Has someone or something stolen from you? Do you know who/what it was? Did it affect you? Do you care?
Doesn’t have to be serious.
Share your stories!
Yes! Two days ago, someone stole my bike. That is, I had parked it (and locked it) in a bike garage monitored by CCTV at the train station where I commute and when I came back from work my bike was gone and only my broken lock was left. However, as I looked around a little the thieves had not moved it far, only down a floor into the premium “bike hotel” area that is an actual locked in area as well. So I just called the company, and they let me in and gave me my bike back.
Afterwards, I called the police to let them know someone stole my bike and that the whole ordeal was caught on cameras (they have to open an official investigation before the footage can be used due to surveillance laws). As I tried to report the theft (or attempt thereof), I had the following fun conversation with a policeman:
- Me: Explains the circumstances of what happened.
- Policeman: (Interrupts) “Yeah, maybe you should keep that in mind for next time.”
- Me: “Uhm what?”
- Policeman: “Yeah, maybe you should be a little bit smarter with regards to where you put your bike.”
- Me: “Uhm OK, I just told you I put it in the designated parking spot that, as pointed out, is monitored.”
I get that they do not really care about bike theft as they account for 30% of reported thefts, but I mean come on. They obviously moved my bike (along with others, I assume) to a nearby area so they could collect them all in a van later that night and drive off unnoticed. The police could have sent one patrol there at the right time and have them caught red-handed with video footage of the entire ordeal. Incompetence and unwillingness to actually do their work is precisely why there are so many thefts to begin with. Had I said I was a shop owner and had a bike stolen, I am certain they would show up in no time.
TL;DR: Bike got stolen and the police sucks. Thankfully, the thieves sucked marginally less, so I got my bike back.
a) Glad you got your bike back.
b) I know for a while they sold a thing for bikes to identify them and get stolen bikes back. But I am not sure the system really works and I think it’s on a sticker. And can’t you just peel off any sticker @_@!
c) Cops suck hard at things they find inconvenient to them. I didn’t know the reports were that high. I think it’s because you’re actively messing with a person’s means of transportation, that they get reported so much. But nowadays cops don’t show up for car accidents. So it’s really hit or miss in general.
d) I loved imagining this inconspicuous scrapper-esq van that whisks away all the stolen bikes with the little punk ass thieves thinking they got you so they moved on to the next one. Maybe in you figuring out their bs they might move their bike-hotel to another space.
In the UK I think there’s a scheme where you register your bike and engrave a serial number on the frame somewhere, so if it turns up stolen it’s easier to prove/legitimate sellers won’t buy it off thieves. Don’t know how well it works personally.
As far as I know all bikes have these. The number is definite proof of ownership, but can of course just be removed by the perpetrator (if they bother).
I was wondering if it was kinda like bullets (don’t bullets have serial numbers engraved on them? I suppose they do, but I am not sure if it really matters?) or like car parts. But I will say that for a lot of stolen electronics I’ve seen and heard about - individual indentifiers didn’t ever seem to mean much ultimately.
I crashed a friend’s house one night, and I woke up and $50 was missing out of my wallet.
I asked my friend, who I knew had stolen it, “how can $50 disappear from my wallet overnight?” and he looked me dead in the eye and said:
“I don’t know man. It’s a mystery.”
We aren’t friends anymore.
I wonder if your friend was an addict, an asshole, compulsive, or some combination of the set?
He was a pothead selfish asshole, thought working was beneath him.
Wanted a half ounce of weed more than he wanted my friendship.
I don’t like people floating weed as this innocuous thing. I’ve met some really shitty potheads. But I also know that I’ve more than likely met a bunch of grounded regular smokers too. I don’t think people should go to jail for it, but I def think it brings out some really awful characteristics in some folks. But that’s just me. I mean when it’s legal (cause it most def will be her cross-country at some point) I think people will start talking about it the same way they talk about alcohol. Because some folks will drown themselves in it. But also hopefully at that time, we might also start addressing our horrendous food situation too. Shrugs.
Or all be dead from global warming. Eh.
But yeah, fuck that dude.
I’ve got nothing against weed. Like I have indulged recreationally myself a time or two, and honestly other than the occasional giggles I don’t really see the appeal.
I think it affects everybody differently, for me it’s just usually too heavy and too strong to indulge in other than every once in awhile.
