When is "snitching" not "stealing"?

[QUOTE]abandoned is abandoned.... strip it.

its one of those things you have to think about for a few minutes, the degree of abandonment.[QUOTE]

I can see that point more then any other. If something is abandoned it does not technically belong to anyone. I think when you see something abandoned and in bad condition and you give new life to it and bring it from its position of disrepair to something useful it is not theft but stewardship.

An example I can think of is a building sealed up that is slated for the wrecking ball and is going to be demolished with all of its contents. Now in my opinion stripping said building of any useful contents and materials would not morally or ethically be stealing.

meg, moral relativism and traditional religious based moralism is what I was referring to.

simply;
"thou shalt not steal" VS "is this really stealing, or is it stealing at all?"

no I dont have 2 moral codes. I have one secular one that is relative to the event at hand.

its either thou shall not kill OR! "is it ok to kill THIS guy here, today for this reason?"

Moral relativism.

one of these afternoons maybe I will see radiofish on the news, explaining wwhy he bayonetted and shot a deaf mute for chasing his kids puppy into his sacred kingdom.

Dude..... I'm glad bayonet wielding wild eyed land owners are few and far between. This is so not what the OP was about.

but they do have it posted so... I'd say in that light, stay out or ask.

they might have personal issues and a bayonet on their AR15 with the optional night sight and stun grenade launcher.

chill out man.
if you point a rifle at an unarmed man in the open air, you need help.

She didn't do that, That didn't happen till post #4.

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Dahc.

maybe it was a meth lab.. didnt she say meth lab??

if you delete every other letter of the 3rd line of the 8th post I am SURE she said "meth lab"

LOL

too funny.

In other words, he can steal from you if it suits him.

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Dahc.

Yep, I'd be interested in a further discussion, later. I find that way of looking at things very different from mine.

Amazing how we can all think so differently on the same subjects...
Meg

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All life requires death to support itself. The key is to have an abiding respect for the deaths that support you. --- Mark T. Sullivan

Nice twist.
I forgive you.

Thank you.

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Dahc.

No problem.
lol

Interesting topic, and I thank the OP for introducing it.

I'm in the process of restoring a farmhouse that was built by my ancestors in the late 1600s (yes, not a typo). Over the many years that my grandmother and mother allowed the house to stand empty, a number of people felt the house was being neglected, and that they had a stronger claim to it (being related to us, being local, having a lease to farm the land, etc), that the property was just going to fall down anyway since no one cared about it. Over time they took whole rooms of floorboards, all the beautiful mantling from the original parlor, the brick inscribed with the date of an expansion, even the staircase from the kitchen. They stole the historic smokehouse, and stole the timbers from the historic, one of a kind barn, too. Now I spend weekends and most of my money trying to preserve what's left and reconstruct what's been taken.

People also try -- all the time -- to trespass on the farm to hunt. Again, the argument is that we're not making good use of all that prime hunting area. Well, wrong. My mother owns that land and she doesn't like hunting on it. That's not a waste, that's her choice. She owns it.

I was surprised by the OP's tally that more of the rural landowners thought it was ok to enter the property and take the plants, because most rural landowners I know take trespass very seriously.

As do I. I'm blessed with a local family who lease and farm the land and keep a sharp eye out for trespassers, poachers, and vandals, including (and especially) the ones who feel they're entitled to enter. When he sees them and calls his buddy the game warden or his other buddy the sheriff. You see, *nobody* around our farming community likes trespassers. Not the law, and not the upstanding farm folk.

I wouldn't feel right about doing it- even if the owners never came to check on the place. If it were a bush hanging over the fenceline though....I might be tempted to take a few seeds.

CN - I have enough sense to not bayonet a deaf mute chasing his kid's puppy. But if you are on posted property, inside a building, breaking into a vehicle trying to rip out my vehicle electronics, then your rear is subject to the conserquences. Sorry to disappointment you CN, I do not own a AR-15 but rather a M-1 Garand, 1903 Springfield, and other Military Surplus firearms that accept bayonets legally!!
If one is deaf and mute chasing a puppy, yet they can read "No Trespassing/ Keep Out" correct? Or are they deaf, dumb, and blind also?

CN - If you rationalize that something is abandonded, then you have the right to take it, as stated earlier on this page of the thread, I guess then your place is deserted when you are not home. Can I come and take what belongings of your's that catches my eye????

Oh CN, I was on the local TV news Memorial Day in my US Marine Corps Dress Blue Uniform firing the rifle salute for honoring fallen military personel (and commanding the rifle squad of our local Veteran's Honor Guard). When I posted that I had caught a burglar in 2004, he was smart enough not to do something dumb - thus making it not necessary to shoot or bayonet him.... Just to have the Sheriff's Deputy arrest him and take him to jail. By the way, I am involved in Law Enforcement to a point - so am I to blame for making a trespasser abide to my posting my land and keeping them out.... Not all Marine Corpss Veterans are knuckle dragging Neanderthals, I have the sense to assess the situtation before acting rashly. Then I use the appropiate amount of force necessary.. Can you say the same CN??? That was the 2nd time in my life that I have had a person at gunpoint - (once while in the Marine Corps), yet I have to fire a shot as a warning, in defense, or in anger!!!! I was not wild eyed, twitching to shoot someone for kicks - but calm and ready to deal with the situtation. What would you do, let them steal your belongings - CN????

