View Full Version : Social Justice or Sociopath?
Major Robert Dump
03-09-2007, 03:27
I'm getting mixed reactions from my friends about this, so I'll explain:
On Sunday around midnight, a man approached me in the 7-11 parking lot and gave me a sad story about he and his wife coming from Pauls Valley (about 60 miles south of Norman), forgetting his wallet, and running out of gas. He pointed across the street to a car in the Arby's parking lot, about 50 yards away. He was well dressed and articulate, with grey hair and a pony tail, reminded me of an english teacher or something. He had a gas can with 80 cents worth of gas in it, all the change in his car he could find (the 7-11 clerk later verified that he did, in fact, by 80 cent of gas)
So I gave him 5 dollars, dspite finding it rather odd that if one were running out of gas on the interstate that one would pull into the Arby's parking lot and not, ya know, the gas station parking lot. Upon recieving the 5 dollars, he subtley hinted that it would not be enough to get 60 miles, at which point I told him that I don't like to be lied to and ripped off, and that I would give him more money if I actually saw him pull the car over and gas it up with the 5 dollars I gave him. He agreed to the deal, and began to walk back over to his car to, I assumed at the time, put in his 80 cents and drive over and start gassing up.
I go into the store and do my thing, pick up some egg drop soup at the Golden Chef next door, and head back out to my car. The entire time I've been keeping an eye on our poor stranded traveller across the street. I notice he and his "wife" are just sitting in the station wagon. At this point its been at least 10 minutes.
So I leave.
But not really. What I actually do is drive behind the building, go around the block really quick, and when i come back I see the car is gone, and its not at 7-11 getting gas. There are 3 more gas stations within a one mile radius and I know what the car looks like so I check all three. They're not at the shell, They're not at the Conoco, but whaddayaknow when I get to the third station, which is also a 7-11, I see his car parked on the side of the building in a dark spot (no where near a gas pump). I cruise by, unable to see what it is he's buying inside, so I pull up right next to his car parked on the side.
His "wife" was far enough away when he bummed the money from me that she had no idea who i was. I get out of the car and wait in front of his. He comes out of 7-11 with his arms full: 2 cappucinos, several gourmet cream cheese pastries and a super big gulp. When he sees me, he stops in his tracks, looks like he just saw a ghost. Without saying a word, I knock everything out of his hands onto the ground, splashing us both with tastey beverage, and I stomp the pastries and kick them out into the parking lot. Then I go into 7-11, where the clerk is reaching for the phone (to call the cops I assume) and explain to him why i just did what I did, and request that he not give the customer more product without charging them for it.
The travellers car peels out of the parking lot, and I follow him to the interstate, where he then travles northbound (pauls valley is south). He was swerving in and out of lanes badly, so he was obviously under the influence of something.
All this over 5 dollars. Am I a sociopath?
ShadeHonestus
03-09-2007, 03:40
:applause: at least you aren't "fire and forget" charity.
Hey most of these great benevolent celebrities never follow the money they give to charity. I'd prefer if they followed it and if they found it not going to benefit those intended or in an approved manner, whooped a few asses.
Strike For The South
03-09-2007, 03:41
NO you did right. You wouldve been a sociopath if you had choked him to death
ShadeHonestus
03-09-2007, 03:43
NO you did right. You wouldve been a sociopath if you had choked him to death
and drank his big gulp...
Strike For The South
03-09-2007, 03:46
and drank his big gulp...
I would do that in ethier case
:laugh4:I think you did the right thing.
Sasaki Kojiro
03-09-2007, 04:02
Great story. Social Justice for sure.
Marshal Murat
03-09-2007, 04:02
I think you did a good job. It freaked him out (shock) and surprised him with the sudden attack and the damage done (awe)
:hmg:
Somebody Else
03-09-2007, 04:22
Never trust a guy with a ponytail. Nor anyone from Glasgow. Bloody weegies.
Kanamori
03-09-2007, 04:28
Yeah, though some of those crazy cons are also crazy violent...
KukriKhan
03-09-2007, 04:44
NO you did right. You wouldve been a sociopath if you had choked him to death
That's Texas sociopathy, not to be compared to the California variety which we apparently nurture out here.
Had the same scenario presented here, The Narrator would have offered his entire wallet's contents, then followed the small-time con-man to his car, done his woman, killing her and him when finished, duct-taping & depositing their still-warm corpses in the Arby's dumpster after grabbing the carkeys and money in their pockets 'n purse; then driven the purloined vehicle 20 miles away to an abandoned citrus elevator, torched it with the fake gascan...
and lit his Marlboro from the flames.
