i've been debating whether or not to push publish on this post for some time now. worried about how it might be perceived. worried i might be beating a dead dog on this subject. but i decided this morning on my way to work it needed to be said. so here goes...
two weeks ago our lives were thrown through the loop with back to back thefts. kris' shoes, hat, wallet, and keys, plus two of my favorite purses, and my wallet. all gone. at first it doesn't sound bad right? oh a pair of shoes, yeah your credit cards, but you can cancel those. they got some charges through before you shut it off, but hey at least the bank will refund you! at least you had insurance! here's what the insurance won't refund: the cost of new mail keys, the cost of a new elevator fob, the cost of essentially gutting my vespa because they can't just cut a new key {yeah, $800 later}, our feeling of security, the anger i have in my heart now every time i see a sovereign flag, this is all just the start.
why do people steal? i have never come across it more in my life than in hawaii. for $20 worth of stuff, you're going to cause a headache for someone else. you're going to run through their savings and then some, and not even see a single penny of that to profit from. sure, you'll pawn a bag or two, maybe get some cash, but you'll probably throw away the keys, because the address on their license is out dated. you didn't snag any house keys, and the odds of you finding the building the elevator matches up to are incredibly small, so what do you care about some boring looking keys? while those same keys, that you could have just left there to begin with, will now cost me the remnants of the next two paychecks after bills.
enough of my venting, because truthfully, i never set out to make this post about stealing. because it's not just stealing. it's not thinking. and ultimately it's not caring. not thinking about how your actions will affect others. and not caring about them as people. we all do it, to one extent or another. i have been catching myself more and more being hypocritical and i know i need to stop. i'm mean, and judgmental. i assume things i shouldn't. and that's wrong!
my purpose for this post wasn't to put out the guilt trip on anyone, but simply to ask you to think. before you act, before you speak, before you stop caring about others. this post has been nothing really but vomit and i apologize, but i wanted to share with you all what has been weighing in on my heart lately.
you can have the soapbox back now.
I'm so sorry you've been dealing with this. Even back in 1985-86 when we lived there we had to deal with theft fairly often (I was just a kid, so I didn't fully understand it). It's interesting to me how much petty crime occurs in Honolulu, and even other parts of the island...like you said, the people who steal don't really get much gain from it - except it's probably drugs, so any money they can get their hands on is fine with them. It's really unfortunate.
ReplyDeleteStay safe!