You’ve probably heard the old expression, “A sucker is born every minute.” Or some form of that. Right? Well, how about this one? Criminals are born every day. I think that’s a fair assessment. Don’t you?
Because criminals are born.
They’re not made.
But I just read a blurb that said, “For evolutionary studies, criminal behavior is not only a conglomeration of psychological and individual aspects but a complex integration between distinct variables, with explanations involving the past and the present.”
So, what does that tell you?
Nothing, actually. Especially since it starts with “for evolutionary studies.” Because that begins with a false premise. So, it can’t lead anywhere productive.
But I digress (on purpose).
The reason I brought up the whole “criminals are born” thang is because of an article I read that talked about something called “shrink.” Have you heard that term? I didn’t know it was anything but a word to describe something getting smaller. But apparently it’s now a word to describe “retail theft, is a billion-dollar problem for the retail industry.”
The fact that stealing is now called “shrink” shows how stupid our culture has become. The article I read reflected the writer’s inability to his or her own schizophrenic information. Here’s an example of what I mean:
“And unlike the popular culture image of a teen shoplifter looking for a rush, the real culprit is often organized crime groups, which systematically steal and fence goods from retailers at scale.
But sometimes the criminals get caught.”
(Notice how that says “the criminals get caught.)
But then the writer shares this:
“Home Depot spent several years tracking and busting one such ring with the help of law enforcement. At the core of that criminal syndicate was a man named Robert Dell, who operated a drug recovery program out of a church in St. Petersburg, Fla. He also allegedly stole $1.4 million of goods.”
(Notice how Robert Dell “allegedly stole $1.4 million of goods.”)
Here’s the thing.
You’re either a criminal who stole and got caught, OR, you’ve only been accused of the crime. And there’s no proof you actually did it. That’s what it means to allegedly steal. It’s just an unproved accusation.
But none of that matters. Because even if Mr. Dell did the crime, it’s not his fault. He was born that way. And since criminals are born, how can we possibly, in all good conscience, hold them accountable for something they were born to do?
I wish I could say that’s the worst of it. But it gets much worse. Because then you discover (which you should have done a long time ago) that bad ideas lead to bad systems. And that includes the so-called justice system.
Bad ideas create positions like “vice president of loss prevention.” That’s a position Home Depot has. And it’s the same tactic attorneys general, in many states, use to do what they call “tackle shrink.” By the way, as a result of “shrink,” retailers “suffered more than $112 billion in losses.”
But that’s probably not actually true. I’d say it’s more accurate to show how consumers were forced to cover those billions of dollars of “losses.”
So, consumers, who don’t steal, are the ones who are punished. In addition to paying higher prices, you have to ask a sales associate to unlock a case to items such as perfume, electronics, and even paint. Yeah, why punish criminals, and look like a hard-hearted corporation, when you can just punish everybody else?
The effects don’t end there.
The article I read also said, “Target is closing nine stores across four states by Saturday, Oct. 21, citing concerns about the safety of staff and consumers as retail crime increases.” And that’s despite how Target “invested in strategies like beefing up security, using third-party guard services, and more theft deterrent tools.”
Not surprisingly (except to people who prefer their way over God’s way) theft deterrent tools never end up deterring criminals like actual punishment for their crimes. But never worry. Never fear. Because CongressMan is here. Yeah, apparently “Congress passed the Inform Consumers Act to combat selling stolen goods.” Yeah! That’ll show those pesky alleged shrinkers.
And Home Depot’s vice president of loss prevention said it “was a step in the right direction.”
And then he really laid out some tough talk. He said, “We really need a much more coordinated and systemic effort at the federal level to take this problem seriously. And really understand how much it impacts not only the financials of retailers and consumers but also the safety of the associates in our stores and the customers and the shopping public at large.”
Well, it’s that sort of namby pamby approach that has brought us down this path. But maybe we can keep doing this sort of thing over and over until we get different results. Wait. Isn’t that the definition of something bad? Nah. I’m probably just thinking of something else.
And, come to think of it, I’d have to agree. Yes, criminals ARE born every day. Oops, I forgot to add the word “potential” after the word “yes.” Because every person was ever born, is being born now, or ever will be born, is a potential criminal. A person who will not shrink away from “shrink.”
And when you discover you can get away with it, why not?
So what if other people pay for your wicked ways. As long as you don’t have to, who cares? Besides, those evil corporations just put the thumbscrews to the little people anyway. So, they deserve to be punish…uh, I mean shown the errors of their ways.
If you find yourself wanting to give in to the temptation to steal…uh, I mean shrink, think about me first. Because right now I’m dealing with some other things I could use my money for instead of paying higher prices to retailers to cover the losses you force on them. Could you do that for me? Thanks.
It’s a crime; it’s an awful crime
That the world thinks in finite time,
With their hands stretching out to take,
And they reap another big mistake.
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Stay tuned,
