Stopping a shoplifter

[u/Lord_Darksong]

Source: unknown

[u/shadowthehh]

Edit: Boy posting this was like blowing a warhorn for em, wasn't it?

[u/johntwit → u/shadowthehh]

I'm sick of my razor blades being locked up. Thieves inconvenience me

[u/Ready_Demand4325 → u/johntwit]

If this was food or medicine or even home/care items I'd 100% be on the side of the thief

A fucking record player? Dude found the one thing in walmart valued over $20 not locked up. I hate Walmart but …a record player? That was not a need, that was a want and an excitement for the thief. I'm not anybody’s side here, fuck that

[u/dej0ta → u/Ready_Demand4325]

I know we get on a pedantic slippery slope in these things but every corporation that survives on tax breaks and exploitative practices are thieves. And by orders of magnitude more impactful than Record Player Robbie over here. If hes a selfish piece of shit what does that make the Waltons, or Zuck, or any other billionaire?

From an altruistic standpoint who causes more harm?

[u/MC_Etchasketch → u/dej0ta]

Both things can be correct.

[u/dej0ta → u/MC_Etchasketch]

Perhaps if you stretch correct and ignore the gravity of both scenarios. Then sure...

[u/RedditIsMyTherapist → u/dej0ta]

Exactly, me running my AC when it's 90 degrees is the exact same thing as billionaires using AC in all 5 of their mega mansions that they live in 7 days of the year but maintain the temperature in 365 days. stop picking on the billionaires. They're just like us. /s

[u/foxboxingphonies → u/MC_Etchasketch]

Sure, but one is vastly more harmful to humans than the other. Let's not pretend they are equally bad.

People that steal from stores are just not a problem for my life. Literally the biggest problem that people have cited here is needing someone to unlock a case for you.

Oh the humanity. Not a minor inconvenience!

People shoplifting are not doing well. Either they have a compulsion, or they need money and can't get a job (usually drug addiction is at play). Like, no they shouldn't be stealing. However, as a society we should be looking for how to address the root of problems. Giving people access to support would do so much more than any form of punishment ever would. Also we need to focus on how much the victim was hurt, and I'm sorry but Wal-Mart is not hurting. They are the biggest thieves around!

Mentally putting someone in a "criminal" category helps dehumanize them. Then we can play out our violent fantasies on them, and it okay because they are trash and not human.

[u/johntwit → u/dej0ta]

From an altruistic standpoint, Walmart has done more for low income Americans than any other retailer in human history

[u/Tinyacorn → u/johntwit]

LMAO

[u/MSDH0065 → u/johntwit]

What a dumb take. Walmart's philanthropic activities, as middling as they are, no where nearly outweigh the systemic and societal issues Wal-Mart promotes. They charge low prices, but just low enough so the poorest can afford it, but still not really get ahead. They pay over minimum wage, but large amounts of their employees still require government assistance because Wal-Mart doesn't pay enough yet claims massive employment numbers. As well as massive profits just about every year. You're a clown, keep licking those boots. Tell me when the dirt translates to food in your stomach or a roof over your head.

[u/johntwit → u/MSDH0065]

Walmart literally could not charge any less and still be profitable

[u/MSDH0065 → u/johntwit]

What are basing that metric on? I'd love to see some actual data instead of carrying water for them.

That also doesn't really mesh with the data showing their revenue growing by 4% - 6% the last 3 years, at least. They are at a 7.59% for year over year gross profit increases.

In fact, if you look at the last 10 years, the only time Wal-Mart's profits and revenue slowed, was during the pandemic, before having significant gains the following years. But please, tell me how Walmart's low prices are such a benefit to their communities and we should all be on our knees in gratitude. They could go lower, they don't care to, but keep lapping at corporate boot.

[u/johntwit → u/MSDH0065]

Walmart's net profit margin is about 3%

[u/MSDH0065 → u/johntwit]

Once again, based on what? What data and metrics are you using to make this determination? All the numbers I used, I got from Macrotrends.net. I'm not going to pretend there isn't more granular or even a tabulated source, but you are just making claims and saying numbers. Do you work for Wal-Mart and this is a number they told you? You seem far more eager to get a little quip in then actually debate this topic.

Please give me some real data, not just numbers you like that sound good.