Walking down the road with his hitchhiking thumb outstreched - he'd ponder the singular beauty of the rising full moon.
Crazed Rabbit
03-09-2007, 05:36
I think you did good. One strike against the con men of the world.
Gotta be careful round some of them, though.
@Kukri - don't forget the Northwest variety - charming fellows who kill dozens of women.
Crazed Rabbit
scotchedpommes
03-09-2007, 05:45
Never trust a guy with a ponytail. Nor anyone from Glasgow. Bloody weegies.
Too true. Only thing worse is a Dundonian.
No, you're not a sociopath, I think you did a good deed. I wish I could've been there to see the look on the guy's face :laugh4: .
Fisherking
03-09-2007, 08:36
Oh well, even if you are a sociopath it was a good story.
But sociopaths usually don't care what happens to the people they victimise.
Pannonian
03-09-2007, 10:01
That's Texas sociopathy, not to be compared to the California variety which we apparently nurture out here.
Texas sociopathy is where you choke the man to death without any explanation. Sociopathy elsewhere in the world involves the driver and the passengers of the car discussing whether the man's acceptance of the money makes him suspicious, or whether the driver's offering of money makes him more so, or whether the passenger who started the discussion in the first place is suspiciously overeagerly bloodlusty, etc. Once they've decided who is the most suspicious, they string up the victim, with the others watching and yelling for blood.
Adrian II
03-09-2007, 10:41
Am I a sociopath?Borderline, certainly. I might have done all the same things -- probably wouldn't care enough, but might have -- up to the point where you overturn the guy's shopping bag and destroy the contents. That's 'rough justice', based on a presumption of guilt and no knowledge whatsoever of the circumstances. For all you know the guy (or his woman) may have found that wallet after all on the floor of the car. Sumpin else may have come up. You don't know and never will. Besides, we are talking 5 bucks, not your lifetime savings. You may have been completely right that the guy is a bum, but why the hurry?
Myself, I am borderline in a different way. I would be curious. Curious about what makes this particular guy tick (everyone is different). Curious as to his reaction, what excuses he comes up with. Curious if the woman would interfere, see if she cares one way or the other.
On a sidenote, my parents were of the war generation who were nearly starved to death by Gerry in the winter of 1944-45. My Mum's best (school)friend died from starvation in January 1945. So I was taught to never, ever spoil, destroy, throw away or toy with perfectly good food.
To each his own obsessions. But that goes for the guy at the gas station as well, I guess.
English assassin
03-09-2007, 10:51
I don't think you are a sociopath, but I do think you take five dollars very seriously.
Here's the alternaive scenario; I was stopped in Victoria coach station once by an old lady with slight irish accent dressed as a nun. (I was brought up a catholic and she was properly dressed as a nun so far as I could remember, she hadn't just popped into a fetish shop). She gave some story about having lost her ticket and not having any money etc etc and could she have a pound.
Now, on the one hand, although I could believe that a nun might lose her ticket and not have any money, it did seem more likely to me that she would go to find the nearest catholic church and get help from there than start approaching strangers in the coach station. Also why was she not asking for the full price of a coach ticket? This was about 15 years ago but you still wouldn't get far on a pound.
On the other hand I didn't have any solid reason not to think she was a nun.
In the end I asked myself what would I do if a nun had asked me for a pound for a coach ticket etc etc, and I decided I certainly would give her the pound. So on the basis that this woman might have been a nun, and I wasn't about to ask her to go throuigh the catechism to find out, she got her money.
Probably I was scammed. But equally I know I am the sort of person who would help a nun in distress. And that was worth a pound.
Fisherking
03-09-2007, 11:48
Second thoughts.
Man, you don't need to take things so serious.
You checked with the Clerk to see if he spent 80 cents on gas…ok, that is more than most would have done right there. That is plenty.
You watched them and then tried to draw them out, and did. After you knocked the stuff out of his hands and all that, you followed them out of town to see where they went. All over the top.
Once you make a decision, stop second guessing your self and let go. You made a decision to help someone. Good! Let go of what happens after that….
Major Robert Dump, you-- I mean... it's just, you know-- like, I mean-- :jawdrop:
Major Robert Dump
03-09-2007, 12:07
Some of you have obviously never had the wonderful experience of being guilted into parting with your hard earned cash to help someone in need, only to see them 30 minutes later bee-bopping down the street with a case of beer. My personal record is 7 beggars in one week, the most outrageous one being a guy who ran in front of my car at an intersection waving his arms so i had to stop.
