There's a local group that helps folks find stolen bikes:
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/your-bike-just-got-stolen-these-...
We need all of this we can get.
So many people are unhappy these days because they feel they aren't doing anything that meaningfully helps their community. We're a social species. We thrive when we feel we are helping our tribe thrive.
Today, I jump-started a car for a sketchy couple in rough shape at the end of a dirt road in the middle of nowhere that I encountered after making a wrong turn. Forensic Files episodes often start this way, but I still stopped to help.
To be happy, I recommend looking at what the media pushes and doing the exact opposite. No matter what it is. Even when you're wrong, you'll be right often enough to negate the losses.
Sob story about ___? The subjects are always going to prove to be criminals or assholes. Avoid them.
Be afraid of these people! They're probably being put upon and desperately need your help.
Don't be afraid of these people! They just want to scam you.
#believewomen! Don't.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OkGk2YRSnw
There's also an explosion of channels where professional landscapers and pressure washers do the occasional free job on a house in desperate need while recording it for YouTube. It's great background TV and likely more effective than any kind of paid advertising.
Think of all of the "I rescued this kitten from a well!!!" videos, only to find that that's the only type of video that channel makes, ie they're throwing kittens down wells.
I volunteered at an animal shelter that was not no-kill, because of sheer demand, sadly.
Of new volunteers, they ask "What's in it for you?"
Inevitably, "I get to help animals find new homes, etc."
However they'd say "No - that's what you'll do here. But what do you get out of it?"
And they wanted selfish answers. "I feel better about myself", whatever.
Because what they'd found is when things were a struggle, it was the "what's in it for me" that often pushed people to keep helping and volunteering, rather than (solely) "the mission".
Magnets don't pick up broken glass.
It’d go to a random company that never did anything related to trash pick up, but one of the board members would be loosely related to the mayor.
The mayor will then do a victory lap in front of journalists talking about this revolutionary project.
The winner would then sub-contract a series of shell companies to handle ‘planning the design and implementation’ of the vehicle used to pick up the debris.
3 months will pass and the first community board meeting about the pilot in the neighborhood will happen, where the project will hit vicious opposition from people citing gentrification, how this pilot will rip apart the fabric of the neighborhood, cause gridlock, be dangerous for kids (What if a kid runs infront of the magnet bike??), etc…
6 months and $5M later, the pilot gets extended and another $50M worth of funding having never picked up an ounce of trash.
Hello from NYC
Never again.
I have no problem telling / hoping someone would pickup the trash they saw and helped out even if a little. But not so much retrieving stolen bikes, those folks, their call.
Possession of stolen property is still a serious crime. There is generally no exemption for vigilante people returning stolen goods. I honestly would not advise amassing stolen property in your garage no matter your good intentions. Batman wears a mask for a reason.
Why didn't they want their bicycles?
But how about we actually fund street sweeping at a level that this isn't necessary?