When is "snitching" not "stealing"?

[Nel frattempo]

A property owner behind us (owns 110 acres / two houses / two barns / pond, etc.) is only on their property about 6 weekends per year. They bought it about 6 years ago, let it run down, apples trees in disrepair, Wild Boar tore up organic gardens, .......just a sad sad mess.......all they did was install a hot tub and show up to drink large amounts of beer/alcohol and get naked in hot tub, then go watch sports on big TV........and make fun of us "local folks" whom they call "ignorant"......

So - They let tree limbs fall on old variety blue berry bushes and even after being told they could save the plants and how...they did not.

Two weeks ago, other "local" neighbors began to hike over there and harvest the "suckers" and "root shoots" from the blue berry bushes. I went over and no one has messed up the "mother plants" and in fact, you cannot even tell anyone was ever over there. There are dozens more plants to save.

Is this "stealing" or just "snitching"?

Yes, if it were my property I would not want anyone coming over and taking my blue berry bushes, but then I would not have let them fall in such disrepair and if I did.......I do think it would "serve me right" and serve the land right for someone to at least save the baby blue berry bushes?

When it "snitching" not stealing? Or is it ever?

Since we homeschool, this has been our Moral topic for discussion lately and we welcome your opinions. Thanks.

[Maura]

Since your children are obviously involved in this decision, I would say a person should contact the owners of the property and ask if they would mind. Then, it's not snitching or stealing.

[oz in SC]

Originally Posted by Maura

Since your children are obviously involved in this decision, I would say a person should contact the owners of the property and ask if they would mind. Then, it's not snitching or stealing.

mrs oz here
I was thinking the same thing. More than likely the owners couldn't care less. So, contact them and ask. If they do say no, then I would say......stay off of their property, as unfortunate as it would be to have the bushes die. In my experience, if it's a question in your mind as to whether something is right or wrong, it's probably wrong or you wouldn't be questioning it in the first place. Just my 2 cents.

[crafty2002]

Maura and OZ, I respect your thoughts, But I don't feel the same way about it.
As he said, all they do is come up and have drunken naked parties. Chances are they get there money from the drug trade. They already call the local folks "IGNORANT" and as I said, I understand your thoughts, but for him to go ovver there and ask for the plants would more than likely be not only a waste of time, but may even get something started between them they don't need.

The Good Lord owns those plants. Who do you think he would rather have them?????

I don't see it as snitching nor stealing, but rather saveing thier lifes. Making them useful, which is what the Good Lord wants from all his people and even the plants.

Let me ask this question because I am not sure about this certain type of plant. Can you take limbs from the plant, secure them into a pot of soil until they root and then cut them loose. I know you can tomatoes, and many other plants, but not sure about Blueberries. If so, that is what I would do. Leave the mother plant there and get the cuttings started while they are still getting food from the soil they are now in.
I would take plenty of time and explain it to the children that without some help, the plants are going to die anyway, so the man isn't lossing anything he isn't throwing away to start with.

That's just M2CW
Dennis

[Jennifer L.]

If they were there for three months during the summer or gardened themselves, that would be different, but it sounds like it's just a place to relax and hang out for them and they aren't too interested in anything beyond enjoying the country for the weekends they are there. As long as you don't diminish the value of their planting I don't really see it as a big deal. Is it stealing? Sure is! But there are degrees to everything. Digging up a few suckers from a bush seems pretty small potatoes to me.

Jennifer

[minnikin1]

It's stealing.
They pay the taxes. Whether you approve of how they use the property or not, those bushes belong to them, not you.
If you think God owns their bushes, then God owns your bushes, too.
How would you feel if I came to your place and chopped down the trees I didn't like?

Ask permission.

[Clifford]

Originally Posted by crafty2002

Maura and OZ, I respect your thoughts, But I don't feel the same way about it.
As he said, all they do is come up and have drunken naked parties.

The heck with the plants. See if you can get an invite to those parties...!

[Windy in Kansas]

Even going onto the property is trespassing. I'm sure that under no circumstances would you want someone to trespass onto your property.

Enough said!

I sure wouldn't want to give my children an education in crafting rationalizations like that.

The owners may be jerks, but it's their property to dispose of as they please.

.....Alan.

[CGUARDSMAN]

Originally Posted by crafty2002

Maura and OZ, I respect your thoughts, But I don't feel the same way about it.
As he said, all they do is come up and have drunken naked parties. Chances are they get there money from the drug trade. They already call the local folks "IGNORANT" and as I said, I understand your thoughts, but for him to go ovver there and ask for the plants would more than likely be not only a waste of time, but may even get something started between them they don't need.

