So I’m doing the weekly shopping in Aldi. If you have an Aldi near you and haven’t tried it out, you might just want to give it a go. Prices are good, products are good, why not? Because you can’t write a check or use a credit card? Hmm. Seems a strange reason for not saving money, but if that’s your choice, that’s okay by me.
In any case, the cashier of my particular lane suddenly shows no small amount of distress. She’s frantically waving, trying to get the attention of someone further back in the store. Turns out she was trying to get the manager-type, which she finally did, and he came up to find out what was going on.
The story was that a group of people had been packing up their groceries (at Aldi, you pack ’em yourself), and at some point therein had decided to go back to the freezer section, pick up some more food, and pack it up. You may have noticed that they didn’t pay for their new items in that process.
While I don’t know if this actually happened, as I was busily checking to see if there were any good impulse purchases around, it’s possible. If it wasn’t done by the group in question, it could certainly have been done by someone else. Which made me think about stealing in general.
What is it that people hope to accomplish? One would suspect that people steal because they can’t – or won’t – pay the posted prices for particular items. Fair enough. So they take it instead. Which means that the manager of the store then has to spend time dealing with the issue, new security measures are put into place, and in no time, prices have gone up, resulting in – you guessed it – even higher prices. Anyone see a pattern beginning to form?
Comments
48 responses to “Why Do People Steal?”
I get so frustrated because my ex-husband and his new wife steal thousands of dollars a day from various stores and people and have never gotten caught in 3 plus years. They are losers, who are drug addicts and have no jobs because it is easier to steal. I work hard for my money and barely have enough after paying bills and debts to buy anything frivolous or fun…sometimes we can’t even buy groceries. Alot of their friends are now stealing too because they are sick of seeing them always geting stuff. I refuse to be that person…I refuse to lower my values and becme like them. However this frustrates me. It sems like they have it all because they get whatever they want and do not have to work for it. I am happy if I can order out for pizza or buy a dvd some months. How does one deal with these feelings of resentment?? I also get aggravated because a lot of these people think it is ok to steal from people who have money. My ex stole $1500 of dvds from me and various other things and thought it was ok because I work and “have money”…untrue, but even if I did have the money, what would make it ok? Most people who have money work for it, most people who don’t have money, don’t work and live off the system. Tired of all that…especially since it sems that the majority of people getting welfare and state help do it just because it’s easier to fund their drug habits and it’s easier than getting ot of bed in the morning and working. I am praying that kama does exist and that it will come back to bite them hard…really hard…otherwise, what is the point?? Is me feeling good about myself the only reward for not stealing and living off the system…doesn’t seem like enough sometimes. Thanks for allowing me a place to vent….
I believe people steal because of the euphoria it gives them. They look at the things they have stolen and get a feeling of accomplishment. I further believe that only when/if they are caught can they be shamed into MAYBE stopping this crime.
I would like to post a comment about a personal experience I had and I am 50 years old. I had a girlfriend for a while that stole from me and lied to me. Eventually the debt was around well in the thousands on me then she threw me out. I had never stolen before but for some reason I tried to steal 40.00 of meat. I got caught immediately and was arrested. I now have no job, I live in Canada so the situation here for theft under 5000 dollars is that you have a summary offence which you can apply for a pardon after 4 years no earlier. Then you wait on the parole board to see if they give it to you. It is illegal here to work with a criminal record, you know that little box that says Have you ever been convicted of a crime you have not been pardoned for? Heck I can’t even volunteer and since I worked in the healthcare field which requires a crim check yearly, it showed up in a short period of time. So for all of you stealing out there think about what i am saying. The consequences I have sufferred left me with nothing, no friends, no family left and no way to earn a living. Think about that when you steal!
I don’t actually need the things I steal…things like clothes and makeup but I take them because I want to fit in and it turned into a habit. Just bad morals and my stupidity. I’m 17 which is close enough to being an adult. I feel people look down on me and it’s not always fair but I can understand. It was circumstances I had no control over when I was little but now I’m older I can chose for myself, I’m the one making these bad descisions. Everytime I steal something I’m angry and I feel sad like somethings missing but I think that it doesn’t matter because no one cares about me and I have nothing so theres nothing to lose. I don’t have many friends and I don’t feel like I’m a part of anything. I don’t even have a family so I doubt I really understand how other people feel I’m just disconnected from it and if I can stay this selfish I can keep stealing. A lot of people who steal probably come from screwed up families like I did. I dropped out of school and ran away at 15. I didn’t know how to look after myself and I got into the habit of stealing to get what I wanted which is more damaging than anything. I don’t want to be stuck this way. I would love for someone to tell me which way to go and who to be. I just feel like a lowlife and even though I’m young l dont feel like I have any life left if that makes sense. If you screw up now when your meant to be responsible and have a future planned then I don’t understand if you can still be a good person.
