Did you see someone shoplifting? No you fucking didn’t, narc.
EDIT: Okay, so just grabbing a top level comment to dispell some misinfo.
Stealing baby formula to onsell online does happen: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/05/02/magazine/money-issue-baby-formula-crime-ring.html
Parents stealing baby formula out of desperation also happens: https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/the-desperate-reality-of-stealing-baby-formula-because-you-cant-afford-it_uk_64635704e4b09eef8308cfc6
The problem here is that baby formula is something people need to feed their babies, and our society has decided that if you don’t have enough made up arbitrary tokens, you don’t get to feed your baby.
If I don’t know 100% that the person I saw stealing baby formula is doing it as part of a crime ring, then I’m not going to ruin a parent’s life because they did what they needed to feed their baby. Even then if the crime ring is selling it at a discount then I don’t particularly care to stop them either.
If you want to tell people that shoplifting is such a problem and you want to focus on the crime rings and ignore the poor people, your priorities are messed up. Also none of you know how to source your claims. Also, don’t start with some BS about how nobody ever does it to feed their baby, that’s just false.
In conclusion:
Did you see someone shoplifting? No you fucking didn’t, narc.
I absolutely did, and I’m taking mental notes on their technique to improve my own.
There’s no shame in stealing from a publically traded conglomerate, they used the money from exploiting you and those like you to lobby to steal more from you and destroy the commons they tear up with their supply chains but didn’t want to pay taxes to repair and maintain, and destroy public education they also don’t want to fund despite enjoying and taking for granted the pre-literate workforce they have access to that they directly profit from. Stealing from them is just revenge.
They’ve stolen more from us than we can ever hope to steal back, including the temperate climate of our only habitat in their insatiable, blind, reckless, gluttonous, antisocial, sociopathic need for ever moooaaaar.
Ah, thanks ! I was feeling a tad moderate today for some reason.
Radicalize the moderates ! Burn the mosque ! (It’s from a movie, don’t hit me)
No one shoplifts formula to feed their own baby, they steal it to literally scalp it to those who actually do need it, at a fat markup, after conveniently draining the store’s supply so they’re the only source.
They’re not Robin Hoods sticking it to the Big Bad Corporation. They’re profiteering scumbags.
I’ve seen stolen wares and goods being sold on street many times before. They arent scalped as that implies charging more than the retail price, they’re sold for significantly less than the retailer, often at a fraction.
And just because they sold baby formula, doesn’t mean they don’t need to sell it to buy food and gas.
I will side with the have nots doing what they can get away with to survive over the Alice Waltons choosing to live like modern Pharoahs on our backs and never being satisfied with their immoral dragon hoards every time. The owners have bred this desperation, and bribe our captured government to maintain it in perpetuity for their exclusive benefit. Look to the nordic countries, this isn’t how we have to live, scraping and subsisting, it’s how our owner class demands it be so they can run up their ego scores, competing with one another while seeing us as subhuman batteries for that sociopathic game.
They’re rolling back prices! Better than nothing for damn sure
Bold assumption that no one shoplifts baby formula to use it
There will be people who are desperate enough to do so (I’ve even known a few)
The amount of people I’ve known who have stolen food for themselves or their kids is more than those who haven’t
Edit: spelling
Yeah, so many people in here are saying nobody ever does this and everybody who is stealing is just re-selling the goods but I don’t see anybody actually substantiating that. But like, it can’t be right, can it? Surely some larceny is done for personal use. And even then, most cases of theft aren’t documented because when someone gets away with stealing some expensive necessity they don’t tell the cops.
It’s got this “nuh-uh, everybody knows dogs can’t look up” energy. Like if it’s so obvious, how? What are they talking about?
I bet its people trying to justify their veneration of the law, a major issue I’ve seen on the Internet in recent years. Most people shoplift for thrills (iirc), then it’s desperation. And even if someone steals to resell, they literally can’t do a mark up outside of specific, terrible, circumstances since the store (and hundreds of stores just like it) are right there.