The guy and his "wife" were not simply hungry folk. Had he bveen carrying a loaf of bread and bologna I would not have done what i did.
Oh, and something I forgot to mention, is that across the steet next to Arby's is a Waffle House I dine at regularly. When i was eating there later that evening my waitress told me that not only had the man come in and got money from customers, but one of the customers told the waitress that the "traveller" had hit him up before at a different location along the same stretch of interstate a few days earlier. Of course I knew none of this before I pwnt the traveller
And on a side note, if I begged moeny from someone then found my money I would find the person who gave me money and give it back. It's called class, dignity, character, etc.
Garbage like this can go to another town. if someone needs help, i'm more than happy, but people like this discourage me from helping people who havbe legitimate need, regardless of whether i can afford it.
Adrian II
03-09-2007, 12:19
Some of you have obviously never had the wonderful experience of being guilted into parting with your hard earned cash to help someone in need, only to see them 30 minutes later bee-bopping down the street with a case of beer. My personal record is 7 beggars in one week, the most outrageous one being a guy who ran in front of my car at an intersection waving his arms so i had to stop.
The guy and his "wife" were not simply hungry folk. Had he bveen carrying a loaf of bread and bologna I would not have done what i did.
Oh, and something I forgot to mention, is that across the steet next to Arby's is a Waffle House I dine at regularly. When i was eating there later that evening my waitress told me that not only had the man come in and got money from customers, but one of the customers told the waitress that the "traveller" had hit him up before at a different location along the same stretch of interstate a few days earlier. Of course I knew none of this before I pwnt the traveller
And on a side note, if I begged moeny from someone then found my money I would find the person who gave me money and give it back. It's called class, dignity, character, etc.
Garbage like this can go to another town. if someone needs help, i'm more than happy, but people like this discourage me from helping people who havbe legitimate need, regardless of whether i can afford it.Never mind, I take back everything I wrote. I guess EA is right about losing your sense of humour and perspective over a fiver. :dozey:
Papewaio
03-09-2007, 12:47
I simply don't give money to strangers. My money is for my family. My taxes go to everyone else.
I give to charities, but even then I don't give to collectors in the street. Far easier to be a fraud or non-voluntary help (ie only a portion of what you give ends up even close to the charity).
I think you lost far more then $5. I value my time off at double time, so in the time to stalk these people and confront them you probably lost more money then you gave them initially. Not to mention petrol cost in following them...Also the risk of confronting someone like this... they are far more likely to be violent, so you endangered your life for $5 that you had given away.
I simply don't give money to strangers. My money is for my family. My taxes go to everyone else.
I give to charities, but even then I don't give to collectors in the street. Far easier to be a fraud or non-voluntary help (ie only a portion of what you give ends up even close to the charity).
I think you lost far more then $5. I value my time off at double time, so in the time to stalk these people and confront them you probably lost more money then you gave them initially. Not to mention petrol cost in following them...Also the risk of confronting someone like this... they are far more likely to be violent, so you endangered your life for $5 that you had given away.
Justice served no matter the cost! :smash:
doc_bean
03-09-2007, 13:08
I simply don't give money to strangers. My money is for my family. My taxes go to everyone else.
I give to charities, but even then I don't give to collectors in the street. Far easier to be a fraud or non-voluntary help (ie only a portion of what you give ends up even close to the charity).
I think you lost far more then $5. I value my time off at double time, so in the time to stalk these people and confront them you probably lost more money then you gave them initially. Not to mention petrol cost in following them...Also the risk of confronting someone like this... they are far more likely to be violent, so you endangered your life for $5 that you had given away.
He got a good story out of it, I value having a good story to tell. It's all a matter of priorities.
I don't think this is sociopathic behaviour either, not to say i'd call it normal :jester:
Papewaio
03-09-2007, 13:13
Justice served no matter the cost! :smash:
Justice should be proportional to the injury dealt.
Hmmm, what would be justice in this case? The man lied and received 5 dollars. Major, what you did was not about justice: what you did was an exaggerated - even aggressive-like - act of personal vengeance, perfectly understandable, and still unjust.
:laugh4:
ShadeHonestus
03-09-2007, 13:59
You should be taxed more so you never have to see the injustice of being lied to or taste the humiliation of where your money goes.
oh wait
Kralizec
03-09-2007, 14:12
I don't think I'd smash his foodstuff (or spend my time "stalking" him), but I don't see anything wrong with what you did there. I agree with your line of reasoning.
Ja'chyra
03-09-2007, 14:25
Never trust a guy with a ponytail. Nor anyone from Glasgow. Bloody weegies.
