3 ms·

If you want me to spell it out for you, 15 year old kids in Chicago are stealing clothes and shoes because the effects of slavery have had as-of-yet unaddressed

by mxkopy 3y ago

If you want me to spell it out for you, 15 year old kids in Chicago are stealing clothes and shoes because the effects of slavery have had as-of-yet unaddressed generational effects on people. Schemes like Kids for Cash serve to remind people that things aren't being addressed. Nihilism ensues.

vorpalhex 3y ago
Let's break down a few things here. First, you've made the assumption here that all the shoplifters are black. The data does not support that. Most shoplifters are white kids with drug problems. Second, you've made the assumption here that all Black people in the US are descendents of slaves. That's also incorrect and ignores hundreds of years of migration from a rich variety of countries. Third, no, shoplifters aren't shoplifting because of "generational nihilism". They are feeding drug/alcohol habits.
- mxkopy 3y ago
  I actually made no statements about the race of the shoplifters. Indeed, I don't think the effects of slavery are isolated to groups of people with a certain skin color. I'm not going to address the first two points you made because they're irrelevant in light of the above. To point three, drug/alcohol habits are often hereditary and communal. Not sure why generational nihilism and feeding drug/alcohol habits are mutually exclusive.
- seanmcdirmid 3y ago
  > Most shoplifters are white kids with drug problems. You keep claiming this without qualification. It is probably very regional, but most shoplifters in my city (Seattle) are mostly white unhoused neighbors who are usually in their 20s-30s and have drug abuse problems. They aren't white suburban kids (although I'm sure it happens in the suburbs, just not in our urban area).
  - vorpalhex 3y ago
    I dropped this cite in a different comment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104590/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104590/ Obviously the shoplifters are going to be a subpopulation of the area they live in - if you live in a predominantly black neighborhood, they will trend to be more black, if you live in an older neighborhood, they will trend to be older, etc etc. But basically the whole benefit of shoplifting is that it solves both your money problem and the "accounting for where money has gone" problem that occurs with substance abuse. If you're running a successful business and then snorting all your cash flow, that's going to show up in your books (or to your parents if it's your allowance money, etc). To sustain a substance issue, you need not only money but money reasonably free of attention.

by mxkopy 3y ago

vorpalhex 3y ago

Let's break down a few things here. First, you've made the assumption here that all the shoplifters are black. The data does not support that. Most shoplifters are white kids with drug problems. Second, you've made the assumption here that all Black people in the US are descendents of slaves. That's also incorrect and ignores hundreds of years of migration from a rich variety of countries. Third, no, shoplifters aren't shoplifting because of "generational nihilism". They are feeding drug/alcohol habits.

mxkopy 3y ago
I actually made no statements about the race of the shoplifters. Indeed, I don't think the effects of slavery are isolated to groups of people with a certain skin color. I'm not going to address the first two points you made because they're irrelevant in light of the above. To point three, drug/alcohol habits are often hereditary and communal. Not sure why generational nihilism and feeding drug/alcohol habits are mutually exclusive.
seanmcdirmid 3y ago
> Most shoplifters are white kids with drug problems. You keep claiming this without qualification. It is probably very regional, but most shoplifters in my city (Seattle) are mostly white unhoused neighbors who are usually in their 20s-30s and have drug abuse problems. They aren't white suburban kids (although I'm sure it happens in the suburbs, just not in our urban area).
- vorpalhex 3y ago
  I dropped this cite in a different comment: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104590/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4104590/ Obviously the shoplifters are going to be a subpopulation of the area they live in - if you live in a predominantly black neighborhood, they will trend to be more black, if you live in an older neighborhood, they will trend to be older, etc etc. But basically the whole benefit of shoplifting is that it solves both your money problem and the "accounting for where money has gone" problem that occurs with substance abuse. If you're running a successful business and then snorting all your cash flow, that's going to show up in your books (or to your parents if it's your allowance money, etc). To sustain a substance issue, you need not only money but money reasonably free of attention.