Yeah plus just the logistics of trying to shoplift enough product to make enough money to justify going to the trouble of sellng food on a street corner sounds so absurd. Like how do you do that without getting caught all the time? You would need to be shifting volume.
And when you get this kind of recurrent misinfo I assume it’s a story that gets passed around somewhere, like some reactionary commentators are repeating it to their audiences or something.
Seriously?
No one shoplifts formula to feed their own baby
No one ever does this? It has never happened? Now obviously that’s not true but let’s be kind and say that you’re exaggerating and you mean it’s just rare.
If this is true, can you explain how you know it?
Edit: the first piece of bullshit was so egregious it distracted me from the existential horror of unpacking the rest of the comment. This is a nightmare of miseducation.
No, this can’t just be an edit, this needs a whole new comment.
I just want to add that this comment makes the bizarre claim that a shoplifter drained the store’s supply so that they’re the only source. Now, even presuming this is literally the only store in town that sells baby formula, in which case there will be another town half an hour down the road, how did they get all of the baby formula out of the door? How do you shoplift the kind of volume you need for a scheme like this without getting caught?
And further, how in the everliving fuck do you sell it? You have to be visible enough to sell the formula, to people you’re ripping off, in a small town where the only grocery store just got all of its baby formula lifted. They’re going to fucking expose you.
This would be a scandal. It would be a news story. Please, give a link to a single time this has ever happened, because of all the things that never happened, this happened the least.
25 people thought this story was good enough to upvote. Where the shit are you getting this garbage? What the fuck is happening?
Edit: is there a “shit conservatives say” community? This is such rank bullshit I need somewhere to process it.
Holy naivete, my sweet summer child. This has nothing to do with conservatives. This is a well-known scheme that is problematic in many areas.
“Well-known scheme”?
So I must have something seriously wrong with my understanding of what’s being said here, because I made it pretty clear how absolutely balls to the wall insane it sounds. Just the concept falls apart the moment you think about it.
Maybe you can explain it? Or again, just show me where it’s happened, even one fucking time.
There’s really not much to it. I don’t understand why you’re so dumbfounded such a thing is possible. People steal or buy up formula. Those who steal it make a profit no matter what price they sell it at. Those who live in an area where it sells out have the ability to mark it up big time. Paying 10 extra bucks is better than driving hours away with the hope they have it in stock there. People will sell it on offerup, craigslist, facebook, etc. Search for “formula” offerup if you’re in the US and you’ll likely see it. This was especially a problem during Covid and we saw the same scheme extend to many other products. In 2022, there was a massive shortage for the better part of a year. Any that came around got bought up immediately - by some that were lucky enough to get it at the right time and the rest by scalpers. This is not a new thing and I find it surprising that you’re so surprised. I often see them locked up and purchase limits at the store because of this.
Huh.
Whelp, nothing to do but admit I was wrong about this.
This would be a scandal. It would be a news story. Please, give a link to a single time this has ever happened, because of all the things that never happened, this happened the least.
I’ll do you two better. Only took 15 seconds of Googling, after all:
https://abcnews.go.com/US/baby-formula-targeted-organized-retail-theft-rings/story?id=13293485 https://www.wate.com/news/knox-county-news/three-accused-of-stealing-12000-worth-of-baby-formula-from-across-knox-county/ https://www.newsflare.com/video/635785/thieves-steal-7k-of-baby-formula-from-supermarket-in-just-20-minutes
Time to find out if you’ll admit you’re wrong, or if the smug ignorance continues.
I have already looked up the information for myself and admitted I was wrong about the fact that the theft rings exist, it’s in this thread if you read just a couple of comments deeper. That’s not the only thing you said though.
As for your claim that “nobody” steals for their baby, which you didn’t reply about, that also took two seconds of searching to debunk:
Also, the idea that the theft is responsible for the store being out, or that they charge an enormous markup, are both still completely unsubstantiated.
