trying to say but most people aren't stealing to feed their babies or provide them with diapers. Most of the people are stealing so they can sell it on the streets. Where WIC and welfare can't help pay for it.
Even if 90% of theft is greed and meant to be resold for profit, I'll still ignore it for the 10% that are stealing out of extreme desperate necessity.
We live in a country that has 100 billionaires that are undeserved and unearned, arguably. You can become a Millionaire solely by making YouTube videos stuffing your face full of fast food and gaining 500lbs, as a freakshow that gets lots of likes/subscribes. All while public school teachers are on food stamps and infrastructure around the country is degrading and not being improved, etc., etc.
The system we have is trash. Obviously I don't support stealing from the little guy, but theft from large corporations I'll always support. Large corporations inherently steal from the poor, directly and indirectly. It's inherent to our capitalist system.
No matter what to the rhetoric says, it will never ever impact you in any way.
Let people be. The world is a fucking disaster. Make it better by treating people respectfully and working to dismantle the horrible system that got us here.
I have been poor, yes! Have you ever been outside? Do you think there are diaper black markets? Do you think everyone stealing to make ends meet qualifies for WIC in the first place?
I grew up below the dirt poor, like oodles and noodles were a treat poor, with no adult supervision for a good portion of my childhood. My mom was on basically every government program that existed, that didn't mean I got anything out of it. The only reason I survived was by people looking the other way as I fed myself.
As I got older I had no life skills whatsoever and couldn't hold down a job, friends, or any sort of meaningful relationship. So again, dirt poor, a little better off than I was before because there were a few ways to make money. But still I only ever got food at a store, and probably would have starved if too many people said something, or had to do even worse stuff than I was to feed myself.
Hell even when I got myself together a bit and held down a shitty job for a while I still couldn't afford to feed myself after the bills hit, it was even worse when I started making just enough to get kicked off state insurance and stamps.
There are a lot of people out here just trying to survive, they shouldn't have to steal to eat but they do and in my eyes that's a human right.
Side note: food stamps are a fucking joke. What they're giving to a family of 4 wouldn't feed a single person, from my experience at least.
I sympathize with this but your situation is very anecdotal and on the extreme end of the poor spectrum. Most of Americans in need of government assistance largely benefit from it.
The problem with the post is that it's a point of view by way of ignorance. No one steals carts full of baby formula and diapers (mostly formula) to give away a la robin hood style. They do it to sell on the streets or to cut drugs with it. That's just the facts.
Those people stealing carts to sell them on the street are a god send.
We had a guy in my old neighborhood who would come around once a week with various necessities that most people couldn't afford otherwise. Sure he made decent money, but babies got fed, pantries got replenished, feminine products were given out if you bought stuff from him regularly.
Of course they are. I'm not claiming they aren't. I just respect their opinion. Other than that though, I believe society in general should be pro-people-feeding-themselves.
I don't care why they steal. Let them do it. They aren't robbing a mom and pa shop, because they don't exist anymore. Stealing from capitalists isn't a crime. It's not even stealing, it's taking back what they stole. It's Your duty.
I mentioned this the last time there was a "hur dur stealing is fine" thread, but I once watched two guys steal hundreds of pounds (currency, not weight) of meat from a supermarket. They obviously did this to sell it on, but many of the comments here were saying not to side with shareholders or that the store could handle the losses no problem.
Tell someone that is actually struggling about shoplifting, and many of them will say there are two minds to this: you're either desperate or stupid. It's clear as day when someone is desperate (i.e. stealing formula - frankly if they got caught I'd pay for it for them and would happily give them all of my newborn stuff that I no longer use for free), but it's also really fucking obvious when someone is doing it to be a cunt.