I was surprised at the sheer brazenness of the theft - the jewelry store is basically smack dab in the middle of the mall, and the theft occurred during a crowded Sat evening, so it's not like the thieves were attempting to get out undetected.
What many people are reacting to is the clear belief by thieves that they won't be confronted or significantly prosecuted, and that breakdown in the social fabric is what many people are reacting to.
But, no. "Stealing from Corporations" is the headline crisis that exemplifies the shredding of our social fabric..
Sad to see the HN crowd adopt this attitude as if the presence of the other issues excuses theft because "corporations are the boogey man".
Having seen a bunch of HN articles about Walgreens closing stores in SF, is this a SF phenomenon? Or even a SF Walgreens phenomenon? It feels a little weird to see lots of people drawing national conclusions from a situation which doesn't feel national.
I'm seeing an explosion of blatant moving vehicle violations - things that are hard to believe are "oopsie dasies". I drive _less_ now than I did ten or fifteen years ago, but I'm seeing double of careless red light running, stop sign running, excessive speeding, people spinning donuts in the middle of intersections, hit and runs. It's appalling.
On a similar token, I feel like I've never seen the level of clearly unregistered vehicles on the roads - expired temporary tags, expired tags, and often, no registration displayed at all. They seem to operate with virtual impunity.
Then you have people raising a fit about mask mandates, stealing in broad daylight, and the like. They know there's basically nothing going to be done about and it police departments all over are unlikely to respond. Petty theft of property (bikes, cars, etc) is through the roof and rarely is anyone implicated.
It's honestly depressing. I understand a lot of the factors are likely to be traced back to a diminishing economic prospects, but it's hard to see society coming apart at the seams like it is.
This article comes off very cavalier. "Some times you need to break a few eggs to make an omelette."
So many people in this thread proudly explaining how they trust their guts over the statistics. That's how you end up in a police state.
Aka anarcho-tyranny.
I don't disagree with you in theory, but in practice much of the "data" we get is also a manipulator. Lies, damned lies, and statistics and all that.
When you see someone steal something, it's like hearing a discordant note in a song. It makes you feel bad. I think that feeling is to some degree responsible for all social harmony and we really have no choice but to trust it.
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edit: All confidence games rely on people who put their guts first. Trust me.
No, don't, really. There are actual numbers you can consult, and the methods they used to compile those numbers are transparent and can be objected to.