For the forth year in a row, YouTube creator Mark Rober has released his newest Glitter Bomb to discourage "Porch Pirates" from stealing packages. And each year they have been getting more and more sophisticated. This year it releases glitter three different times, releases even more fart spray, and has 4 phones to record the footage, and allow them to track and recover the package. I just wish somebody could sell one, as I think it would be a riot to see these go national.
I'm a big fan of him. Just don't understand why put 4 phones into his trap? No cheaper alternatives to this solution exist?
one year we had many porch pirates, the entire neighborhood got camera's after that, arlo, nest, blink, ring, you name it, shortly after it all stopped as police had plenty of cars and people in video's to go on
He's great1 What I can't believe is that almost none of the thieves look desperate, poor, starving etc. Just absolute moral lowlifes.
They almost never are. I worked as undercover security for years, and for most of them that was actually their "job".
One more thing to make me glad that 'porch pirates' around here are usually of the furry variety. Do they turn around and sell the stuff they steal? Or re-gift it to loved ones?
MM, really? Thieves aren't identifiable from the rest of the population. And, how does a separate, poor or starving person "look"? I'm not trying to chastise you, but, we need to get over this "look" thing. That's why so many kids are being molested. A pedophile isn't noticeably identifiable. In fact, they perfect hiding in plain site. All police offices, medical care providers, priests and ministers are not good people. Their job title doesn't factor in. And, all poor people aren't disheveled and creepy looking either. From there, take a look at Orange Jesus. He's a liar, thief and scam artist. If we didn't know him because of his wealth, nobody could look at him and know any of that about it (as long as he doesn't talk because he would give away that he's an idiot).
Anybody who who 'wears' their money actually does have a particular look. Dress to impress is the phrase I think describes it. And yes, it is a particular look. You also usually have the overwhelming urge to wash your hands after being around them. I've actually had the displeasure of meeting him, twice. As to porch pirates, one could at least hope they were hungry and down on their luck, and they too usually exude an aura of depression and desperation.
I am not saying that is untrue. I am saying that is not *always* true. I don't have fluid "lines in the sand". Taking someone else's property is stealing. Down on their luck and hungry people should avail themselves of whatever services are available in their area to get back on their feet. I'm not snobbish at all. I've volunteered in homeless shelters, churches for homelessness outreach and sponsored someone that lost both of her parents (mother killed father, mother went to prison). I was in this situation. My ex locked my out of my own house, emptied the bank account and took EVERYTHING I ever owned and kidnapped our two children. The police wouldn't help me and I didn't have money for an attorney. I had some items at a dry cleaners so I had clean clothing and it took me about 3 days to find a shelter that would let me stay as I don't have a loving or supportive birth family. I hit the streets every day looking for resources (in an area I didn't know which was also pre-planned) and got back on my feet. My sister and parents contacted me and told me to come home and they would help me. I thought they may have matured and were sincere so I went back. They all jumped me and put me in the hospital. I had cracked ribs, stitches in my hand (got cut when my father slammed me into a sidelight) and internal bleeding for a month. When I was discharged, my parents kicked me out and I was back to looking for community resources again. That time, however, I was familiar with the area so it was a bit easier than before. At no time, would anybody have determined that I was broke and homeless just by looking at me. In fact, people that know me NOW say they can't imagine me living in a shelter. I did. Twice. I sold my wedding ring to buy food and toiletries and started over with nothing. To this day, my family wants me to give up my apartment and come back there. I won't do it because I know that it would be more of the same and I'd be back on the street. They didn't even give me a sandwich or warm clothing (lived in Chicago when they threw me out). Frame of reference: My parents own at least 15 properties and each of my siblings own two houses and they rented those properties out while I was living in a shelter. Take-a-way: I have absolutely nothing against any group of people with the exception of murderers, rapists and pedophiles. I have no issue helping a homeless person out (and never did even before it happened to me) but I do have an issue with people breaking the law. Yes, I tend to be very resourceful but that doesn't exempt them. The society in which we live specifically states that one is not to take another person's property. Full stop.
The thing is, no form of "government aid" provides drugs or alcohol. And quite a lot of theft even by that segment is not for food at all, but drink and drugs.
Agreed. I'm a former police officer and I've always volunteered in my community since I was in high school. Not ALL homeless people are addicts; however, many are. I knew a guy years back that bought a milk crate, tore up some boxes to make his signs and would go out three times per day to the busiest train stop to beg for money. 100% of his ill-gotten gains went toward alcohol. I enjoy cooking so I would make enough for him too sometimes. Couldn't get him to eat. His whole life was begging, drinking, passing out, rinse and repeat. I distanced myself when he was arrested for threatening his therapist. Threatening people, especially women and children, is a non-negotiable for me. Years ago, Walter Jacobsen went undercover as a homeless person and reported on it. IIRC, he said that some homeless people rake in tens of thousands of dollars per year, completely tax free. I have a friend who doesn't drink or smoke but she absolutely refuses to go to counseling and a big part of most locally available shelters require some form of therapy. She makes the exact same mistake with several men and gets upset when her manipulation doesn't work. She's a great person but has no ability to self-reflect. So, I think it doesn't matter what the "addiction" is. The important part is having the volition to do something about it.
I bet most of them are. I myself have been homeless, and worked a few years ago as undercover security. And almost every time I stopped a homeless person, it was either for alcohol, or items they would sell and not eat. 20 containers of Tide pods, 15 bottles of $10 shampoo, 30 packs of batteries, things like that. Or if food, it was something they could sell (30 pounds of steak, 25 pounds of frozen shrimp, etc). Of course, the topper was the team that would steal thousands of dollars worth of Red Bull in a day.
Agreed. I've talked to many homeless people and ex-cons. They all have some kind of weird rationalization for their behavior. Most recently, I helped an illiterate guy apply for housing. I didn't know that he was an alcoholic at the time. He literally took his mini-van into the city, covered it in gasoline and set it on fire and then reported it stolen. In his head, it was "all good, because the car company has insurance for that kind of thing when a customer stop paying." I don't do slippery ethics so I have a wide berth around him. Well, I cut him off completely. I know a woman that joins dating sites just for the purpose of having sex (unprotected) with as many men as she can. She is *not* addicted to alcohol and/or drugs but she is addicted to attention from men so it balances out the same way. She will drive up to three hours to meet *ANY* man and has never rejected any of them. Anyone that shows interest get her to undress. She has sex with them within minutes (not a typo) of meeting them and scares them off when she tries to force a relationship. This has happened at least 40 times since last Summer and she keeps doing the exact same thing with the string of men she contacts. Most recently, one of them texted her that he would contact her kids (adults) and employer to send them the nude photos she sent him. He did set up a FaceBook account and messaged her children that they needed her to pay up (dude isn't that smart to put that in writing but he did). I advised her not to engage but she still replies to his emails. She has never, ever cut off any man she's met or had sex with. In her head, her reckless behavior makes sense. Addicts will do ANYTHING to get their fix. I am so grateful that I don't have an addictive personality. It looks downright awful from the outside.
We've all had events in our lives that have yanked the rug out from under our lives. Some we know are coming, and some blindside us. I'm glad you found a way to make it work. When events in my life took a really bad turn, an old friend said something to me that has stuck with me word for word for over 35 years. "...you make choices in life. Building block or stumbling block. CHOOSE". It was like a verbal slap in the face. I chose building block. That all said, I may not have made myself clear. I do not condone the porch pirating, or theft of any kind. I may have a bit of understanding WHY someone may do it, but that still doesn't make it right.
Your friend was right. I choose building blocks. I would have thrown in the towel long ago otherwise.
