Ethical question

[Patt]

Originally posted by: KLin

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: mindmaniac
I got thinking about this earlier today when I was eating at taco bell earlier today. This kid pulled up on a really nice Trek road bike and didn't lock it up. It was sitting right next to the window and I could clearly see that the registration on it was scraped off. There wouldn't have been time to get the police there before he left, but I thought if I took it from him would that have been wrong?

I bought a guitar amp from a guy who said he stole it from a school. I figure I bought it fair and square, but he was the one who stole it. I wound up selling it on ebay for 4x the amount I bought it

And you are fvking proud of it :disgust:

Oh give me a break. What I did was morally fine...but probably not illegal. There was no way in hell this amp was going to be returned and I doubt the school even noticed it was gone and would only make an issue of it.

I hope Karma doesn't bite you in the ass too hard.

Interesting ... because I hope it does :|

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: Patt

Interesting ... because I hope it does :|

So you really hope that somebody comes and steals all these old clothes I was about to throw out? I wouldn't care. That would be equal karma. You guys crack me up.

 

[mindmaniac]

Originally posted by: SampSon
Mind your own business.

You're making many assumptions because of a scraped off serial number. The serial number on my trek is totally gone from years of abuse.
If you went and stole my bike because you assumed it was stolen due to a scraped off serial number, I would have a major problem that would be solved with a brick to your face.

I see one wrong fixes another. This is the point of the whole topic, which you disagreed with, but ultimately agree with.

 

[purbeast0]

lmao @ all the "Mr. Perfects" giving BlancoNino crap about something he did years ago that he knows was wrong ...

 

[KLin]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
lmao @ all the "Mr. Perfects" giving BlancoNino crap about something he did years ago that he knows was wrong ...

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: thepd7


LOL what you did was very illegal. Like someone pointed out earlier, you received stolen property. Its not illegal if you don't know its stolen but you obviously did.

I know it was illegal (like I acknowledged earlier), but given the circumstances (too long of a story anyway), there wasn't anything morally wrong with what I did.

Please read the thread again. He doesn't think he did anything wrong.

 

[BlancoNino]

Originally posted by: KLin


Please read the thread again. He doesn't think he did anything wrong.

But you guys seem to think that what I did was equivilent to armed robbery of a freaking jewelry store.

 

[Number1]

BlancoNino: You were wrong. Send some money to the school. Live happily ever after.

 

[SampSon]

Originally posted by: mindmaniac

Originally posted by: SampSon
Mind your own business.

You're making many assumptions because of a scraped off serial number. The serial number on my trek is totally gone from years of abuse.
If you went and stole my bike because you assumed it was stolen due to a scraped off serial number, I would have a major problem that would be solved with a brick to your face.

I see one wrong fixes another. This is the point of the whole topic, which you disagreed with, but ultimately agree with.

No, there is no connection between the statement I made (that you bolded) and your topic at hand. Now you're borderline trolling your own thread for action on a ridiculous topic based upon your assumptions and sweeping generalities. So no, the ideal of my post doesn't correlate with the point of this whole topic. Nor does my statement imply that I agree or disagree with your "point" (quoted because there is no point made in your OP).

Bottom line is that you're making the assumption the bike is stolen because of a scraped off serial number. It's the wrong assumption to make. Then you would be willing to take that error to the next level by introducing the police into the situation. Another wrong action to take.

So if it was my bike, you would have wronged me by making the assumption I stole the bike that I rightfully paid for. Then wronged me by bringing the police into the matter. The only right thing to do would be to smash your trouble-making face with a brick for bringing so many wrongs into my life by making a predetermined assumption.

Two wrongs + one brick to the face = right for me.

 

[compnovice]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
.........snip....

ATTENTION TO ALL THOSE WHO KEEP TELLING ME I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY:

I KNOW I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY! THE AMP IS GONE. WHAT I DID, I DID...THAT WAS YEARS AGO, NOBODY SEEMED TO CARE SO I DIDNT EITHER...WHY MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS!?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because you do not seem to care that it was wrong.

You knew that it was stolen and chose to ignore the fact.

