A favorite course at Oberlin…
…appears to be Shoplifting 101. It goes a ways towards explaining some of the elements of the Gibson Bakery case.
And before you get too shocked by the seemingly high rate of shoplifting committed by Oberlin students, it appears they’re not atypical of society as a whole. Shoplifting is rampant in the US. And it’s done equally by men and women, and is not just the province of teens—75% of shoplifters are adults.
What’s more, there’s this:
Shoplifters are usually poor and/or uneducated? Not so fast. A 2008 study by Columbia University concluded that shoplifting was actually more prevalent among people with higher education and income, which made them conclude there were more psychological factors and less financial motivation that made people steal.
One of the items people steal most often (not at Oberlin, but in general)? Chewing gum.
And in 17th Century England, shoplifting was punishable by death. It certainly didn’t stop the phenomenon.
The very limited coverage of this important story by the MSM provides still more evidence that most in the media (especially at the very summit, WaPo, NYT, CNN and MSNBC) must be regarded as activists rather than as responsible journalists. The events at Oberlin are, without question, of such importance as to merit considerable commentary.
Lack of knowledge or regard for karma is a sure test for ignorance. When shoplifting is “more prevalent among people with higher education and income” our education system is implicitly indicted.
This plague of ignorance completely explains the SJWs. Stupidity breeds stupidity.
DoJ OIG reports: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/all.htm
(Scroll down to May 14, 2019)
Investigative Summary: Findings of Misconduct by an FBI Attorney for Shoplifting at the United States Marine Corps Base Quantico Exchange
“The Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG) initiated an investigation
of a Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) attorney based on information that the attorney was
arrested in February 2018 for shoplifting at the United States Marine Corps Base (MCB)
Quantico Exchange.
The OIG substantiated and the FBI attorney admitted to placing numerous cosmetic items,
valued at $257.99 and belonging to the MCB Quantico Exchange, into her purse without the
intention to pay for them and did not pay for them before leaving the store. The FBI attorney
further admitted that between February 2016 and her arrest in February 2018 she had
shoplifted at the MCB Quantico Exchange one to two additional times, and at other private
retailers in the area on two to three occasions.
The OIG concluded that the FBI attorney had violated federal criminal law and FBI policy
regarding unprofessional conduct. Criminal prosecution was deferred pending the FBI
attorney’s completion of 125 hours of community service, after which all charges were
dismissed.
The OIG has completed its investigation and has provided its report to the FBI and the
Department of Justice Office of Professional Responsibility for action they deem appropriate.”
Winona Ryder got caught shoplifting, she certainly had the money to buy anything she wanted. (did not help her career out, that’s for sure)
A 2008 study by Columbia University concluded that shoplifting was actually more prevalent among people with higher education and income,
Somehow, I suspect the study design was such that you could find the conclusion in the premises.
And it’s done equally by men and women,
[citation needed]
Entitlement, never corrected successfully as a child for this asocial behavior. IMO
I agree it is psychological but some of the psychology is that of people who think they are not obligated to obey the law. My youngest daughter had a school friend at her private school. They went shopping at a nice department store and the other girl came out of the dressing room and mentioned to my daughter that she was wearing three outfits. Annie didn’t know what to say or do and told us about it that evening. Needless to say, her friendship with that girl ended.
I guess there are more problems with FBI employees, esp. lawyers, than I thought. What ethics classes are taught in law school, anyway? Although, if one has to wait until their 20’s to learn about ethics and morality, it’s probably too late.
Art Deco:
I think the citation is obvious. It’s on the words “is rampant.”
That article it leads to, however, isn’t big on links, so it’s hard to evaluate the facts in it (it cites several sources, but has no actual links). It is certainly easy enough to do your own research however. For example, it takes only a second or two to find that most of these stats are compiled by the National Association for Shoplifting Prevention (NASP). Their site can be found here. If you want to peruse it, feel free. For example, here’s an article from 2008 that you can read in full if you’re curious.
When I was 17 I was caught shoplifting. I had the money to pay. I don’t know why I did it but I did. They called my Mom who was at work. Then when I got home I had to tell my Dad when he came home from work. Now, that was an experience that I did not care to repeat. My Mom and Dad were not happy to say the least. Telling them was the hardest part. A tough lesson learned.
Art Deco:
And it’s done equally by men and women,
[citation needed]
———————————————————————————————————–
Maybe now.
Let’s ask store, and chain, managers about the apparent masculine/ fminine gender of shoplifters, or nature of the inventory subject to the worst “shrinkage”.
