Barefoot Bandit

redrock

matabele wrote:

I know what you are saying but we love the underdog.

It's a criminal evading justice. His crimes were 'property' crimes - is that why people see him in an underdog or in a 'heroic' way? Seems people think property crimes don't hurt anyone..

What if this person (who had 4 other previous convictions) was guilty of rape or assault or murder instead of theft and burglary? Would you still be saying you love the underdog? Would he still be a fantastic dude and the free spirit? Would his evasion still be the 'adventure'? I don't think so.

The above may be a bit exaggerated but acrime is a crime. If he stole your property, burgled your house you would also think differently. This man started his criminal career at a young age and is likely to continue. What happens the day he encounters someone in the house he breaks into and he encounters 'resistance'?

matabele

redrock wrote:

matabele wrote:

I know what you are saying but we love the underdog.

It's a criminal evading justice. His crimes were 'property' crimes - is that why people see him in an underdog or in a 'heroic' way? Seems people think property crimes don't hurt anyone..

What if this person (who had 4 other previous convictions) was guilty of rape or assault or murder instead of theft and burglary? Would you still be saying you love the underdog? Would he still be a fantastic dude and the free spirit? Would his evasion still be the 'adventure'? I don't think so.

The above may be a bit exaggerated but acrime is a crime. If he stole your property, burgled your house you would also think differently. This man started his criminal career at a young age and is likely to continue. What happens the day he encounters someone in the house he breaks into and he encounters 'resistance'?

It is definitely related to the type of crime, I think they call them victimless crimes even though there is always a victim no matter what. Also the upbringing he had, if a rich person had done the same thing it would just be like Oh yeah another board rich kid but this guy had nothing going for him.

BinauralJam

know1 wrote:

I wonder why he never thought to steal any shoes?

he would have to change his name, there's a 50 doller fee and you need your birth certificate, kind of a pain in the ass.

redrock

matabele wrote:

...if a rich person had done the same thing it would just be like Oh yeah another board rich kid but this guy had nothing going for him.

So we can excuse and/or 'glorify' crimes committed by people from broken/troubled homes? Obviously as long as they are property crimes, it would seem. There are plenty of rich kids from broken homes with alcoholic parents. Why can we not excuse them? Could they not be just as troubled as those from poorer homes? Are they not worth a film deal? You will say they have a better life because they have the money but for a kid/teen, but for a kid/teen what disturbs them comes from 'within'.

matabele

redrock wrote:

matabele wrote:

...if a rich person had done the same thing it would just be like Oh yeah another board rich kid but this guy had nothing going for him.

So we can excuse and/or 'glorify' crimes committed by people from broken/troubled homes? Obviously as long as they are property crimes, it would seem. There are plenty of rich kids from broken homes with alcoholic parents. Why can we not excuse them? Could they not be just as troubled as those from poorer homes? Are they not worth a film deal? You will say they have a better life because they have the money but for a kid/teen, but for a kid/teen what disturbs them comes from 'within'.

You are correct in everything you say, I guess it's just the rebel in certain people that makes us cheer for him.

redrock

matabele wrote:

redrock wrote:

matabele wrote:

...if a rich person had done the same thing it would just be like Oh yeah another board rich kid but this guy had nothing going for him.

So we can excuse and/or 'glorify' crimes committed by people from broken/troubled homes? Obviously as long as they are property crimes, it would seem. There are plenty of rich kids from broken homes with alcoholic parents. Why can we not excuse them? Could they not be just as troubled as those from poorer homes? Are they not worth a film deal? You will say they have a better life because they have the money but for a kid/teen, but for a kid/teen what disturbs them comes from 'within'.

You are correct in everything you say, I guess it's just the rebel in certain people that makes us cheer for him.

Maybe it's because I'm a mother of a teenager that I don't see it that way. Even if I am still a rebel at heart at my grand ol' age!

mikepegg44

matabele wrote:

redrock wrote:

matabele wrote:

I know what you are saying but we love the underdog.