This is great for people who steal it could really help them stop THANK YOU!!!!
I steal so much and NEVER GET CAUGHT i steal everywhere not just wal mart…i’m not good at it im great at it! There going to make an ocean’s 14 and ill be in it thats how good i am LOL
I steal all the time, not for personal gain, but to help stores better themselves in their store security. When I go to a new store with the intension of stealing something I focus on their security system and make myself noticed on every cam. in the store. Then I make my move. One, two, and sometimes three items, but no more then that. Later I set a mode, only on wensdays I may steal. Sometimes I brake the mode to see how they’ve improved. Most times they haven’t and they’ll bring in cops as undercover shoppers. They never caught me and I show them just how good I am at stealing. Most of the stores I steal from are store I ‘like to buy from and I would like to have them around a few more years, but they’ll have to upgrade their secuity or they’ll never last. So if anyone needs help keeping their and want to improve their secutiy e-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll see how I can help.
Stealing in all is just plain wrong. Respect and trust are two things that are no existent when you get caught stealing. The way i look at it, is if all the shit in the store was mine. How would i feel if somebody walked into my store and took my shit. I would be pissed and probably beat their heads in. It also takes money away from whoever owns the stuff. No matter how large or how small the business is it always puts the shaft to somebody in the end.
I love to steal
Oh my – the top thread of why people steal. Of course I’m here searching for answers for my own stealing problem. I’m 33, with a very respectable job, a beautiful wife and son, and a huge circle of friends. I’m college educated, and pretty much positive everyday – and am known for my smile and charm. But when I was a young boy (around 10) is when I first stole transformers from a walgreens, and I started to steal other toys. I’d trade the toys from money or other things … and a year later I remember stealing shoes. I was so young, I don’t think the store could possibly think I was stealing shoes. I got caught that year – my only time I’ve got caught other than some small store owners catching me around that same age (12). Around 13 is was baseball cards and food. I’d go boogieboarding, and then go to the supermarket and load up my wetsuit with all kinds of snacks. I don’t remember stealing that much around 8-10th grade, small things here an there. I never stole from people/family/etc. It was always from the “establishment”. So fast forward many years (and I don’t think I had stole much in those years) … and I started to get hooked on to online gambling. I love poker, and I (now I just play once a month for not that much money), but I was losing money online, and then due to embarrassment for my lack of cash, I was stealing from the local supermarket once again. It was things I could fit in my pocket, but it quickly escalated to shopping carts full of items. And that was a mean cycle … lose a few hundred online, steal a bunch of groceries. I stole so much, I was stockpiling in weird places in my house. I confronted my online poker/gambling problem and shared that I was losing money to my loved ones. And I’ve successfully stopped that awful cycle. But I still have been stealing from the stores. And I’d say I’ve stolen thousands in just the past couple of months. So I’ve had a problem for 20 years and I am really getting scared that my luck is going to run out, and I ultimately know I HAVE to cut this out. Believe me, if you knew me … you’d never even think it. I’m doing my research to find out what about me, makes me want to get over. I think that’s what this whole tread is about. What motivates one to steal? Well to share with who ever is reading this … I’d have to side my motivation goes to towards the idea of “entitlement” – and alot of what I’m digging for talks about narcisistic behavior. That behavior of thinking that I am better than others, or that I’m detached from the what feelings I cause in others, is what I think is my underlying reason for this highly risky behavior that could ultimately ruin all that I have achieved (including batling cancer as a 23 year old and winning – a tough bout that had me in treatment for over a year). And when I have followed the what causes narcisistic behavior, most of the literature states that it’s caused from living in a naricisictic home growing up. And looking back, my upbringing was by parents who had some pretty bad drug/alcohol addictions, and the way that I survived through some of the neglect, was to be detached from many situations. I learned some behaviors as a young child that I think I have never let go. In addition to the “entitlement” factor, I do have to admit I do get a rush. And I’ve always been a “partier” or rush-seeker, so that is coupled with the entitlement factor. But boy o boy – I am playing with fire. My wife does not know the magnitude, cause she doesn’t even know that I do it (although I wonder if she’s wondered at times how I accumulate so much “stuff”). I pray – that I pull myself out of this 20 year pattern. THis is a big step for me to share on this board. I’m doing it for everyone – people who google the same “key phrase”, and for the people trying to look into the mind of … someone who’s addicted to stealing. I’ve accomplished some good things this past year, now it’s time to accomplish not stealing one day at a time. It’s really unbelievable that I got so deep into this … if any professional counselors do read this – I’d love to hear you thoughts.
Good luck to those who are caught up in the rush (and I mean good luck quitting, not good luck stealing – and yes, I know it’s not luck – but I do wish you success on your journey to either quit, or know why you are stealing in the frist place, so you might break the cycle so you can eventually quit).