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The framing this asshole gets from the press continues to astonish me. "He didn't come out again for 27 years"... well except the 1000+ times he came out to st

The framing this asshole gets from the press continues to astonish me. "He didn't come out again for 27 years"... well except the 1000+ times he came out to steal shit. And yeah I'm damn sure 27 years of weekly break ins and theft "caused a lot of anxiety" christ that phrase is doing some heavy lifting. "he tried to cause as little damage as possible" which is a hell of a thing to say about 27 years of making the conscious decision to break into people's houses and steal their shit.

fredsir 7y ago
Aren't we also breaking in and stealing other, not people, but livings things "stuff" when we mow down their home, destroy their supplies, and then kill them off completely? Is it really a "break in" and "theft" if you are not part of the society that has defined those collective myths? If you are not part of a society that deems that individuals can own stuff, why should you follow those rules? What about when we put upon others our will when we start a war? Is it always wrong to take other peoples possessions or put upon them our will? Is it wrong to take from others that have plenty if you have none? Isn't our modern societies built upon taking stuff that isn't inherently ours, claiming it, and then forcing our will upon those around us, humans and animals alike? If you are not part of our society, maybe going in and taking our stuff is not as much "break in" and "theft", but just pure and simple survival.
- imtringued 7y ago
  If you're going to take the "might is right" standpoint then society with it's huge police and military force always wins. I don't even understand why you need to ask these questions. In the past countries routinely ignored other countries' laws by going to war. Even nowadays China is extraditing Chinese Americans who break Chinese laws even if what they did is completely legal in the US.
  - fredsir 7y ago
    I ask because the one I asked seems to believe break ins and theft is anything but collective myths existing only because the individuals in our society believe in them. Outside of society, where nature and war takes place, none of those things exist, and since the hermit was not part of society, it’s not break ins and theft, it’s survival. The only thing not allowing things out there is ethics and morals, if one is capable of such, and that, understandably, seems to crumble when standing in the way of survival.
    - bmy78 7y ago
      He didn’t really leave society though because his livelihood was entirely dependent on it, without contributing back. He just pitched a tent and didn’t talk to anyone for 27 years. He really just claimed his own campground for a long time.
  - matz1 7y ago
    Which is always the case, whoever can physically or persuasively force other to comply always win.
- 7952 7y ago
  You could ask another question. Should you feel empathy for other people? If the answer is yes then their are a couple of consequences. Firstly, you should be concerned about the people you take resources from. Not just in terms of money but in terms of emotional impact. Secondly, we should be concerned about the welfare of starving people in the wilderness. We should have sympathy for them. Both moral imperatives exist at the same time. And accepting one imperative does not eliminate the other. If you need to steal then you should feel bad about that. And we should care about the dignity of people, even when they do things to harm us.
- taneq 7y ago
  > Is it always wrong to take other peoples possessions or put upon them our will? Uh, yes. As far as "wrong" has a meaningful definition, that's wrong.
  - bradyo 7y ago
    I presume you are a vegan then
    - taneq 7y ago
      Animals aren't people. To be clear, they're not people because they're outgroup, not because they're not as smart as us.
  - matz1 7y ago
    Right or wrong is relative.
h0l0cube 7y ago
> this asshole So he stole a few cans of food from houses that were mostly unoccupied - big deal. There's so much food that gets thrown out on a daily basis, and if you can afford a holiday house in the forest, you're probably generating more than your share: > In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. This estimate, based on estimates from USDA’s Economic Research Service of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010. https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs National Geographic was just a little more thoughtful in their depiction of Christopher Knight: > Chris Knight left because there was no good spot for him in this world. If you don’t fit in and you’re a murderer, they put you in jail. When you don’t fit in because of mental problems, there are other facilities for you. This is a guy who was extremely bright, but just did not fit in. Some people said, can’t we just give him a little bit of land and a few bags of groceries, and let him live peacefully? https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/north-pond-hermit-maine-knight-stranger-woods-finkel/ https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/north-pond-hermi... Another article from Michael Finkel about Knight: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the-woods-christopher-knight-hermit-maine https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the...
- flycaliguy 7y ago
  He took people’s books! That would drive me crazy.
koboll 7y ago
Also, "he tried to cause as little damage as possible" is his side of the story. I'd love to hear the cabin owners' side.
- kyleblarson 7y ago
  Likely “that guy is a wicked asshole”
- DoreenMichele 7y ago
  Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878801 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878801 IIRC, the article indicates some cabin owners tried to ask him to leave them a shopping list (in part because he was so careful to only take what he needed and do no unnecessary damage -- including relocking the house when he left so no one else could readily get in after him). Of course, ultimately, they actively tried to catch him -- and succeeded -- because the people in the area got tired of it.
dennisgorelik 7y ago
> The framing this asshole gets from the press ... is a trick that Mike Finkel used in order to make Christopher Knight talk: --- Christopher Knight spent seven months in prison for his thefts, and has chosen not to speak to any journalist other than Mike Finkel. ---
jaezalfish 7y ago
You just referred to a person with mental problems who decided to avoid all human interaction and subsist by scavenging and engaging in extremely petty theft as an asshole. How fragile are you and your perceptions of the owners of those cabins that this guy gets you that worked up???