We do not condone FRAUD or piracy here at AT. What you have admitted to is just as bad and you continue to deny that fact.

That denial has provided you with a boarding ticket to the SS Garbage Scow.

All aboard for a week long cruise.

Good riddance :thumbsup:

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: KLin


Please read the thread again. He doesn't think he did anything wrong.

But you guys seem to think that what I did was equivilent to armed robbery of a freaking jewelry store.

Was what BlancoNino did illegal? Yes it was.

Was it morally wrong? Yes and No. It's an opinion. So some will say yes, some say no.

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Yeah, then you're both thieves.

 

[AnandTech Moderator]

And I said it was morally wrong - see the quoted post above by compnovice.

 

[MikeyIs4Dcats]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: DougK62
Oh yeah, I forgot the "it was super old" and "it was just sitting in a closet" and "I didn't steal it - someone else did". Those all just make you look like an even bigger ****** bag.

So in the end I was too lazy to go through all the proper procedure of returning it to the school (that I didn't attend anymore), talking to staff, blah blah...."You can keep the amp we were just going to toss it anyway" blah blah "Do you know who took it? No? Okay" blah blah.

Who cares?

ATTENTION TO ALL THOSE WHO KEEP TELLING ME I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY:

I KNOW I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY! THE AMP IS GONE. WHAT I DID, I DID...THAT WAS YEARS AGO, NOBODY SEEMED TO CARE SO I DIDNT EITHER...WHY MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS!?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because you do not seem to care that it was wrong.

You knew that it was stolen and chose to ignore the fact.

We do not condone FRAUD or piracy here at AT. What you have admitted to is just as bad and you continue to deny that fact.

That denial has provided you with a boarding ticket to the SS Garbage Scow.

All aboard for a week long cruise.

:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
:thumbsup:
I :heart: AnandtechModerator

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: compnovice

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
.........snip....

ATTENTION TO ALL THOSE WHO KEEP TELLING ME I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY:

I KNOW I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY! THE AMP IS GONE. WHAT I DID, I DID...THAT WAS YEARS AGO, NOBODY SEEMED TO CARE SO I DIDNT EITHER...WHY MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS!?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because you do not seem to care that it was wrong.

You knew that it was stolen and chose to ignore the fact.

We do not condone FRAUD or piracy here at AT. What you have admitted to is just as bad and you continue to deny that fact.

That denial has provided you with a boarding ticket to the SS Garbage Scow.

All aboard for a week long cruise.

Good riddance :thumbsup:

 

[Glendor]

Originally posted by: thepd7

Originally posted by: mindmaniac
I got thinking about this earlier today when I was eating at taco bell earlier today. This kid pulled up on a really nice Trek road bike and didn't lock it up. It was sitting right next to the window and I could clearly see that the registration on it was scraped off. There wouldn't have been time to get the police there before he left, but I thought if I took it from him would that have been wrong?

I voted before I read. If you know for a fact that it is stolen then you would not be wrong if you took it and turned it in. Since you couldn't know for sure even if you took it and turned it in the cops could arrest you for stealing.

Agreed, the bike could have been stolen from HIM, and recovered and returned to the original owner after the serial number had been scraped off.

How did you see the serial number was scrapped off? I thought it was on the underside of the downtube, near the bottom bracket.

Glendor...

 

[dxkj]

LMAO

Blanco said he knew it was illegal
*backpedal*
Then he said it was probabably not illegal, and morally fine
*backpedal*
Then he said he knew it was illegal
*backpedal*
Then he started changing facts in the story
*backpedal*
Now he actually talked to the music teacher who said they were going to throw out a perfectly good amp.... that was worth at least 4x what he paid for it
*backpedal*

lmao, self pwnage

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
Another good question would be...

Are you allowed to steal back what somebody stole from you? Lets say you have a bike and it gets stolen...later on you walk by some house and see it in the backyard. You do some investigating and find out that it's the same serial number. Is it okay to steal it back?

No

If you were close enough to verify the serials, go back with a camera, take pictures, contact police, initiate investigation.