It’s so easy to do, so many others do it, the stores are “rich” …
so many excuses.
Being honorable and NOT stealing is a choice. One that should be a more important part one’s reputation.
But the 60s tried to change the culture, for instance with Abby Hoffman’s Steal This Book.
We need more light punishment, including public shaming, for the thieves. In the trade offs, better to have more found guilty, publicly, and punished lightly, than fewer with bigger punishments. The likelihood of getting caught is a bigger deterrent than a bigger punishment which is less likely.
“The OIG concluded that the FBI attorney had violated federal criminal law and FBI policy regarding unprofessional conduct.
Criminal prosecution was deferred pending the FBI attorney’s completion of 125 hours of community service, after which all charges were dismissed.” sdferr
That says it all and on multiple levels.
“Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious* people. It is entirely unfit for any other.” John Adams
* believe they will be held accountable by TRUTH in the afterlife
And in 17th Century England, shoplifting was punishable by death. It certainly didn’t stop the phenomenon.
Yet it might be that such punishment was an indication of a higher esteem for “commerce”, the middleman for buying and selling. Capitalism only creates wealth in a culture which also esteems the merchants — who historically are NOT high status persons. This might not be causation; but it might be. Esteem for honest business is necessary for civilized progress.
Little surprises me now, but this does.
I watched some of a British documentary TV series on shoplifting there. It’s rampant and chunks of it have an organized crime nature. The store security and cops have learned how to counter some of the many scams that the thieves might employ when they are caught or almost caught, that can get them off.
I heard a weird factoid about shoplifting in the U.S a while ago. Apparently, those large redish orange jugs of Tide laundry detergent are (were?) at hot item to shoplift. The jugs seem to function like some kind of underground barter currency.
Not hard to find an article on the Tide angle.
Wouldn’t you know it, three professional psychologists have developed a typology of shoplifting: “Participants included 202 community individuals who reported repeated shoplifting and provided information about their shoplifting behavior, motivations, mental health, ethical attitudes, personal histories, and life circumstances. Cluster analyses revealed that the sample could be divided into six discrete groups. These clusters comprise a typology of shoplifting, including Loss-Reactive (28% of the sample), Impulsive (20%), Depressed (18%), Hobbyist (18%), Addictive-Compulsive (9%), and Economically Disadvantaged (7%) types. Each type comprises a unique pattern of shoplifting with unique needs.” I notice that two of the authors are at the University of Texas at Austin and the third is at UC San Francisco. Blue cities, both of them. Anyway, here is the reference: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31043101
(Article published in the International Journal of Offender Therapy and Comparative Criminology, which is doubtless available in the Oberlin College library.)
If anything, this confirms that the “mature adults” at Oberlin are anything but.
I can understand college professors balking at teaching life lessons that should have been taught at home. But when it turned out that Oberlin has a culture of shoplifting, it was the duty of Oberlin to do what they could to stop it — a duty to their students (who will need to be adults in a society that punishes shoplifting), a duty to their community (where they must live, and thus must learn to be good neighbors)… and a duty to themselves and their consciences.
Now the onus is on Oberlin. It may be that they are not acting in CYA mode, trying to protect their beloved “shoplifting culture”, or hoping that the rest of the country doesn’t discover their dirty secret (or upend their lovely applecart). But it sure looks that way, and it’s up to them to prove otherwise.
I believe I read that Baltimore. Chicago, and several other cities’ (counties’, actually) District Attorneys will not prosecute thefts of less than $950 in value. The Oberlin students were just following in their footsteps.
“And in 17th Century England, shoplifting was punishable by death. It certainly didn’t stop the phenomenon.” – Neo
Stopped it for some people.
“District Attorneys will not prosecute thefts of less than $950 in value” – Richard
This is akin to ignoring misdemeanors and disorderly conduct, by looking only at the cost of a particular prosecution for smaller thefts, rather than counting up the value of deterrence. See: Broken Windows Policing in New York City.
“We need more light punishment, including public shaming, for the thieves. In the trade offs, better to have more found guilty, publicly, and punished lightly, than fewer with bigger punishments. The likelihood of getting caught is a bigger deterrent than a bigger punishment which is less likely.” – Tom G
Exactly so. In theory, children get the light punishment at home, as Lynn did; now, the parents are more likely to be giving their kids lessons in crime.
sdferr on June 17, 2019 at 3:51 pm said:
DoJ OIG reports: https://oig.justice.gov/reports/all.htm
(Scroll down to May 14, 2019)
Investigative Summary: Findings of Misconduct by an FBI Attorney for Shoplifting at the United States Marine Corps Base Quantico Exchange
* * *
Might explain why so many Feebs thought they could subvert an election and get away with it.