Oh for sure it affects everyone differently. And I know different strains for different things. I sort of forgot, but I tried a slew again like five years into my pain period. Just to try to figure out if I could fix stuff with it. Hilariously it always seemed to make my pain worse, so it’s probably outright just not for me. Shrooms? My jam. Weed. Eh.
I have just seen people basically neglect themselves, let alone others who depend on them - all in the name of weed. So ultimately I don’t care too much for it as a whole.
Awww bizzaroland. I hope you got some better friends.
That’s a scene from Trailer Park Boys.
“Ray, you didn’t see $60 lying around, did ya bud?”
“Sixty bucks? What, like twenties or something?”
Ah, I totally didn’t get this first go round because my brains were trying to put together how a->b. But I get it now, and it also kinda reminds me of this goofabout.
“What’s the deal with those machines, dad, you win any money or what?”
“Not too bad buddy, up about 60 bucks.”
The value of my labor, daily.
The nominal “cost” of my healthcare, at every encounter.
Etc.
Yeah, that’s true. I once read an essay by a dyke who was a construction worker and wondered what life would be like if people just did the work they were interested in and everyone got paid a flat rate. I’m not sure it would work, but it is something to think on.
My first ebike was stolen, about a week after I’d put it together. I was looking forward to zipping around my city with it. What really sucked is that I had bought it before getting laid off, and was looking forward to zipping around the city for fun while I looked for a new job. Luckily, I did find something new after 6 months and could eventually buy a new one.
That super sucks, especially the timing. I’m sorry. I hope you’re in a better place now?
I am, thank you! It’s pretty common in my city, the police took one look at the surveillance footage and shrugged it off. I hope the thief got a decent amount for it.
The new ebike was my first big purchase after getting the new job, and it’s a ton of fun. :)
It’s those small victories right? Hahaha! Thanks for putting a smile on my face =)!
p.s. - Cameras are so worthless more times than not. I was going to say most, but I do think a camera helped catch that messed up guy who killed those kids in Michigan (was it Michigan? The dorm kids). Either way, most times in my own experience cameras are worthless.
For me, it was a punk ass who would steal stuff and call me his friend. Although I don’t really care (only in that indignant small child way), I did tell my partner just the other day that “I bet you his ass is in jail.” Well he is, in fact, he’s actually in prison for murder. So yeah, that was a thing.
I’m tempted to make an alt for this but whatever let’s go. Years ago when I was 14 or 15 I had an older online boyfriend buy me a vibrator. Never really got to use it as I was too inexperienced.
I had stashed it under my bed in a bag for a portable DVD player. Anyway I come home from school one day and the manual for the DVD player in sitting on my bed. I check, the bag is gone.
Nothing else of value is gone but 2 aa batteries from my Xbox controller and only one of two from the family remote. The vibrator used 3 batteries. So some freak stole my vibrator with plans of using it.
Sounds like your brother did this
He was in prison at the time.
Hookers stole my butt-plugs. Not actually hookers, but my younger gay ass siblings. And I didn’t find out until much later. But I straight up told them that was fucking disgusting. Then we let it go like the song. But no!!!
Some people are literally so fkin trifflingiagsnakshfask!!!
Ugh. I gotta like…clear the air. Burn some sage or something, for the both of us!
*p.s. - I def read your name not once, not twice, but three times as Florida Man =)
When I was first on my own, I was living paycheck to paycheck and only ate ramen and oatmeal at home because I couldn’t afford decent meals.
The first Christmas when I could finally afford to buy presents for friends at work, I went shopping and carefully picked a gift for each person. Nothing fancy as I was still on a tight budget, but things I thought each person would enjoy. Then I splurged and bought gift bags and decorative tissue paper.
I left them all in the back seat of my piece of shit car to bring to work the next day. I figured it would be safe in the garage in a gated apartment complex. Someone broke into my car and stole it all.
They left fingerprints on my window, so I thought the police could track them down like on TV, but the police couldn’t care less. It really deflated me.
but the police couldn’t care less.
The police protect property, not people. Your property was just too insignificant for them to care about.
If you have a net worth in the many dozens of millions at minimum, they respond much better to even tiny incidents like that.
I think they protect certain people. I also think there are some good cops out there. People state outright that all cops are bad cops if they are part of an institution of evil. But I mean…my existence whether I like it or not is fueling harm in other locations. And I am still buying in, soooooo.