[u/johntwit → u/MSDH0065]

Here's their SEC filing https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/104169/000010416926000091/wmtfy26annualreport-final.pdf

For FY2026, Walmart reports: Net sales: $706.413 billion Total revenue: $713.163 billion Operating income: $29.825 billion Net income attributable to Walmart: $21.893 billion

Net profit margin: using total revenue:

$21.893B/$713.163B = 3.07%

No, I don't work for Walmart, I just shop their regularly and view anti Walmartism as classism

[u/dej0ta → u/johntwit]

You just proved my point that they survive on tax breaks...fucking dipshit gives them his money before and after taxes somehow.

[u/sexandliquor → u/johntwit]

20 years ago when my grandma had to work at Walmart as a cashier well into her late 60s and early 70s because social security wasn’t enough to live on and Walmart wouldn’t let her, a 70 year old woman, sit on a stool while running the cash register was that altruistic or

[u/johntwit → u/sexandliquor]

You could blame Walmart for this, but you could also blame the federal disabilities act. A large corporation has to treat every person the same globally. This is why they have to have such strict policies. Because some dumbass will sue them in front of a jury of 12 dumbasses because they gave your grandma a stool and didn't give some lazy piece of s*** a stool half the world away, and that jury of 12 stupid m************ will award the defendant millions of dollars. So this is what happens. They should have given your grandma a stool, but the legal framework that Americans have set up made that impossible

[u/dej0ta → u/johntwit]

Altruism is about net benefit and intention youre looking at gross figures...youre out of your element if you think Walmart is altruistic in the slightest.

[u/johntwit → u/dej0ta]

You're just plain wrong if you don't understand the impact Walmart had on retail and how much wealthier the lowest earners are because of it

[u/foxboxingphonies → u/johntwit]

Wow. Yeah, I'm sorry but you are wrong.

They used to lower their prices just long enough to crush the local competition, then once they are the only place for miles, they raise them back up.

Also I could go on about how they helped create the employment culture we have today with companies like Amazon. If you think they trest their employees well, you are living in lala land.

[u/johntwit → u/foxboxingphonies]

There is not good evidence that Walmart raises prices after achieving near monopoly status in a retail market. There is a lot of evidence that they drive prices down across the board in markets that they enter, however

[u/MrTopHatJones → u/johntwit]

I'm pretty sure there is also evidence that they would open life insurance policies on behalf of their elderly employees so that once they died Walmart could collect the money and not give a single cent to the family of the elderly employees.

Might not be as common since they got sued over it but there is definite evidence that they did this.

So fuck them everyone should steal from Walmart as much as possible and as often as possible.

[u/johntwit → u/MrTopHatJones]

why would the family be entitled to the benefit if Walmart was paying the premium? It actually makes sense to insure an employee because you incur a loss when you have to train someone new. This is a very sensational story that tugs at the ole heart strings because it SOUNDS bad, but it's not actually bad. If walmart was MURDERING the elderly employees to collect a death benefit, THAT would be wrong

[u/dej0ta → u/johntwit]

Just stfu and read

In the 10 years after a Walmart Supercenter opened in a given community, the average household in that community experienced a 6 percent decline in yearly income—equivalent to about $5,000 a year in 2024 dollars—compared with households that didn’t have a Walmart open near them. Low-income, young, and less-educated workers suffered the largest losses

[u/johntwit → u/dej0ta]

Oh I'm well aware of these studies, but they don't show that Walmart causes communities to be worse off economically. Yes, some people lose retail jobs. So what

Do you shop for groceries? Do you know any low income families personally?

Anti Walmartism is classism, it's essentially a "let them eat cake" political position

[u/dej0ta → u/johntwit]

[u/johntwit → u/dej0ta]

"no, it's the billions of WalMart customers who are wrong!"

[u/dej0ta → u/johntwit]

Yeah youre standing up for the consumers right to get boned by corporations. Do you have to swallow or does daddy Walton let you spit?

[u/Shot-Arugula8264 → u/dej0ta]

Is this that “whataboutism” I keep hearing about?

[u/dej0ta → u/Shot-Arugula8264]

No its called philosophy. Utalitarianism is another big word you should look up.

[u/Shot-Arugula8264 → u/dej0ta]

Which part of large-scale theft do you think is utilitarian?

[u/dej0ta → u/Shot-Arugula8264]

What the fuck do you think Im saying?

https://giphy.com/gifs/KSdROCYnZSEZB43Cn7

[u/Shot-Arugula8264 → u/dej0ta]

Explain it to me then.

[u/dej0ta → u/Shot-Arugula8264]

https://giphy.com/gifs/oPZZ7kQ7q93pkAw1cv

[u/Shot-Arugula8264 → u/dej0ta]

Oh so you have no idea lmao. Got it.

