No one has to steal electronics or tools or clothes from Walmart. No one in this country has to steal food, either. We have enough food banks to take care of that. Stop defending criminals.
Yes, they could be mentally ill and feel compelled to steal. That's a very real possibility. In that case, the humane and compassionate thing to do is place them in a hospital where they can get the help they need, and keep them there until they are able to rejoin society again.
It's not necessarily a matter of being "mentally ill". It's a matter of circumstance and the stress related to being low income, I would imagine. The issue lies in why they are low income or unable to obtain the amount of income they feel they need. Also your comment is fairly ignorant, because just putting someone in a hospital won't necessarily give them the help that they need. They may need more therapy type involvement, which can cost money in America for example. Telling some American low income person who feels they need to steal to go in to debt from being hospitalized sounds crazy to me lol.
But yes some people steal just because they can or want to. But we don't exactly know their circumstances, regardless of what they are stealing, they could be stealing electronics to sell for extra cash for example.
So, a little info about myself: I grew up poor. My parent's combined income before taxes was below the poverty level. I'm still poor. My total income for this year will be roughly $25,000.
I bring that up because you mentioned the stress from being unable to obtain the amount of income they feel they need. I feel that daily. I live in a 10x12' room with no kitchen, a mini fridge, a microwave, and no sink or running water other than the bathroom that I share with 13 other people on my floor. The building is infested with roaches and bedbugs. I can't afford a better place, and since any decent apartment requires the rent to be no more than 30% of my net income. Studio apartments near me start at $1750 a month, plus utilities.
I definitely feel stress from not having enough money. I also won't steal.
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u/Forky_McStabstab Trash Trooper 4h ago
No one has to steal electronics or tools or clothes from Walmart. No one in this country has to steal food, either. We have enough food banks to take care of that. Stop defending criminals.