The Good Lord owns those plants. Who do you think he would rather have them?????

I don't see it as snitching nor stealing, but rather saveing thier lifes. Making them useful, which is what the Good Lord wants from all his people and even the plants.

Let me ask this question because I am not sure about this certain type of plant. Can you take limbs from the plant, secure them into a pot of soil until they root and then cut them loose. I know you can tomatoes, and many other plants, but not sure about Blueberries. If so, that is what I would do. Leave the mother plant there and get the cuttings started while they are still getting food from the soil they are now in.
I would take plenty of time and explain it to the children that without some help, the plants are going to die anyway, so the man isn't lossing anything he isn't throwing away to start with.

That's just M2CW
Dennis

i absolutely disagree with your assessment they maybe business people simply unwinding on the weekend... drug trade??? pretty bold statement with no facts to back it up. The other thing is absolutley contact them to see if it is ok to take some shoots from "their" plants. they own the property it is theirs to do as they wish within limits of codes and laws period.

[e.alleg]

maybe relocate the plants to your boundary line, but on their side. That way their plats are still on their property, once the berries hang on your property you can do what you please. lol. I would just ask them if you can dig some and see what they say. Otherwise it is definitely stealing.

[james dilley]

Snitching is telling on some one theft is 5 finger discount. So to Snitch you give information to cause others trouble.

[pixelphotograph]

I consider snitching and stealing two totally different things
Snitching is telling on someone. You would be a snitch and be snitching if you told the beer drinkers about your neighbors stealing the blueberry bush suckers.

[DenverGirlie]

I love the way some people explain away tresspassing and stealing. I see no way that this is justified.

Can I come over and tresspass on your place and steal whatever looks underutilized?

[woodsrunner]

In the old days there was an honorable rural profession known as "woodcrafting". With it went a code of conduct that required you to put back more than you took.

With the influx of urban values it has fallen by the wayside.

Go onto the land. Encourage a plant to sucker or otherwise reproduce three times. Take the third one for yourself and you have left more than you have taken. If a apple tree falls, take three grafts from it. Graft them take back and plant two of them to replace the fallen tree.

Is the land legally posted? If not proceed. If yes request permission. I've never been denied access by long term rural residents. I also forage right of ways, and if adjoining land isn't posted, I don't worry terribly about wandering over a property line.

[DQ]

I've had plenty of drunken naked parties and I don't make any money off the drug trade.

[Shygal]

First of all how do you know all this stuff about your neighbors and their drunken naked parties?

[oldgaredneck]

Can we leave off the drunken and just have naked parties??????

[texican]

Years ago, when the property came up for sale, I would have tried to buy it. If it was sold to someone else, or the former owners passed it down to their chilluns, I would have contacted the owners. I'd tell em I was a year round resident, and would keep an eye on their place, and call em in the big city if anything happened to their place they needed to know about. Basically get a country foothold with them, and then when a blueberry bush struck your fancy, you'd already pretty much know if it was alright or not. AND, if You were looking after the place, you could tell the blueberry thiefs to take a hike.

I caught an out of state landowner on 'his own' property about five years back (adjoining my place on the far end)... tried to buy it from him, he didn't want to sell... He gave me the name of his landman over in Louisiana. I contacted him a few months later, and we met up to walk the lines. (I already knew all of the lines). He was able to save a lot of visits by just calling me to see how his timber was growing. I called several times, about storm damage, and fires. After saving them a small fortune a few times, I asked if I could have some 'character' trees and some fire damaged ones. The answer was a big 'no problem'.

Dear city folks... if you own land and visit it only once a month, or year, or more, someone IS using it. The sanctity of property is only valid if you're living on it. If you do own land where you don't live, the best thing you can do is contact a neighbor and ask if they'd keep an eye on it.

Not trying to justify trespassing... But, its only trespassing if someone is there to report it. Let the neighbors look after it, and they'll keep others away, or call the law one.

BTW... I dont trespass... I know all of the owners locally and have permission.

[pancho]

Its stealing. It does not belong to you and you are taking it without permission. The reason does not matter.
Drunken naked partys are not a reason to steal. How they get their money is their business. Sounds like people are looking for a excuse to steal from their neighbors. If they were not treapassing they would not know what was happening or the condition of the trees. Trespassing was the first crime, theft is the second.
No excuses for theft or trespassing.