Oh come on, this is not the soft term shoplifting, it is thief pure and simple. Purports deserve harsh penalties, without dollar anounts as forgiveness signals of leniency.
Shoplifters like Hollywood actresses, are also prey to blackmail and other unjust leverages. Meanwhile, society doesn’t actually care one way or another, so long as their bank account goes up and they get theirs living standard wise.
Humans are so fickle and so weak. The more of their brothers and sisters get raped on casting couches, the more their families will break down. It’s logically obvious given that there’s no way to Escape Earth.
Correction, shoplifters + actresses.
Meanwhile, the hearts of “christian” conservatives have grown cold. Not that it ever was all that charitable under the Religious State control system, but it’s been getting cold for awhile now. Soon enough people will have ever lasting hate and evil only in their hearts. That’ll be something to see.
This changes the whole equation.
Charges should be thrown out IMMEDIATELY and Gibson’s Bakery censored if not shut down entirely.
Along with any other Oberlin business that complains about so-called “shoplifting”.
NO RETRIAIL. NO NOTHING.
If these students were stealing in order to get better grades, then they should be applauded for their assiduousness, for their enthusiasm in the pursuit of knowledge, for their love of learning.
For going that extra mile.
NOT PUNISHED!!
NO WONDER there is such a disconnect between that BASTION of higher education and the so-called “townies”—those deplorable anti-intellectual people (can they even be referred to as “people”)—who have absolutely no appreciation of anything approaching the well-considered life.
Showing absolutely NO appreciation of culture. Or sociology. Or psychology. Or anthropology. Especially as it applies to behavior required—and encouraged by the scholarly community—to fulfill educational requirements.
Showing NOT THE SLIGHTEST empathy of what those students are going through. How hard they have to work to survive. What they have to do to maintain the highest possible GPA in our ultra-competitive society.
Such “people” are total and utter ignorami, with no redeeming values.
They should be made to suffer until they REPENT.
Throw those bogus charges OUT. NOW!
And LET THOSE KIDS PURSUE THEIR EDUCATION!!!!
“…Esteem…”
Well, yes.
But even more so, TRUST.
Trust in one’s neighbor.
Trust in one’s business practices.
Trust in the law—and its justness, and its application.
Trust in the authorities—and in their policies.
Trust that the guy walking towards me on the sidewalk on the street will not slash me or throw acid in my face.
Etc.
(Give or take. Nothing is or can be perfect, and certainly there will always be reasons to be disappointed.)
But when the tipping point is reached; when trust breaks down ENTIRELY and across the board; when DISTRUST permeates society; then that is the beginning of the end.
There appears clearly to be a concerted policy of actively, sedulously creating distrust, sowing distrust, encouraging distrust in Western countries (all under the guise of “higher morality”, of “superior ethics”, of advancing “the good”, of “improving the world”) that has triggered—and accelerated—the process of breaking down that multi-layered level—that complex fabric—of trust (once again, give or take) that has brought those countries such extraordinary strength, wealth—not merely of the monetary variety—and intellectual and scientific achievements.
It is a retrograde “revolution”, whose utterly deceitful credo is “justice” and “equality” but whose true intent is destruction. Whose true motto is: “TEAR IT DOWN! OBLITERATE IT! DESTROY IT UNTIL IT IS NO MORE!”
ymarsakar
Shoplifters[,] like Hollywood actresses, are also prey to blackmail and other unjust leverages.
————————————————
When you lie down with dogs, you’ll wake up with fleas.
Ymarsakar,
“Humans are so fickle and so weak.”
Indeed they are but they can also be steadfast and courageous. Culture has everything to do with the percentage of such in any society.
“Not that it ever was all that charitable under the Religious State control system, but it’s been getting cold for awhile now.
That… is a BIG load of H.S. In the aftermath of foreign natural disasters, prior generations of Americans were, far and away more generous in giving than at any prior time in history. No other nation comes even close. That was when 90+% of Americans embraced Christianity.
“Soon enough people will have ever lasting hate and evil only in their hearts.”
I detect a yearning on your part for that day. I suspect you do so because it would confirm your contempt for humanity. A contempt that you have frequently expressed.