Is theft ever justified?

slither12

I had a college class last week and the topic of rising living costs came up. One guy talked about people he heard on the radio nicking food and wine/six packs from Tesco. A lot of people seemed to think it was okay to steal to feed yourself.

I do sympathise with people in that situation and I suppose I can't comment given I was born middle class, but it does seem wrong to steal. Food maybe but not alcohol.

Icemancometh

I think if there's something you want, but you'd rather not pay for it, it's grand.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270308/is-theft-ever-justified

If you are unable to afford to feed yourself there are several sources of free food available.

Things like Cork Penny Dinners, Food Banks, St Vincent De Paul etc.

There is no need to resort to crime.

As for wine and six packs, stealing them is well out of order.

StevenToast

Ryan Tubridy, Joe Duffy and Ray D'arcy are stealing a living everyday...

I wont subsidise this thievery through payment of licence fee....

walshb

Ah, wine and 6-packs. The cornerstone of every nutritious diet!!

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270308/is-theft-ever-justified

Yes, nicking wine is justified to feed yourself. 🙄What crap.

They're just shoplifting scum that the rest of us have to pick up the tab for and pay over the odds to buy our own food.

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830496#Comment_119830496

Brother Lukes give out a bag of groceries every Wednesday, it's been a while since there's been starvation in Ireland.

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830539#Comment_119830539

Yes there are plenty of options.

Even on a practical level stealing to feed yourself is a bad idea.

The average person gets hungry every 4 or 5 hours, that's a lot of robbing.

The chances are you will get caught sooner rather than later and end up with a criminal record.

Just the thing for a graduate looking to get employment.

y0ssar1an22

citing wine and a 6 pack to defend the argument seems ill-advised. it'd be interesting to see what the food was.

it is justified (IMO), if there is no alternative - as in there is no other way you can cover your nutritional needs.

does this happen in ireland?

pgj2015

I remember a strict local shop security guard was caught stealing from a shop across the road from where he was working. hilarious when you think about it.

dashoonage

if its from the brits then tis grand....

bigroad

Not in this country.they have enough.

walshb

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830624#Comment_119830624

No. Nobody in Ireland goes hungry unless they’re in a seriously bad place. We have heaps a resources and people to ensure people can feed…

TooTired123

Never. It’s possible to make a tasty nutritious meal that would fill 2 adults/2 kids for around 6€. If you absolutely cannot then the St.Vincent De Paul for instance will bring groceries and electricity.

EOQRTL

If you are going hungry yes of course it is. I would never condone stealing alcohol though.

walterking

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830503#Comment_119830503

YAWN

Btw, commercial advertising revenue from the shows presented by your examples are multiples of the cost of the relevant program

Not one cent of license fee is required.

The biggest net cost that license fee is used on is live sports.

quokula

Obviously stealing is ok if the alternative is starving. But that’s just not reality for anyone in Ireland, there are many many layers of supports before anyone would get to that point.

There is a thought experiment that goes something like this, years since I hear it though so might not be exactly correct.

A man's wife is very sick, is it alright for him to steal to pay for the medication for his wife?

children of various ages were asked the question and the age and development of complex thought could be seen in the answer.

Ubbquittious

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830591#Comment_119830591

Yes better to rob some high value stuff and coast along for a while without stealing. Don't go for the low yield stuff unless things are absolutely dire.

Yes.

Tom Mann Centuria

Fat Tony: Bart, is it wrong to steal a loaf of bread to feed your starving family?

Bart: No.

Fat Tony: Well, suppose you got a large starving family. Is it wrong to steal a truckload of bread to feed them?

Bart: Uh uh.

Fat Tony: And, what if your family don't like bread, they like cigarettes?

Bart: I guess that's okay.

Fat Tony: Now, what if instead of giving them away, you sold them at a price that was practically giving them away. Would that be a crime, Bart?

Bart: Hell, no!

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270308/is-theft-ever-justified

After college I spent several years working in the insolvency side of an accounting practice and I learned two things, there are very few employees who don’t steal from their employers and the other thing is that there is always one good one who will be willing to act to put a stop to it.

Today like every day, employees will take an extra 10 minutes here and there in lunch breaks, tea breaks, bunking off early and they’ll justify it - sure it’s only 10 minutes. Except it is not 10 minutes, it’s more like two weeks a year and turns into many person years for companies! More will load up from the stationary press - pens, pencils, tipex and pads for the kids. They’ll justify it - sure it’s only a couple of pads. Expect it not a couple of pads, it’s a couple of thousand pads, very of the expensive headed pads. In fact it got so bad in one legal firm that the managing partner had to issue a memo begging people to please return one pad each!

