moral question

T

Thorn Bird

Forum Mom
May 24, 2005
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dateline is doing a show on stolen ipods. dateline placed ipods in bags from the store or in canvas bags in various locations and taped them. they also put some form of following data on the ipod so they could be traced. my question is this:

if you were to find a bag with something in it on top of a trash can outside at like a strip mall, would you take it? if you wanted to return it, where would you return it? would you leave it alone?

if you found a bag with something in it INSIDE a store or restaurant, what would you do? take it? return it? leave it as is?

spange and i are having a hard time thinking that someone STOLE something in a public, outside place. dateline left bags with ipods on park benches in public, on top of trash cans, and also on tables in restaurants. i agree that you are knowingly stealing if it's in a place where it can be returned, but what about when it's just out there? when i find a penny on the sidewalk, am i stealing it because i take it? obviously, i know that if you take something that's not yours, it can be considered stealing. but is it the same thing if i take an ipod in a shopping bag that's sitting on a park bench or take a penny off the sidewalk?
i'm really curious to hear some responses. i'm trying to figure out what i think about this.
 
If it looks lost (ie: inside somewhere, or on a park bench), then I'd try to return it.

If it's by a trashcan then I'd consider it trash and take it... actually, I don't go digging around trashcans... but yea.


If it's obviously lost - then you should try to return it. Determining wether or not something has been lost or tossed though is purely a judgement call and there's some gray area in there. I doubt it'd hold up in court though if you found something on public property with no owner around and they tried to charge you with "stealing".
 
and by the way, i am not saying i'd do or not do anything. i do pick up money on sidewalks, but i don't think i'd pick up something off a public bench. i'd watch it to see how it unfolds, though.

(one time, i was parked next to a minivan with the door wiiiiiide open. it was weird -- i didn't even know if i should shut it or not. i ended up shutting it, but it was a strange situation. OMG WAS I LIKE ON A HIDDEN CAMERA SHOW?)
 
should've bought a bunch of groceries and stuff and put it inside the minivan...


imagine the shock on the person who owns it when they hop in and there's a bunch of free shit.

money on the ground is impossible to return as it's impossible to prove ownership, so yea, i'd definatly take that and go on about my day.
 
I'm fairly honest for the most part. Unless it's something I can't return, like I found a bill on the sidewalk and there is no way to find the owner, it'd go in my pocket.
 
plot said:
should've bought a bunch of groceries and stuff and put it inside the minivan...
imagine the shock on the person who owns it when they hop in and there's a bunch of free shit.
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i'd spend every day doing stuff like that if i could. i LOVE random acts of kindness.
 
if it's possible to return it, do so. if not decide whether or not the item is useful to me.

just for the giggle factor I'd give the ipod to the first homeless dude I could find
 
Thorn Bird said:
dateline is doing a show on stolen ipods. dateline placed ipods in bags from the store or in canvas bags in various locations and taped them. they also put some form of following data on the ipod so they could be traced. my question is this:

if you were to find a bag with something in it on top of a trash can outside at like a strip mall, would you take it? if you wanted to return it, where would you return it? would you leave it alone?

if you found a bag with something in it INSIDE a store or restaurant, what would you do? take it? return it? leave it as is?

spange and i are having a hard time thinking that someone STOLE something in a public, outside place. dateline left bags with ipods on park benches in public, on top of trash cans, and also on tables in restaurants. i agree that you are knowingly stealing if it's in a place where it can be returned, but what about when it's just out there? when i find a penny on the sidewalk, am i stealing it because i take it? obviously, i know that if you take something that's not yours, it can be considered stealing. but is it the same thing if i take an ipod in a shopping bag that's sitting on a park bench or take a penny off the sidewalk?
i'm really curious to hear some responses. i'm trying to figure out what i think about this.
Click to expand...

I always return it. I just really don't give a shit about material things. Never have.
 
I would do my best to find out who it belongs to and return it. If I can't find them I would enjoy someones unintentionally random act of kindness and then I would plan a few acts I could do myself to keep the karma balanced.
 
I would feel weird taking something that was just sitting there. I would either:

A) Think of a way to return it and if that is not possible

B) Leave it and act like I didn't see it.
 
I found an IPod nano in the parking lot of a Taco Bell at 2AM. I picked it up to see if there was any identifying information on it which there wasn't. I was going to sell it but Flop wanted it.
 
I wouldn't have even noticed the ipod as I don't go snooping through bags sitting out be they in a store or on a park bench...I would have just continued walking by
 
April25 said:
It is for the person who is has less morals than I. :fly:
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I am that person <3. I'm all about trying to return stuff. If i see someone drop something I will do my best to return it to them; however, if something is thrown away then in my opinion they give it up. Also, I got out of my car once in the parking lot of Einstein bagels and next to my car was a fifty dollar bill. There was no car next to me nobody near me and I took it, my thought was a) I can't take it in the bagel place b/c they are most likely going to take it and b) I can't leave it because then the next person that drives up will take it.
 
Dharma1521 said:
I am that person <3. I'm all about trying to return stuff. If i see someone drop something I will do my best to return it to them; however, if something is thrown away then in my opinion they give it up. Also, I got out of my car once in the parking lot of Einstein bagels and next to my car was a fifty dollar bill. There was no car next to me nobody near me and I took it, my thought was a) I can't take it in the bagel place b/c they are most likely going to take it and b) I can't leave it because then the next person that drives up will take it.
Click to expand...

in that case you have to take it...that's the only time I find any sort of action along these lines acceptable
 
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