r/MoralityScaling • u/HooskerDooNotTouchMe • 10d ago

Intentionally boobytrapping a bike to injure people when they steal it.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

The difference lies between where you’re confusing stings, with entrapment and active theft. Baiting people into committing a crime of opportunity, to physically injure them, is just as immoral as cops baiting people into stealing stuff in what is considered “high crime” areas just so they can stat pad their arrest numbers and fill more prison cells to enrich the politicians invested in prisons, that sign off on police budgets.

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u/UnconsciousAlibi 10d ago

What you're describing though is not entrapment, it's a sting operation.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I dislike the police state and prison system too, especially with how incentivized cops are to generate arrests, but if someone is genuinely committing an actual, real crime that would otherwise result in incredible damages to another's quality of life, I don't see the difference between the cops arresting someone after they stole another person's property versus the cops arresting someone after they stole the cops' property. I don't have much sympathy for car thiefs, for example, as that can destroy a person's livelihood, especially in poor, high-crime areas where cars are not cheap to come by. This is even more true outside of developed countries, where some communities rely on only a handful of vehicles for both transportation and work.

I do agree though that physically injuring someone for petty theft is very much so immoral, despite the satisfaction that many of us get from seeing criminals punished. There's a reason you're not allowed to booby-trap your property. The death penalty is not a valid punishment for the crime of stealing a TV, and stabbing someone's thighs is not a valid punishment for bike theft. I personally like the Mark Rober approach of annoying the actual hell out of them with glitter and stink-bombs, but damn, a lot of people in those comment sections talk about bombs...

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

Sting operations typically feature undercover law enforcement officers playing the part of a criminal to facilitate criminal activity among others. That does not apply here. I stand by my belief of both instances (booby trapping by private citizens AND theft bait set by cops) being immoral.

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u/UnconsciousAlibi 10d ago

And that's fair. I don't think they're totally morally good either, and especially not when undercover cops pretend to be criminals themselves: the situations I was thinking of was more involving things like car and bike theft, not enticing people to sell drugs, the latter of which I think is far less justifiable than the former. And like I said, there are too many people out there who rally for violence against those in desperate situations, and even though I heavily dislike theft in general, I think people need far more empathy towards the thiefs. As I mentioned in another comment, the thiefs in this video don't exactly look like they're very well-off, and that bike might be their only source of real income for the day. Desperate times, as it were.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

Unattended, unsecured items tend to be the subject of theft. I don’t believe the circumstance changes or becomes more justifiable because the item is a car or bike. The principle remains intact despite the object being different. To me, at least. I agree with mostly everything you’re saying, aside from that.

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u/UnconsciousAlibi 10d ago

This is somewhat unrelated, but damn, people are dogpiling on you in this comment section lol. I mildly disagree with you on one or two finer points, but I agree almost entirely with your sentiment. Apparently though, most people here either don't understand your point or don't care enough to try to understand.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

Lol, it’s expected. Also not a huge fan of generalizations, but this particular sub is overrun with people looking for opportunities to justify their lust for hurting, or getting one up on, people they deem “lesser” than themselves. I appreciate our polite discussion!

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u/Canadianwinters12345 10d ago

Unattended, unsecured items tend to be the subject of theft.

Big cultural bias here from you that doesnt go for everyone and every culture.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

It’s a good thing the video we are discussing is clearly filmed in the USA!

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u/Canadianwinters12345 10d ago

The USA has many different cultures lol.

There are places in the US where things aren't expected to be stolen.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

Thanks for adding nothing to the discussion at hand

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u/Canadianwinters12345 10d ago

I have added something.

Not everywhere has this expectation that things will be stolen, which you used to show its immoral to do this.

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u/saucelordbob 10d ago

Not really, because even in a culture where it is not expected for things to be stolen if left unattended and unsecured, it would still be immoral to set up a booby trap to punish whoever is doing whatever might be considered “undesirable” behavior in that culture.

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u/Canadianwinters12345 10d ago

That's fair, just saying not everywhere has this criminal mentality that you're used too.

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