I only say this because I have legitimately met good cops and bad cops. But I also know bad cops are fucking brutal to minorities (and sometimes even to majorities). And they are firm believers in guilty until proven innocent. But they don’t fuck with a lot of shit, and have most def been terrifyingly atagonistic in some situations of my life and radically aloof in others (like say, a child being raped). So yeah. It’s just something I sit around and “huh” at because I am not sure what else to do.
I will also say that crime in Seattle where they shooed out the cops went up ten fold. But that cops in Seattle are racist pigs. So…eh? But shout out to that one cool cop I saw in Tacoma who was trying his best to just be a human!
Yes, every workday the owner of company i work in steal from me.
Yes, someone stole a game console from my room in university. Then I caught them selling it on craigslist, contacted them, got their name and got them arrested and my console back.
Lucky for me that I had reported it to the police since I was considering using insurance to cover it. The officer that took the info recognised the persons name because he had pulled the guy over that week and thought it would be fun to catch him with stolen goods as well.
It’s funny to me that there’s someone out there probably claiming that there’s a cop with a vendetta against him.
I mean, it’s really easy to see with blinders. But everyone wants to be the hero of their own story, right? I will say the more desperate a person gets, the crappier their behavior becomes. But that if they were caught speeding prior to, they might have some kinda disorder or illness that is going undiagnosed/untreated which would turn around if they had the support needed.
But life has a pretty set timeline, rules and regulations and people who do not fit into the pegs are seen as “bad” and will slowly degrade overtime until they become the degenerates life always figured they were. (But really this is a generalization and some people really are born more chaotic than others.) I guess more so I am just saying sometimes the world is really against people even if they’re being indulgent in their thought. Because in general, I believe the world is against most people. Even if you’ve got a sliver of pie. So, eh it is what it is.
I always think it’s kinda funny when people turn things right around and try to sell someone’s things right after stealing them. It’s a sure fire way to get caught. But I do have a little wonder in my head about the whole thing like. When you get desperate for cash you start just selling things. Anything. Everything you’ve got. But what happens when that runs out, and you’re still in an unsustainable place? Idk. Whole situation is booty either way =X!
And tbh, it takes a real dummy to target anything higher-education based if this is like…past 2010. Cause there are cameras evuh-ree-whereeee! And typically these kids have money, and cops will protect money =P!
Growing up our house would get robbed often. I’d say yearly. Since I was interested in electronics they would always steal my stuff. I’d get a computer and it would get stolen. I’d get a playstation and it would get stolen. I’d get an air rifle and it would get stolen. I used to wish that they would take my sisters dollhouse or books just to even the score.
The worst part was they would trash my room every time. They would break open my cupboards and draws throw my clothes on the floor. One time they stole my playstation and gba and smashed my TV. I didn’t even live in a bad area. I lived in the poor part of a nice area. My theory was that people would come from poorer suburbs and since we didn’t have a massive wall, gate and security system we got targeted.
Counter craziness - have you ever thought it might be younger richer kids from your area? Cause my girlfriend got shit kicked all the time for being the “poorer” person in a stinkingly rich area. And I think some rich kids are outright psychos. Either way, it sounds fucked. Did you guys end up moving ever? Or like…getting a dog. Cause dogs get thieves to fuck off.
*** Dogs got thieves to fuck off. Idk if they do anymore.
**** p.p.s. - Knew one other person who’s ma (single parent) went from a nurse of some sort to a lawyer and they leveled up like crazy income-wise. But they were also targeted because of their social standing and their whole life fell apart. They are most def not doing well, even now.
That sounds horrible, literally couldn’t own anything nice without it getting stolen and your personal space getting trashed…
It did suck and we were to poor to replace the items but at the time it wasn’t to bad because I’d just go play outside or go to a friends house after school and play on their computer or playstation.
It would be way worse today where everything is online. If someone took my computer away for a year it would heavily impact my social life.
dude no shit that sucks
I’ve had my bike(s) stolen a few times.
It really sucks since usually I’m expecting to be able to bike somewhere (much faster than driving or public transport in my city) and can’t so I end up being late to whatever I was going to. Not to mention the whole process of buying a new bike, a new lock, new lights, etc.
I’m pretty fortunate in that it doesn’t ruin me financially to buy a new $400 Craigslist bike plus $100 in accessories but I would rather not do it every ~2 yrs or so
I’ve heard some people say that they feel violated because someone took their personal stuff, but I guess I just see it as the cost of locking your bike up in public in the city.