This isn’t the cut and dried issue you seem to think it is, and I’m still definitely not about to ruin a parent’s life for stealing food because they might be part of some theft ring. I also am not going to narc on the theft ring. That’s not my business.
As for your claim that “nobody” steals for their baby
Congrats on contradicting the absolute literal interpretation of what was obviously hyperbole, I guess.
Cool, so glad you’re happy to erase the existence of the poor and desperate for the sake of what, exactly?
See, in this context, we were literally talking about people doing that, and they literally do that, so to say “nobody” does it is just a false claim.
If you weren’t trying to minimise the struggle of poor people, you fucked up, because that’s what your comment did.
Nice work trying to find an angle where you were only literally wrong and not in the privacy of your own head.
What about the rest of your claims, were they hyperbole as well, or something else? You’ve just dropped them.
Oooh yeah sorry I have face blindness, even if I saw the person again I’d never recognize them soooooooo sorryyyyyyyyyy
Or medication or hygiene products or toys or actually anything. The store is not paying me to care.
Ya frankly if they’re just taking corporations and not mom and pop shops I ain’t seeing anything.
Even if they paid me to care, I’d barely care
1 can, sure.
2 cans, maybe.
But when I see some asshole load up a cart and start booking it towards the nearest fire door? Yeah, I’m stopping you.
Someone once stole half a fucking oxen of meat and his excuse was “I need to feed my family”. My dude, is your family 50 people?
Remember that “feeding 50 people once” is the same as feeding 10 people 5 times. With a large family, that could be as little as a week of food.
Sure, but maybe my comment demanded some context. Beef is expensive compared to many other meats where I’m from and this person literally stole the most expensive cuts only, in amounts that came to huge sums. Their explanation made no sense, since there are far better things to steal if all you want to do is feed your family. He was caught with so much that it was unreal.
I wouldn’t have brought it up in this thread unless it was weird, because I do believe stealing food from the supermarket isn’t immoral if you truly need to do it to feed yourself. Not that I see it happen ever, y’know.
edit: made a clarification
We had a problem in my country a few years ago where large numbers of people would buy up a heap of baby formula so that they can resell it overseas at a massive profit. Enough that stores had to put caps on how many you’re allowed to buy, and local parents still frequently couldn’t get their hands on it.
They weren’t generally stealing, but if they were, you bet I’d report that. And if they were noticeably going back in to buy more than the limit.
Unless they lock that shit up behind a cabinet. I took this photo today and it almost made me cry.
What even is that exactly? I have never seen anything like that
I didn’t know what these were too. I only learned about these after having a kid.
After a woman gives birth, the exit where the baby comes out bleeds… Profusely… Usually for a few days, but could go for a few weeks. Something that regular pads can’t handle.
It’s basically an essential item that should be given out free to all mothers and it’s locked behind a glass case.
After a woman gives birth, the exit where the baby comes out bleeds
Vagina. It’s okay to say vagina, because that’s what it’s called.
Funny, I always called it “the grotto”
Like, even Depends adult diapers wouldn’t be sufficient for postpartum bleeding?
after my most violent birth, I just remember having the luxury of being at home for months and having access to the toilet all day 🤷🏻♀️
It was 17 years ago but the memories are coming back to me now, yeah it was pretty much like giving birth three more times with all the blood and god-knows-what-solid-bloody-tissue-chunks still coming out of me days after.
It was a murder scene each time my wife needed to freshen up.
I didn’t take the photo, but Target had the adult diapers locked up too.
Fucking hate this.
Freshen up
I can’t help picturing her excusing herself from the room daintily:
“Pardon me while I go freshen up.”
…Bloody murder scene ensues
In my experience, being a victim of crime makes people less empathetic and more likely to favor “tough on crime” bullshit policies. This is why California is seeing a rise in Conservatism and progressive DAs are getting voted out. Sadly the progressive DAs were never helped or supported by other arms of the state legislature that could have attempted to solve the root cause of the issues (hint it’s not that some people suck)
In America at least, the small business owners may or may not be a part of the problem, depending on whether they’re voting GOP. The big businesses are definitely the problem as they mindlessly favor shareholder loyalty instead of community loyalty.