And everyone of those people will tell you they are honest decency citizens who never committed a crime in their lives and we’ll all agree with them. So yes it would seem crime is easily justified in society.

The traveller actor chap said it was ok to demolish a Lidl for a slice pan if you’re hungry

dbas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119831395#Comment_119831395

That's a good point.

'Theft' but in a different guise. An extra long break is effectively theft from the employer. Exaggerated expenses claims are being submitted in every company every day I'd say. It's all theft.

Having said that, if all avenues outlined above were either exhausted or unavailable I'd steal food to feed my family.

If someone stole something from you, and you went and stole it back- is that stealing?

Gregor Samsa

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830503#Comment_119830503

And yet you let them live rent-free in your head...

monseiur

Is theft ever justified ? Well I'll quote a line from a certain well known song/ballad/anthem and make decide for yourself :

''You stole Trevelyan's corn So the young might see the morn Now a prison ship lies waiting in the bay''

callaway92

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270308/is-theft-ever-justified

Never thought I'd get to the point of being bored on boards.ie because I've already seen the exact same thread on Ireland Reddit yesterday

corner of hells

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119832069#Comment_119832069

Did anyone ever hear how the bloke who robbed the corn got on ?

Tabnabs

When I want something, man

I don't wanna pay for it

Now I walk right through the door

And I walk right through the door

Hey, all right

If I get by

It's a-mine

Mine, all mine

Hey!

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830503#Comment_119830503

Only in your dreams. In the real world, they generate advertising revenue for their employers.

j2

I'd rapidly counter your question with a question. I tend to answer a question with a question to put them on the back foot. So my question is: is pussy in face action ever necessary, and is it considered a dominant position for the woman? These are the kind of considerations afoot in my mind, please give me your input bitch! Where you at.

Larbre34

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830698#Comment_119830698

So will the Community Welfare officer.

Not a soul in this State need miss a meal, unless they are subject to some abuse or neglect from a person in their life who obstructs them getting food.

So no, as this isn't Les Misérables, there is no justification for stealing in Ireland.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119831395#Comment_119831395

Would you ever behave.

$50,000,000,000,000 (Fifty trillion) has been siphoned from the working and middle class to the top 1% in USA alone, since the 1970s.

And you're whinging about employees taking a few pens, pencils and Tipp-Ex? haha

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119834845#Comment_119834845

Roughly one new billionaire a month balanced by a million more people crashing into extreme poverty.

The world’s ten richest men own more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of humanity, 3.1 billion people.

Tonesjones

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119830509#Comment_119830509

Scratch cards and fags are 2 of your core food groups

Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119834845#Comment_119834845

I’m not whining about anything, I just have low expectations and as I pointed out and you just confirmed, people will always find a reason to justify their actions, in your case its the old kinder-garden one - but Johnny did it too…

And of course since a very sizable portion of European company holdings are held by pension funds, it feels better to pretend to be American and that you are taking from the 1% of Americans rather than European pensioners doesn’t it?

As for your abuse, yes to be expected too when people have no other defense left…

Strumms

No. I don’t believe so if it could be there’d be anarchy.

If you don’t have, do without.

state supports allow everyone to get the minimum required and a little bit more in some situations.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119834845#Comment_119834845

That's the lamest excuse for theft I've ever come across.

Burt Renaults

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058270308/is-theft-ever-justified

If it's ok to steal food, then it's ok to steal alcohol too. For example, if you're addicted to the stuff, then going cold turkey could potentially kill you. Anything can be justifiable if you try hard enough.

Mad_maxx

Depends on context , Ireland has a strong welfare system which provides enough to cover all the basic essentials

I would not at all harshly criticise someone where this isn’t the case , nor would I criticise a homeless person in Ireland who is not eligible for welfare, people have to eat , stealing alcohol is always wrong as it’s discretionary spending

as for the characters in the OP,s story, those are college students, the destitute don’t attend college

@Jim2007

@Jim2007 apologies for the "piss off".

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119835956#Comment_119835956

Captains of industry steal far more than any employee.

Jim_Hodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119837215#Comment_119837215

So that justifies theft under any conditions? Get real.