Lol, funniest thing I've read on these boards yet, going in my sig.
A Weegie. :2thumbsup:
Strike For The South
03-09-2007, 14:34
Justice should be proportional to the injury dealt.
So if you kill someone you should be killed? :mellow:
So if you kill someone you should be killed? :mellow:
No, punishment should be worse than the crime because otherwise people make a profit, or come out even. If you stole 1000$, you have to pay 2000$ back, so if you kill someone, you should be killed, reanimated and killed again...:dizzy2:
Yawning Angel
03-09-2007, 15:25
No, punishment should be worse than the crime because otherwise people make a profit, or come out even. If you stole 1000$, you have to pay 2000$ back, so if you kill someone, you should be killed, reanimated and killed again...:dizzy2:
So unlike the current British justice system then, where shop-lifters are given an on the spot fine of £80. Trouble is they reckon such perps average £150 worth of goods that they take from the store. Profit even on the off chance you do get nicked by the law :wall:
doc_bean
03-09-2007, 15:29
So unlike the current British justice system then, where shop-lifters are given an on the spot fine of £80. Trouble is they reckon such perps average £150 worth of goods that they take from the store. Profit even on the off chance you do get nicked by the law :wall:
Recently the courts here decided that the widow of a kidnapper could keep the ransom he once received ~:confused:
ShadeHonestus
03-09-2007, 15:33
Recently the courts here decided that the widow of a kidnapper could keep the ransom he once received ~:confused:
lawl
I simply don't give money to strangers. My money is for my family. My taxes go to everyone else.
I give to charities, but even then I don't give to collectors in the street. Far easier to be a fraud or non-voluntary help (ie only a portion of what you give ends up even close to the charity).
I think you lost far more then $5. I value my time off at double time, so in the time to stalk these people and confront them you probably lost more money then you gave them initially. Not to mention petrol cost in following them...Also the risk of confronting someone like this... they are far more likely to be violent, so you endangered your life for $5 that you had given away.
I don't even give money to charity anymore. Every month I am obliged to "donate" an obscene percentage of my salary on the Belgian state. I think that's more than enough "charity" already. I don't believe in giving a few euro's every once in a while on some obscure organisation to conciliate my conscience.
And I agree 100 % with your statement about the value of time off.
Following him down the highway was a bit over the top, but other than that: Bravo!
I never give cash to beggars. Got no problem giving food (which really pisses most of them off), but no cash.
MRD = :applause:
I never give cash to beggars. Got no problem giving food (which really pisses most of them off), but no cash.
exactly, i would never give money to beggars because the chances are it wouldnt be spent wisely, far better to give food :yes:
think it would count as social justice, although perhaps a slightly extreme example
:2thumbsup:
Mikeus Caesar
03-09-2007, 17:22
A beggar once traded me some swanky designer glasses for £2 so he could buy some food from the hotdog stall he was sitting next to. He did actually buy hotdogs and drink with the money which is a good thing, and i'm not particularly bothered about the fact the glasses were probably stolen. They were in good nick, and i checked their price on the net later that day and found they were worth £55, so i think i did well.
Helped a poor man and got some glasses!
Major Robert Dump
03-09-2007, 17:26
I didnt follow him down the highway, I followed him less than a mile to the onramp. And i didn't stalk him for some disproportianate amount of time, the store where i found him was less than a mile away. The whole thing. from beginning to end, lasted maybe 20 minutes.
The point is, I was smarter than this guy. He was sloppy, careless, he expected people to hand him cash and forget it two seconds later. And trust me, I was never in danger, and i would have done the same thing were he 6'5 tall and 400 pounds. I have toys for people who I cant handle.
To be honest, I was having a bad day, and the whole thing smelled fishy from the start. By the end of it all, I had exerted some form of caveman justice, I wanted a confrontation and by god I got it. Best 5 dollars I ever spent.
ShadeHonestus
03-09-2007, 17:49
A beggar once traded me some swanky designer glasses for £2 so he could buy some food from the hotdog stall he was sitting next to. He did actually buy hotdogs and drink with the money which is a good thing, and i'm not particularly bothered about the fact the glasses were probably stolen. They were in good nick, and i checked their price on the net later that day and found they were worth £55, so i think i did well.
Helped a poor man and got some glasses!
Ripped a poor man off so he wouldn't become rich enough to build a country villa. :beam:
Gotta nip that crap in the bud...
ZombieFriedNuts
03-09-2007, 18:33
One question where you bigger than him, because if you weren’t he could have beaten you up and took your money anyway.
... I do think you take five dollars very seriously.