Ideally you’d want voters to be empathetic to the plight of less fortunate, and vote for progressive change. That doesn’t help someone who is hungry now, so I suggest donating food items to the local bank or community for the short term help if you really want to help the poor, and voting progressive candidates into office for the long term help
In general all countries need to remodel towards market socialism, otherwise you’ll always have the national security dilemma for any kind of policy change
Nothing more American than spending more on incarceration than it cost to house and feed that same person.
Well, maybe denying one’s self healthcare on the off chance an emotionally unstable drug user gets the help they need.
I could not possibly give less fucks if someone steals from a name brand store. Little mom a pop shops, I might care a little bit, but any nationwide chain? Fuck them.
If I see someone stealing from someone else, I will definitely have fucks to give. But I’m not going to shed any tears if someone walks out of a Walmart with shit they didn’t pay for.
These fucks gouge us every chance they get. They raise prices mere days before a “sale” so they can slap a x% off sticker on something and sell it for full fucking price. I do not have any sympathy for them at all.
I fucking hate this take. It’s so middle school edgy it cuts my cringe receptors into pieces.
I get what you guys are trying to say but most people aren’t stealing to feed their babies or provide them with diapers. Most of the people are stealing so they can sell it on the streets. Where WIC and welfare can’t help pay for it.
I swear, have any of you been poor ever?
Meh.
Even if 90% of theft is greed and meant to be resold for profit, I’ll still ignore it for the 10% that are stealing out of extreme desperate necessity.
We live in a country that has 100 billionaires that are undeserved and unearned, arguably. You can become a Millionaire solely by making YouTube videos stuffing your face full of fast food and gaining 500lbs, as a freakshow that gets lots of likes/subscribes. All while public school teachers are on food stamps and infrastructure around the country is degrading and not being improved, etc., etc.
The system we have is trash. Obviously I don’t support stealing from the little guy, but theft from large corporations I’ll always support. Large corporations inherently steal from the poor, directly and indirectly. It’s inherent to our capitalist system.
I support the sentiment of the meme.
The people who are buying it off the street can’t afford it full price. So what is your point exactly?
Who cares? The point is, it’s NOT YOUR CONCERN.
No matter what to the rhetoric says, it will never ever impact you in any way.
Let people be. The world is a fucking disaster. Make it better by treating people respectfully and working to dismantle the horrible system that got us here.
I have been poor, yes! Have you ever been outside? Do you think there are diaper black markets? Do you think everyone stealing to make ends meet qualifies for WIC in the first place?
Hey, you guys think maybe the guy with the racist username isn’t an honest actor?
Racist? 🤣
Yes, die mad about it.
🤣😂😂😂🤭
You opinion is irrelevant, I know what makes you cheer.
You never wondered about that person at the flea market selling Tide and baby formula?
There absolutely is a “black market”.
Wait until they find out about people selling their food stamps 🤣
They use baby formula to cut coke and heroin lol
Have you ever had some bunk coke that was stepped on too much?
I grew up below the dirt poor, like oodles and noodles were a treat poor, with no adult supervision for a good portion of my childhood. My mom was on basically every government program that existed, that didn’t mean I got anything out of it. The only reason I survived was by people looking the other way as I fed myself.
As I got older I had no life skills whatsoever and couldn’t hold down a job, friends, or any sort of meaningful relationship. So again, dirt poor, a little better off than I was before because there were a few ways to make money. But still I only ever got food at a store, and probably would have starved if too many people said something, or had to do even worse stuff than I was to feed myself.
Hell even when I got myself together a bit and held down a shitty job for a while I still couldn’t afford to feed myself after the bills hit, it was even worse when I started making just enough to get kicked off state insurance and stamps.
There are a lot of people out here just trying to survive, they shouldn’t have to steal to eat but they do and in my eyes that’s a human right.
Side note: food stamps are a fucking joke. What they’re giving to a family of 4 wouldn’t feed a single person, from my experience at least.