fredsir 7y ago

Aren't we also breaking in and stealing other, not people, but livings things "stuff" when we mow down their home, destroy their supplies, and then kill them off completely? Is it really a "break in" and "theft" if you are not part of the society that has defined those collective myths? If you are not part of a society that deems that individuals can own stuff, why should you follow those rules? What about when we put upon others our will when we start a war? Is it always wrong to take other peoples possessions or put upon them our will? Is it wrong to take from others that have plenty if you have none? Isn't our modern societies built upon taking stuff that isn't inherently ours, claiming it, and then forcing our will upon those around us, humans and animals alike? If you are not part of our society, maybe going in and taking our stuff is not as much "break in" and "theft", but just pure and simple survival.

imtringued 7y ago
If you're going to take the "might is right" standpoint then society with it's huge police and military force always wins. I don't even understand why you need to ask these questions. In the past countries routinely ignored other countries' laws by going to war. Even nowadays China is extraditing Chinese Americans who break Chinese laws even if what they did is completely legal in the US.
- fredsir 7y ago
  I ask because the one I asked seems to believe break ins and theft is anything but collective myths existing only because the individuals in our society believe in them. Outside of society, where nature and war takes place, none of those things exist, and since the hermit was not part of society, it’s not break ins and theft, it’s survival. The only thing not allowing things out there is ethics and morals, if one is capable of such, and that, understandably, seems to crumble when standing in the way of survival.
  - bmy78 7y ago
    He didn’t really leave society though because his livelihood was entirely dependent on it, without contributing back. He just pitched a tent and didn’t talk to anyone for 27 years. He really just claimed his own campground for a long time.
- matz1 7y ago
  Which is always the case, whoever can physically or persuasively force other to comply always win.
7952 7y ago
You could ask another question. Should you feel empathy for other people? If the answer is yes then their are a couple of consequences. Firstly, you should be concerned about the people you take resources from. Not just in terms of money but in terms of emotional impact. Secondly, we should be concerned about the welfare of starving people in the wilderness. We should have sympathy for them. Both moral imperatives exist at the same time. And accepting one imperative does not eliminate the other. If you need to steal then you should feel bad about that. And we should care about the dignity of people, even when they do things to harm us.
taneq 7y ago
> Is it always wrong to take other peoples possessions or put upon them our will? Uh, yes. As far as "wrong" has a meaningful definition, that's wrong.
- bradyo 7y ago
  I presume you are a vegan then
  - taneq 7y ago
    Animals aren't people. To be clear, they're not people because they're outgroup, not because they're not as smart as us.
- matz1 7y ago
  Right or wrong is relative.

h0l0cube 7y ago

> this asshole So he stole a few cans of food from houses that were mostly unoccupied - big deal. There's so much food that gets thrown out on a daily basis, and if you can afford a holiday house in the forest, you're probably generating more than your share: > In the United States, food waste is estimated at between 30-40 percent of the food supply. This estimate, based on estimates from USDA’s Economic Research Service of 31 percent food loss at the retail and consumer levels, corresponded to approximately 133 billion pounds and $161 billion worth of food in 2010. https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs https://www.usda.gov/foodwaste/faqs National Geographic was just a little more thoughtful in their depiction of Christopher Knight: > Chris Knight left because there was no good spot for him in this world. If you don’t fit in and you’re a murderer, they put you in jail. When you don’t fit in because of mental problems, there are other facilities for you. This is a guy who was extremely bright, but just did not fit in. Some people said, can’t we just give him a little bit of land and a few bags of groceries, and let him live peacefully? https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/north-pond-hermit-maine-knight-stranger-woods-finkel/ https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/04/north-pond-hermi... Another article from Michael Finkel about Knight: https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the-woods-christopher-knight-hermit-maine https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/mar/15/stranger-in-the...

flycaliguy 7y ago
He took people’s books! That would drive me crazy.

koboll 7y ago

Also, "he tried to cause as little damage as possible" is his side of the story. I'd love to hear the cabin owners' side.

kyleblarson 7y ago
Likely “that guy is a wicked asshole”
DoreenMichele 7y ago
Previously on HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878801 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13878801 IIRC, the article indicates some cabin owners tried to ask him to leave them a shopping list (in part because he was so careful to only take what he needed and do no unnecessary damage -- including relocking the house when he left so no one else could readily get in after him). Of course, ultimately, they actively tried to catch him -- and succeeded -- because the people in the area got tired of it.

dennisgorelik 7y ago

> The framing this asshole gets from the press ... is a trick that Mike Finkel used in order to make Christopher Knight talk: --- Christopher Knight spent seven months in prison for his thefts, and has chosen not to speak to any journalist other than Mike Finkel. ---

jaezalfish 7y ago

You just referred to a person with mental problems who decided to avoid all human interaction and subsist by scavenging and engaging in extremely petty theft as an asshole. How fragile are you and your perceptions of the owners of those cabins that this guy gets you that worked up???