Where is the justice if you simply get your bike back, if you do it the right way the person who bought it gets a slap on the wrist, the person who sold it gets a mark on their record

 

[Golgatha]

Two wrongs don't make a right. However three lefts do...

 

[Glendor]

Originally posted by: darkswordsman17

Originally posted by: BlancoNino
Another good question would be...

Are you allowed to steal back what somebody stole from you? Lets say you have a bike and it gets stolen...later on you walk by some house and see it in the backyard. You do some investigating and find out that it's the same serial number. Is it okay to steal it back?

Uh, thats not stealing because you're the rightful owner.

It is NOT okay to steal it back. The person who has the bike now may have bought it, NOT KNOWING IT WAS PREVIOUSLY STOLEN, in which case you would be stealing it from a person who legally bought it. You deserve to get it back, but that person may have plopped down his/her hard earned cash on it. The best bet would be to get the cops involved. Whether it's the first example at Taco Bell, or a bike in a back yard of a house. Call the police, and hide, wait, get witnesses, whatever till they arrive. Like someone said above, two wrongs don't make a right.

 

[HombrePequeno]

I think it's perfectly fine if you plan on returning it to the original owners, otherwise you're really no better than the thief.

 

[notfred]

How could you "clearly see" that the registration was scraped off? Bike registration is not mandatory in most of the US. How do you even know it was registered? How do you know it isn't just scratched? How do you know it wasn't stolen, and then recovered via the serial number (since the registration was destroyed) and then returned to the owner?

 

[Compton]

Are you Robin Hood? Gonna give the bike to the poor?

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: thepd7


LOL what you did was very illegal. Like someone pointed out earlier, you received stolen property. Its not illegal if you don't know its stolen but you obviously did.

I know it was illegal (like I acknowledged earlier), but given the circumstances (too long of a story anyway), there wasn't anything morally wrong with what I did.

Keep telling yourself that:disgust:

Buying property that you know is stolen is supporting a thief and as morally wrong as you can get.

 

[thepd7]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: thepd7


LOL what you did was very illegal. Like someone pointed out earlier, you received stolen property. Its not illegal if you don't know its stolen but you obviously did.

I know it was illegal (like I acknowledged earlier), but given the circumstances (too long of a story anyway), there wasn't anything morally wrong with what I did.

and I quote "but proabbly not illegal." How is that you acknowledging that is was illegal? You said probably NOT. You did not say probably. Plus, yes it is morally wrong, you are promoting theft. The person might steal something else because they know you might buy it. No buyer for stolen products = no stolen products. And don't use the argument that someone else would have done it if you hadn't because if I leave my wallet somewhere and you take it and don't return it because someone else might doesn't mean you weren't morally wrong.

 

[GuitarDaddy]

Originally posted by: BlancoNino

Originally posted by: DougK62
Oh yeah, I forgot the "it was super old" and "it was just sitting in a closet" and "I didn't steal it - someone else did". Those all just make you look like an even bigger ****** bag.

So in the end I was too lazy to go through all the proper procedure of returning it to the school (that I didn't attend anymore), talking to staff, blah blah...."You can keep the amp we were just going to toss it anyway" blah blah "Do you know who took it? No? Okay" blah blah.

Who cares?

ATTENTION TO ALL THOSE WHO KEEP TELLING ME I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY:

I KNOW I BOUGHT STOLEN PROPERTY! THE AMP IS GONE. WHAT I DID, I DID...THAT WAS YEARS AGO, NOBODY SEEMED TO CARE SO I DIDNT EITHER...WHY MAKE A BIG DEAL OUT OF THIS!?


----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Because you do not seem to care that it was wrong.

You knew that it was stolen and chose to ignore the fact.

We do not condone FRAUD or piracy here at AT. What you have admitted to is just as bad and you continue to deny that fact.

That denial has provided you with a boarding ticket to the SS Garbage Scow.

All aboard for a week long cruise.

Sorry your getting PWN'd, but you ask for it

You proudly posted here the profit you made on the stolen property, and you've used every lame justification in the book used by most all juvenile thiefs