I sympathize with this but your situation is very anecdotal and on the extreme end of the poor spectrum. Most of Americans in need of government assistance largely benefit from it.
The problem with the post is that it’s a point of view by way of ignorance. No one steals carts full of baby formula and diapers (mostly formula) to give away a la robin hood style. They do it to sell on the streets or to cut drugs with it. That’s just the facts.
Those people stealing carts to sell them on the street are a god send.
We had a guy in my old neighborhood who would come around once a week with various necessities that most people couldn’t afford otherwise. Sure he made decent money, but babies got fed, pantries got replenished, feminine products were given out if you bought stuff from him regularly.
That might seem grimey to you, but that’s fine.
I respect that. To me this is just a meme, and honestly I don’t think anything I say should be taken seriously. Which is also true for this comment.
If it helps, people are absolutely stealing food for themselves and their babies:
Of course they are. I’m not claiming they aren’t. I just respect their opinion. Other than that though, I believe society in general should be pro-people-feeding-themselves.
I don’t care why they steal. Let them do it. They aren’t robbing a mom and pa shop, because they don’t exist anymore. Stealing from capitalists isn’t a crime. It’s not even stealing, it’s taking back what they stole. It’s Your duty.
Who sells diapers on the streets? I don’t know where You live, but I’m not seeing many diaper dealers on the streets in my town.
I mentioned this the last time there was a “hur dur stealing is fine” thread, but I once watched two guys steal hundreds of pounds (currency, not weight) of meat from a supermarket. They obviously did this to sell it on, but many of the comments here were saying not to side with shareholders or that the store could handle the losses no problem.
Tell someone that is actually struggling about shoplifting, and many of them will say there are two minds to this: you’re either desperate or stupid. It’s clear as day when someone is desperate (i.e. stealing formula - frankly if they got caught I’d pay for it for them and would happily give them all of my newborn stuff that I no longer use for free), but it’s also really fucking obvious when someone is doing it to be a cunt.
I’ll be honest, if it’s a chain i’m really not gonna feel any sympathy even if the thief is being a cunt.
The stores violated the social contract first
The only time I’ve ever cared about someone shoplifting was when they stole from the store i was working at and, this is the important part here, tried to act like i was too stupid to get they were stealing. My dude, i don’t care if you are stealing, just walk out, i couldn’t stop you even if i cared, but please skip the stupid excuse making.
What? You aren’t allowed to stop a thieve? Its always interesting how laws are different in different countries. In Germany everyone is allowed to “temporarily arrest” a criminal, if he caughts him whole commuting a crime. This only gives you the right to stop a criminal u til police arrives.
I mean, same, but for different reasons than most of the people in this thread. Obviously if someone is stealing out of necessity, that’s understandable - but regardless of motive, I’m not going to speak up about theft in any case except maybe a mom-and-pop store where I both personally know and like the owners, because loss from theft is something that stores necessarily need to address and plan for in their own business model.
I’m not the store’s fucking employee, and if the store is expecting customers to pull double duty as security guards or lookouts, they’re fucking deluded. That’s not going to fix what is essentially a problem with the safeguards in place - if the ship is leaking, asking the passengers to bail water is a temporary and unreliable solution. This is a business transaction; I’m here to get and pay for the shit I need, not watch over the shit I don’t for the sake of your bottom line. Sort your own shit; you’ve got an entire firm’s worth of resources to figure it out. I’m just trying to get by without pulling labor for every fucking firm I go to.
So You turn into a double pirate?
Can’t copyright methods of theft I guess
If you’re really feeling based… you can help them out too. I’m not saying you are required or should feel obligated… but hey, helping people eat is a pretty decent thing to do.
It is indeed. Help them to steal the floorboards. It’s the right thing to do.
Crenshaw but based.
Winshaw, his theoretical antiperson.
Very Ethical Life Protip: If the baby formula is locked up, the cabinets used by most retailers use a universal lock and you can buy your own key pretty cheap.
