4 ms·

If you are starving, stealing food is at the very least perfectly acceptable, and many would say just. I'm not aware of any ethical frameworks, even the most ha

If you are starving, stealing food is at the very least perfectly acceptable, and many would say just. I'm not aware of any ethical frameworks, even the most hardcore libertarian ones, which would claim otherwise.

sanguy 6y ago
The point is you don't need to steal food to survive. You just need to go to one of food banks or shelters that will help. I volunteer at one of them. Lots of really good down on their luck people; and they are busier that in the past due to COVID job losses. Those stealing are ones with something to prove. We recently had a situation here at the Giant where two adults were stealing ice cream and when the staff tried to stop them they were seriously beat up. When has ice cream become a necessity to survive and something worth beating another human over? The issue we have lost our moral compass in this country and it will not solve itself.
- iron0013 6y ago
  Food banks and shelters might be in good shape wherever it is that you live, but in many parts of the country they’re stretched to and beyond their capacities. Food banks are simply not a scalable solution to poverty. No form of charity is. Government aid programs are a proven solution to getting resources (like food) into the hands of folks in need. As to your argument that poor people are morally corrupt, it’s laughable, below contempt, and not worth responding to. Someone is morally bankrupt, but it ain’t the poor.
  - sanguy 6y ago
    My point was that the poor are not the corrupt. They need to be helped. If the shelters are stretched we need to ensure those shelters get the funding they need to cover the demand. We need to treat these people down on their luck with dignity and help them get back on their feet. The corrupt are those with other motivations beyond survival.
- damnyou 6y ago
  The rich and powerful have lost their moral compass, yes. The way to fix it is for the state to partly seize their wealth and partly deficit spend, and transfer all of it to the poor.

sanguy 6y ago

The point is you don't need to steal food to survive. You just need to go to one of food banks or shelters that will help. I volunteer at one of them. Lots of really good down on their luck people; and they are busier that in the past due to COVID job losses. Those stealing are ones with something to prove. We recently had a situation here at the Giant where two adults were stealing ice cream and when the staff tried to stop them they were seriously beat up. When has ice cream become a necessity to survive and something worth beating another human over? The issue we have lost our moral compass in this country and it will not solve itself.

iron0013 6y ago
Food banks and shelters might be in good shape wherever it is that you live, but in many parts of the country they’re stretched to and beyond their capacities. Food banks are simply not a scalable solution to poverty. No form of charity is. Government aid programs are a proven solution to getting resources (like food) into the hands of folks in need. As to your argument that poor people are morally corrupt, it’s laughable, below contempt, and not worth responding to. Someone is morally bankrupt, but it ain’t the poor.
- sanguy 6y ago
  My point was that the poor are not the corrupt. They need to be helped. If the shelters are stretched we need to ensure those shelters get the funding they need to cover the demand. We need to treat these people down on their luck with dignity and help them get back on their feet. The corrupt are those with other motivations beyond survival.
damnyou 6y ago
The rich and powerful have lost their moral compass, yes. The way to fix it is for the state to partly seize their wealth and partly deficit spend, and transfer all of it to the poor.