Back when I was working with addicts, they’d always peel up and show me their new bikes. Talk about how cheap they got them or what not. And tbh, as far as I know - these people legitimately “bought” them off of others. As in, they weren’t the ones who stole the bikes, but they were so happy for the deal. I can say none of them ever seemed to be remorseful about others, and I mean in that sense I get it. Cause if your life is shit, little wins feel like big victories.
But I also think theft sucks, people don’t even understand how expensive these things can be and they ride them into the ground or get rolled and the next asshole does. Or the asshole after that. Maybe the secret is that there needs to be a way to get the homeless more mobility so they don’t steal from others. Idk. But I can say it probably all stems from the fact that when you’re on the streets you’re allowed to keep stuff but nothing is ever secure. So they go by them rules for everything. Like, I knew this one wonderful guy who just kept everything in a suitcase, and would roll it everywhere. But one day his suitcase was gone, he looked fucking misreable, and he had to start over cause someone ran off with it one night. So you know, it is what it is - but what it is does fucking suck.
Living with a friend, in the first place after moving out of our parents places. He smoked weed but that didn’t bother me. However, one night he invited in the local weed dealer and I was really concerned but he assured me it was ok.
We both worked at the same company, so came home at the same time a day or so later to find the front door was open. They smashed the small decorative window which allowed them to reach in and unlock and open the door.
I can’t remember what they stole from my friend but I lost my GameCube, controllers and all the games. Also, my first portable minidisc player and a pair of cheap earphones I used with them which I absolutely loved. The wire was like string and rarely tangled.
I had a few imported US games and I thought they might give me the edge. I rang all the local game shops to see if anyone had tried to bulk sell the lot but I was unlucky.
Ugh, I am sorry. Especially on those imports, that must have cost an arm and a leg. I talked about a friend who lost everything to a drug-dealer’s crappy behaviors. I also know someone who was dating someone who invited a random person from the streets to come hang with them and then all of a sudden they were freebasing in their living room. I think they’re pretty lucky that things didn’t go down like this down the road. Cause sketchy people do sketchy things =/
Sorry again =/
When I started University, I used part of my small savings to buy a very nice bicycle so I could get around between uni districts.
When I moved into a shared student apartment, there was a locked bicycle room in the basement. Only resident keys would fit that lock. Nonetheless I still locked my bike separately.
The one day I forgot to do that, my bike was no longer there the next day. It pissed me off immensely because I couldn’t immediately afford a new one, and the theft really made me uncomfortable. Mostly the fact that it must have involved someone who lived in the same block.
I bet you it’s someone who has always gotten what they want over a person in dire need (which is what I first like to think of). It’s probably someone who still does not know the meaning of the word no, even if they’ve heard it a hundred times. Puck dem!
I stole some beers at a party once. A friend and I weren’t feeling the vibe, took a few bottles and went somewhere else. I feel bad about it, he was a good dude and didn’t deserve that.
I got trashed at my 23rd birthday party a friend threw at her house. It was mostly people she knew, but as I was passed out someone stole my wallet.
My brother stole quite a bit from me during the height of his addiction. He’s been clean for several years now though. I’m glad I’ve got him back.
Oh, and in elementary school when they were at the height of their popularity I had one of my holographic Charizards stolen. Dunno who took it, someone had a come up.
Recent story but not me. A friend of mine just had his car stolen two days ago. He was going to bed around midnight and heard something outside, so he looked out the window just in time to see his vehicle rounding the corner on the street.
He phoned the RCMP who managed to catch the guy a few miles down the road. The thief had ripped the Sirius radio out of the vehicle but otherwise there didn’t seem to be any damage. My friend and his mom had picked up the vehicle the next morning and was driving home when they heard a loud “pop” and the vehicle caught fire, burning to the ground. (My guess is when the guy ripped out the radio some wires got damaged and shorted out.)
So now he’s scrambling to find a new set of wheels that he can’t really afford to do because he needs it to get back and forth from work which is 16 miles one way. He will eventually get some insurance money for the vehicle, but who knows how much, and that probably won’t be for a little while. In the meantime he’s kind of up the creek without a paddle.
Getting a new car in a pinch is ass. Just pure ass. I think he can get a rental for now, but make sure he makes them move on it because otherwise he’ll be ass-out on all of this. We had to deal with something similar recently, and it just was 100% booty. Used cars suck unebelievably right now too. If he knows someone with an older car who’s looking to upgrade it might actually cost less to just buy it off the person than grab one from a dealer. But really, it’s all just one giant ass-sandwich. Ugh.