It's a criminal evading justice. His crimes were 'property' crimes - is that why people see him in an underdog or in a 'heroic' way? Seems people think property crimes don't hurt anyone..

What if this person (who had 4 other previous convictions) was guilty of rape or assault or murder instead of theft and burglary? Would you still be saying you love the underdog? Would he still be a fantastic dude and the free spirit? Would his evasion still be the 'adventure'? I don't think so.

The above may be a bit exaggerated but acrime is a crime. If he stole your property, burgled your house you would also think differently. This man started his criminal career at a young age and is likely to continue. What happens the day he encounters someone in the house he breaks into and he encounters 'resistance'?

It is definitely related to the type of crime, I think they call them victimless crimes even though there is always a victim no matter what. Also the upbringing he had, if a rich person had done the same thing it would just be like Oh yeah another board rich kid but this guy had nothing going for him.

victimless crimes are things like prostitution and possession of illegal drugs, not burglery

chadwick

Jason P wrote:

Free spirits buy backpacks and granola and wander the Sierra Nevadas. They don't steal airplanes, boats, cars, and break into over 100 homes. Free spirits don't have their trailer park mother contacting famous Seattle attorneys to pre-arrange book and movie deals.

I'll admit, it is a very interesting story, but it doesn't make up for the fact that this guy is a dickhead. I have no respect for thieves.

i was watchin the news and i think his mother lives in a log home out in the trees.
i don't think it's a trailer court.

yes stealing sucks.

the dude is awesome though.
he learned how to fly doing research online.
he has major balls.
he is so smart he is dangerously stupid.

Veddernarian

I know police beatings like the one Rodney King (another pillar of society) received are illegal so my hopes for him receiving one, by the police, are dashed. I can only hope he gets into the "general population" in a lovely facility like San Quentin where he can enjoy the days, and especially the nights, with his peers. I don't care how he got to be what he is. If he is smart enough to figure out how to fly an airplane, he should be smart enough to figure out right and wrong, the basic rules of society which includes respect for other people and their property. I think that by the time he is released from prison, it will physiologically impossible for his farts to be audible. Good!

chadwick

Veddernarian wrote:

I know police beatings like the one Rodney King (another pillar of society) received are illegal so my hopes for him receiving one, by the police, are dashed. I can only hope he gets into the "general population" in a lovely facility like San Quentin where he can enjoy the days, and especially the nights, with his peers. I don't care how he got to be what he is. If he is smart enough to figure out how to fly an airplane, he should be smart enough to figure out right and wrong, the basic rules of society which includes respect for other people and their property. I think that by the time he is released from prison, it will physiologically impossible for his farts to be audible. Good!

that's quite nasty.

pandora

do I smell a book and movie deal for this lad? mmmm he is borderline genius no?

TriumphantAngel

Veddernarian wrote:

I know police beatings like the one Rodney King (another pillar of society) received are illegal so my hopes for him receiving one, by the police, are dashed. I can only hope he gets into the "general population" in a lovely facility like San Quentin where he can enjoy the days, and especially the nights, with his peers. I don't care how he got to be what he is. If he is smart enough to figure out how to fly an airplane, he should be smart enough to figure out right and wrong, the basic rules of society which includes respect for other people and their property. I think that by the time he is released from prison, it will physiologically impossible for his farts to be audible. Good!

i wonder how many of those people who think that being brutalised in this way is part of the sentence, have ever considered what that says about their attitudes to sexual assault in general. to think that to some people, rape could ever be justified, or that someone’s right to be safe from it could be taken away, is a horrible position to come from.

JR8805

I think it's ridiculous and unforgivable that he was not removed from the custody of his "mother." What kind of parent lets her 8-year-old start fending for himself for days or weeks at a time? What kind of parent looks to cash in on her own neglect? He's a credit to himself...he turned out a better person than I would have imagined given his history.

