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Okay COR, I have a quandry
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| SYSTEM-J |
And if you only clicked because you hoped it involves:
>Buttseks
>Russian hookers
>Crack
>Buttseks
>Cats
You can go back to what you were doing.
So basically I stole a USB pen drive the other day. I was on a university library computer and I found a USB stick in the slot when I came to use my own. I had a look on to see if I could find the owner's name on a document or so forth so I could get their email from the uni's database and let them know I had it. No luck.
After three hours in the library on this computer nobody has turned up to claim their pen drive. I could have handed it in to the reception desk but I decided to steal it instead. Clearly, my logic ran, the guy who owned the drive didn't value it very much (it was a 2gb drive, although they're pretty cheap these days) or was grossly negligent. There were no important documents on it, just a few lecture notes, and I've been sick recently of idiots inviting theft upon themselves. When I'm at home I walk my dog around the streets at night, and it's incredible the things people leave on their gardens asking to be swiped: shoes, bikes, pushchairs, footballs and so on. There have been many other instances where I'm being invited to steal things due to people's stupidity or laziness. At the moment I'm pretty tough for cash and my laptop is running out of HDD space. In the face of all this, I stole the out of that USB drive.
However, I've had a bit of regret. Firstly, I had a run-in with this evangelical Christian who claimed that, as an atheist, the only thing stopping me from being a horrible human being who killed, stole and commmitted other sins was the presence of the law*. Obviously I didn't waste time arguing with him, but I was incredibly pissed off because I knew that all these times I'd had the opportunity to steal without consequences and hadn't were proof that I don't people over constantly simply because that's not who I am. Now I have broken that.
The second thing is this: today my friend left his bag in McDonalds, and feared it would have been stolen in the hour it took him to realise his mistake. It wasn't. And then, just now, I watched Pan's Labyrinth, a fantastic film. Looking on the IMDB I came across this piece of trivia:
"Guillermo del Toro is famous for compiling books full of notes and drawings about his ideas before turning them into films, something he regards as essential to the process. He left years worth of notes for this film in the back of a cab, and when he discovered them missing, he thought it was the end of the project. However, the cab driver found them and, realizing their importance, tracked him down and returned them at great personal difficulty and expense. Del Toro was convinced that this was a blessing and it made him ever more determined to complete the film."
These things told me that anyone can make a mistake, and just because they have doesn't mean their negligence should have been punished. People can leave even the most important things somewhere due to a moment's lapse of concentration. One day I will do this. And one day I might get ed over by someone with my own callous attitude.
So right now I want to return the USB drive to its rightful owner. The question is, how would I do that now, and is there any point?
COR Version: I stole a USB drive someone had negligently left in a library computer, but now I think I should try and return it and want help figuring out how.
*The hypocrisy was lost on him, clearly, since he was basically talking about himself but was substituting "God" with "law". |
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| Sushipunk |
| You didn't steal it, you found it. Finders Keepers. |
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| Lira |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
I had a run-in with this evangelical Christian who claimed that, as an atheist, the only thing stopping me from being a horrible human being who killed, stole and commmitted other sins was the presence of the law*. Obviously I didn't waste time arguing with him, but I was incredibly pissed off because I knew that all these times I'd had the opportunity to steal without consequences and hadn't were proof that I don't people over constantly simply because that's not who I am. Now I have broken that. |
Exactly. As an atheist, the only thing stopping you from being a horrible human being is your will not to be a horrible human being (not that it would be any different if you were a Christian, but you'd then suppose a higher power would kick your arse for your improper behaviour).
You can still redeem yourself not on grounds that "it's the right thing to do". But rather, it's your choice to, in spite of this mistake, remind yourself that you don't steal because it's against the law: you simply refrain from stealing because you're not a thief ;) |
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| treeboo |
| Take it to the library lost and found section and say you found it on the ground. Hopefully the person who lost it tries them when he realizes it, or in a repeat effort. Maybe you'll get to keep it legally when the quarter ends, but more likely it will stay in a bin with all the other forgotten flash drives that have gone unclaimed. |
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| Fledz |
You can hand it into the lost and found if you want. I don't see the massive problem.
FYI, I came in here looking for schematics but I decided to answer anyway :) |
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| PETRAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Sushipunk
You didn't steal it, you found it. Finders Keepers. |
Yep, thats a scientific evolutionary explanation just right there!:wtf:
and as we all know
Evolution > God :o
p.s. Pans Labyrinth what a fantastic film indeed! Cheers about the cab story/trivia. |
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| PETRAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
Exactly. As an atheist, the only thing stopping you from being a horrible human being is your will not to be a horrible human being (not that it would be any different if you were a Christian, but you'd then suppose a higher power would kick your arse for your improper behaviour).
You can still redeem yourself not on grounds that "it's the right thing to do". But rather, it's your choice to, in spite of this mistake, remind yourself that you don't steal because it's against the law: you simply refrain from stealing because you're not a thief ;) |
The question is:
In there a kind of innate morality in man? Or all morality comes from social learning :conf: |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by SYSTEM-J
However, I've had a bit of regret. Firstly, I had a run-in with this evangelical Christian who claimed that, as an atheist, the only thing stopping me from being a horrible human being who killed, stole and commmitted other sins was the presence of the law*. |
The great thing about being an atheist is that you don't have to see the world in black and white. |
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| Project-K |
| quote: | Originally posted by PETRAN
In there am innate morality in man? Or all morality comes from social learning :conf: |
This is pretty much what I said, less intelligently. :( |
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| Frenchie |
| Return it to the lost & found. though I think he might go by the logic of " No one would return a USB stick " and not go check but at least you did the right thing. :gsmile: People don't normally return something they found if they can use it themselves. It's a human thing. |
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| PETRAN |
| quote: | Originally posted by Project-K
This is pretty much what I said, less intelligently. :( |
I am verry haigh klever :gsmile: |
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| SYSTEM-J |
| quote: | Originally posted by Lira
You can still redeem yourself not on grounds that "it's the right thing to do". But rather, it's your choice to, in spite of this mistake, remind yourself that you don't steal because it's against the law: you simply refrain from stealing because you're not a thief ;) |
To be honest I'm slightly disgusted that I care enough to make this thread. Part of me wants to believe I'm a badass who doesn't obey any law except what I feel like on the day, which was true in this case. But then obviously there's someone a bit more noble than that somewhere inside me. Since I believe morality is an arbitrary construction I know it doesn't matter that I ed someone over slightly, but part of me feels bad anyway. Besides, I do believe in a practical kind of karma: if I went around stealing from everybody I knew, a lot of people would hate me and never trust me. The fact I don't means people trust me and look at me in a better light. You don't have to believe in a spiritual/supernatural framework to believe your actions have a positive or negative reflection on yourself.
| quote: | Originally posted by treeboo
Take it to the library lost and found section and say you found it on the ground. Hopefully the person who lost it tries them when he realizes it, or in a repeat effort. Maybe you'll get to keep it legally when the quarter ends, but more likely it will stay in a bin with all the other forgotten flash drives that have gone unclaimed. |
This would be the most simple thing to do, but I took it on Wednesday evening and I reckon he'll have asked at reception by now if he was ever going to. The odds of him asking again are incredibly unlikely, so I fear the damage is already done. Having it sit in a stockpile of unclaimed junk useless to all is hardly an improvement. I would like it if whoever was on reception would look out for the person and tell them the next time they saw this person that their USB drive had been returned after all, but I doubt the receptionist will give enough of a to execute that plan. |
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