CN, it is my sacred kingdom, since it is posted "no trespassing/ keep out", it has a locked gate on a private road, I pay for it, pay the property taxes, and live here. Do I allow any inbred yahoo just to waltz around the property looking for something that they think is - "deserted and they can take????" Not!!!!!!!

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"Life is tough, but it is tougher when you are stupid." - John Wayne

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
snitch1 /snɪtʃ/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[snich] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–verb (used with object) Informal. to snatch or steal; pilfer.


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[Origin: 1900–05; perh. var. of snatch]
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source snitch (snĭch) Pronunciation Key
v. snitched, snitch·ing, snitch·es

v. tr.
To steal (something, usually something of little value); pilfer. See Synonyms at steal.

v. intr.
To turn informer: He snitched on his comrades.

n.
A thief.
An informer.
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steal /stil/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[steel] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation, verb, stole, sto·len, steal·ing, noun
–verb (used with object) 1. to take (the property of another or others) without permission or right, esp. secretly or by force: A pickpocket stole his watch.

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thief /θif/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[theef] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural thieves. a person who steals, esp. secretly or without open force; one guilty of theft or larceny.

—Synonyms burglar, pickpocket, highwayman. Thief, robber refer to one who steals. A thief takes the goods or property of another by stealth without the latter's knowledge: like a thief in the night. A robber trespasses upon the house, property, or person of another, and makes away with things of value, even at the cost of violence: A robber held up two women on the street.


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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source tres·pass (trěs'pəs, -pās') Pronunciation Key
intr.v. tres·passed, tres·pass·ing, tres·pass·es

To commit an offense or a sin; transgress or err.
Law To commit an unlawful injury to the person, property, or rights of another, with actual or implied force or violence, especially to enter onto another's land wrongfully.
To infringe on the privacy, time, or attention of another: "I must . . . not trespass too far on the patience of a good-natured critic" (Henry Fielding).

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No emotion, just the dictionary definition of the words being used predominantly in this thread.
And it's intersting to see that "snitch" is defined in one case as a thief.

Angie

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Well, I made it through two pages...

That was enough to make me thankful I don't live near most of the posters here.

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Thread title,
"When is "snitching" not "stealing"?

According to the dictionary, the answer is

NEVER.

Angie

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"Live your life, and forget your age." Norman Vincent Peale

Bob, it's safe to live by me-I don't tresspass or steal/snitch or even sneeze on other peoples property. :baby04:

RF first of all thanks for your service. second i agree people always seem to think if no ones around that they can do what ever they want even though the property is posted. until very recently my neighbor always met people at his gate with a shotgun if they wondered on to our private drive. you just never know what their intentions are meth is such a major factor in rural America better safe than sorry IMHO.

Well, I just know I'd be awfully peeved if anyone touched so much as a self sown seedling in my garden without asking me, especially if they did it while I was absent. Who knows what else they'll take? One thing leads to another most of the time.

I just housesat (well sort of, did the chores, mostly) for my ex husband while he was on vacation. Now, when I lived there, I planted a LOT of beautiful plants and bulbs, paid for them with my own money. He doesn't take care of them. The quack grass is overtaking them, and I can't even find half of them anymore. He's a busy man, and flowers aren't his thing. So here it is, spring, I've got a new garden going, and he wasn't there. Do you know how tempting it was to dig up those plants, especially since he wouldn't even notice most of them, or care? But I thought....no.....when he gets back, I'll ask him. He would hate for me to be sneaky about it. I know he'd give me not only my own plants but starts off of the ones that were there before we got together, all I have to do is ask.

I mean, I could even rationalize it by saying that they're my plants in the first place....and they're definitely not being cared for...but in general, I think it's best to be honest and transparent about things. Once people catch you being sneaky, they don't trust you anymore. Will you trust these neighbors whose took the blueberry suckers not to scope out and "borrow from" what you have if you leave town for a week? Won't you worry a little about it? I would!

If I weren't moving to PA I would seriously be checking out MO and AR. I would LOVE to have you for a neighbor.

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Hmmm...maybe it's just me but I wouldn't mind if someone came onto my land to take a shoot of something. People fish in our pond all the time and it doesn't bother us unless they make a mess of the shore or try lighting a fire. I don't consider it stealing fish. Likewise when we lived in AZ, when someone walked down the street and picked up an orange that had fallen or was hanging in easy reach from our tree, no big deal. They are renewable resources...it's not like someone stole something that doesn't reproduce.
Personally, I would ask first before I took something.