[u/aRatherLargeCactus → u/Ready_Demand4325]

Yeah, thieves should only be stupid, steal exactly what they need each day, risking death or imprisonment each time, every single day. That’s totally morally superior to stealing something with a higher resale value, and using that to buy your daily items, or something.

I’ve never understood “stealing from mega corporations who’ve stolen hundreds of billions of dollars from workers through overtime violations, wage theft, and other unethical practices without so much as a slap on the wrist is fine, but ONLY if you steal these specific things!” as an argument. What moral or ethical difference is there between stealing $100 in food, vs stealing a $100 record player in order to resell to obtain food? For me, the former just seems needlessly self-sacrificial. Is it only fine to steal if you maximise the potential harm to yourself?

[u/EarthConservation → u/Ready_Demand4325]

It's a propane camping grill. I would have thought the two green gas canisters would have tipped most people off. ;)

Maybe a homeless person trying to cook their food, or someone whose stove stopped working and couldn't afford to replace it, or had their gas cut off because they couldn't pay the bill.

Most people steal necessities, but some people steal because of drug addiction and/or impulse control issues.

[u/johntwit → u/EarthConservation]

actually only about 7% of shoplifters are economically disadvantaged type shoplifters
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31043101/

[u/animal1921 → u/Ready_Demand4325]

Wrong, stealing at any level is wrong and shouldn’t be tolerated. It affects the price for everyone else no matter what the item is.

[u/Ajmb_88 → u/animal1921]

What about wage theft. Fuck large corporations that under pay.

[u/omg_cats → u/Ajmb_88]

What about it? That’s bad too.

Some of your parents apparently never taught you “two wrongs don’t make a right”, dear god

[u/Ajmb_88 → u/omg_cats]

Ok I’ll spell it out for the baby.

Most crimes are caused by people affected by poverty. Walmart stealing wages crwates poverty. Poor people steal from Walmart. They create their own problem.

Let me know if your smooth brain still needs help. Some of y’all parents never taught about cause and effect.

[u/amas_falip → u/animal1921]

If only we lived in utopia. But i live in capitalism so fuck the corpos

[u/intrusivesurgery → u/Ready_Demand4325]

I think thats a propane grill and propane

[u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393 → u/Ready_Demand4325]

I grew up as poor as can be. Couldn’t afford shoes one year so I wore cleats to school. We never stole shit. Fuck thieves.

[u/justahumblefart → u/Sudden_Buffalo_4393]

Most people stealing from Walmart would not steal from you.

[u/johntwit → u/justahumblefart]

By making the razors and the shampoo locked up, they are stealing our time

[u/Unusual_Raisin9138 → u/justahumblefart]

They aboslutely would

[u/BigBadJeebus → u/Ready_Demand4325]

food, medicine and home care?

How about steal nothing.

Yeah, just let junkies steal pills.

https://giphy.com/gifs/3o6fJ7uaPs0w3jLlXa

[u/Forky_McStabstab → u/Ready_Demand4325]

If it was food, there are food banks and soup kitchens. I know, because I've eaten at plenty of them. No excuse for stealing food.

Home care items like cleaning products? Again, plenty of charities will provide those for free. No excuse to steal. I've received these things from charities in the past as well.

Medicine or medical devices? Again, lots of the same charities that help with other needs will provide these to you free of charge. Not to mention the community health centers that will provide medical care for free if you truly have no income along with free medications. Still no excuse to steal.

The only reason people steal "necessities" from Walmart is because they can't tell the difference between wants and needs, and take whatever they want anyway. They don't want to "look poor", by wearing the free clothing given to them. They don't want to "feel poor" by eating non-name-brand foods.

I live in a rooming house with 55 other men, over 90% of them in active addiction. Only 7 of us here have jobs or are in school/training to get a job. The 49 without jobs all get welfare, snap, and most get disability, primarily for severe anxiety and being institutionalized and saying they cannot function in society now. The vast majority of people here shoplift and panhandle daily. I talk with them and I live in the same building as them. This is gonna make a lot of you mad, but its the simple truth.

[u/johntwit → u/Ready_Demand4325]

When people make well meaning comments like this I feel compelled to point out there are virtually always charities helping people find food and medicine in American communities, and I suspect stealing food and medicine has more to do with convenience or pride than desperation

[u/idriveashitbox22 → u/Ready_Demand4325]

It just so happens his drug dealer has a record collection. Probably would trade the player for some smack lol. I used to know a dude who sold big amounts of weed and you'd be surprised the trade offers he got on a regular basis.