My goodness! I agree with the above.
Sasaki Kojiro
03-09-2007, 18:54
My goodness! I agree with the above.
It's not the money, it's the principle.
Fisherking
03-09-2007, 19:10
Nahaa! He is sweating the small stuff much too much. It is not that what he did is the ultimate evil, but it is just not worth so much worry.
Let it go as a lesson learned and forget about it.
It's not the money, it's the principle.
Proportionality is the principle.
Goofball
03-09-2007, 19:54
Never trust a guy with a ponytail. Nor anyone from Glasgow. Bloody weegies.
Or the Dutch.
Vladimir
03-09-2007, 21:47
Well...This is definately better than the "Have you ever pooped your pants" thread.
:laugh4:
:rifle:
:devil:
A beggar once traded me some swanky designer glasses for £2 so he could buy some food from the hotdog stall he was sitting next to. He did actually buy hotdogs and drink with the money which is a good thing, and i'm not particularly bothered about the fact the glasses were probably stolen. They were in good nick, and i checked their price on the net later that day and found they were worth £55, so i think i did well.
Helped a poor man and got some glasses!
My my, how noble you are :P You must've done very well, and felt good and satisfied about your good deed :smash:
Reenk Roink
03-10-2007, 02:38
Your persistent than most. :grin2:
If I was in the situation, I wouldn't check 3 gas stations to see if he ripped me off or not, but if he lied to me and the fates happened send him stumbling back in my path, I would knock his food to the ground too. :2thumbsup:
Now that I think about it why didn't you just walk in the 7-11 and say five dollars on pump whatever? Would have been way simpler and you wouldn't have wasted your time.
Del Arroyo
03-10-2007, 07:26
Dude, you're insane.
First off, if you part with your money, it's your bad. End of story.
Then again, most of my perspective on this comes from being a gringo south of the border, and seeing how fruitlessly paranoid and pissed off Americans will get over small amounts of money. All in the name of-- what? Pissing people off who might later be helpful, and increasing your profile in a foreign and potentially hostile environment?
Somebody Else
03-10-2007, 16:44
Similar topic. I'm at university. There is a certain student, that I don't know personally, who it appears has a tendency to steal things. Recently, he purloined an item I lent to a friend of mine, as well as certain belongings of yet another friend of mine.
The question is, arms or legs? And clean or compound?
Banquo's Ghost
03-10-2007, 17:13
Similar topic. I'm at university. There is a certain student, that I don't know personally, who it appears has a tendency to steal things. Recently, he purloined an item I lent to a friend of mine, as well as certain belongings of yet another friend of mine.
The question is, arms or legs? And clean or compound?
Stealing is a matter for the police.
As is, incidentally, assault. :bobby2:
Reenk Roink
03-10-2007, 17:27
What's a Sociopath?
Very broadly, someone who has little regard for others and commit antisocial behavior. A crazy. :2thumbsup:
rory_20_uk
03-10-2007, 17:51
Bloody hell that's broad. Assuming you want an answer that's above "'es a nutter!"
To narrow down the term and indeed provide some relevant information:
It's new name is: Antisocial personality disorder.
A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others and inability or unwillingness to conform to what are considered to be the norms of society.
The disorder involves a history of chronic antisocial behaviour that begins before the age of 15 and continues into adulthood. The disorder is manifested by a pattern of irresponsible and antisocial behaviour as indicated by academic failure, poor job performance, illegal activities, recklessness, and impulsive behavior. Symptoms may include dysphoria, an inability to tolerate boredom, feeling victimized, and a diminished capacity for intimacy.
Antisocial personality disorder, also known as psychopathic personality or sociopathic personality often brings a person into conflict with society as a consequence of a pattern of behaviour that is amoral and unethical. Complications that might arise from having this disorder include: frequent imprisonment for unlawful behaviour, alcoholism and drug abuse.
So in fact the term "crazy" is utterly inappropriate as the person is in control of his faculties. Sometimes the person can do extremely well as solutions to problems will be apparent that most would not countenance.
~:smoking:
Good job m8
I hate this kind of beggers.
Reenk Roink
03-10-2007, 18:54
If I thought he wanted the psychological definition from the DSM I would have given it to him... :rolleyes:
Very broadly, someone who has little regard for others and commit antisocial behavior. A crazy. :2thumbsup:
Like me.:grin:
rory_20_uk
03-10-2007, 21:30
If I thought he wanted the psychological definition from the DSM I would have given it to him... :rolleyes:
Well, I'm pleased you took the time to clarify matters :laugh4:
~:smoking:
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