Veddernarian

TriumphantAngel wrote:

Veddernarian wrote:

I know police beatings like the one Rodney King (another pillar of society) received are illegal so my hopes for him receiving one, by the police, are dashed. I can only hope he gets into the "general population" in a lovely facility like San Quentin where he can enjoy the days, and especially the nights, with his peers. I don't care how he got to be what he is. If he is smart enough to figure out how to fly an airplane, he should be smart enough to figure out right and wrong, the basic rules of society which includes respect for other people and their property. I think that by the time he is released from prison, it will physiologically impossible for his farts to be audible. Good!

i wonder how many of those people who think that being brutalised in this way is part of the sentence, have ever considered what that says about their attitudes to sexual assault in general. to think that to some people, rape could ever be justified, or that someone’s right to be safe from it could be taken away, is a horrible position to come from.

I watched several documentaries on life in prison. It would be bad enough if a person was simply locked up for an extended amount of time. But it isn't just that. There are areas where every race stakes claim to, they make weapons out of anything, there are gangs, it's plain dangerous. I have 2 fears. One is being out on my boat in the ocean and being caught in a thunderstorm and struck by lightning. The other is being in a prizon, such as San Quentin, and brutalized by the other prisoners. Yet, when I see who this guy is, what he's done, how many people he has stolen from, the lives he's affected, my instantaneous thought is that he ought to be put out there in the general prison yard. Part of me thinks of "rehabilitation"; would he just learn better skills from the other criminals? Or would his experience be so horrific that he would be scared straight and never commit another crime? Time will tell. But to glorify his actions and commend him? Pretty easy from an armchair withoug giving too much thought to the issue. When it happens to you and something of yours gets stolen, you get injured? I don't think that should be glorified. Funny how pirates at Disneyland are glorified, huh? But what about the Somali pirates? Should they be glorified? What if they take a cruise ship and hurt a bunch of people? Would you be cheering? This guy, the barefoot bandit, is nothing more than a Somali pirate. This guy is worse. He doesn't come from the systemic despair of a country like Somalia. He's just another piece of ammo for the people who think potential parents should pass a parenting test before conceiving.

TriumphantAngel

Veddernarian wrote:

TriumphantAngel wrote:

Veddernarian wrote:

I know police beatings like the one Rodney King (another pillar of society) received are illegal so my hopes for him receiving one, by the police, are dashed. I can only hope he gets into the "general population" in a lovely facility like San Quentin where he can enjoy the days, and especially the nights, with his peers. I don't care how he got to be what he is. If he is smart enough to figure out how to fly an airplane, he should be smart enough to figure out right and wrong, the basic rules of society which includes respect for other people and their property. I think that by the time he is released from prison, it will physiologically impossible for his farts to be audible. Good!

i wonder how many of those people who think that being brutalised in this way is part of the sentence, have ever considered what that says about their attitudes to sexual assault in general. to think that to some people, rape could ever be justified, or that someone’s right to be safe from it could be taken away, is a horrible position to come from.

I watched several documentaries on life in prison. It would be bad enough if a person was simply locked up for an extended amount of time. But it isn't just that. There are areas where every race stakes claim to, they make weapons out of anything, there are gangs, it's plain dangerous. I have 2 fears. One is being out on my boat in the ocean and being caught in a thunderstorm and struck by lightning. The other is being in a prizon, such as San Quentin, and brutalized by the other prisoners. Yet, when I see who this guy is, what he's done, how many people he has stolen from, the lives he's affected, my instantaneous thought is that he ought to be put out there in the general prison yard. Part of me thinks of "rehabilitation"; would he just learn better skills from the other criminals? Or would his experience be so horrific that he would be scared straight and never commit another crime? Time will tell. But to glorify his actions and commend him? Pretty easy from an armchair withoug giving too much thought to the issue. When it happens to you and something of yours gets stolen, you get injured? I don't think that should be glorified. Funny how pirates at Disneyland are glorified, huh? But what about the Somali pirates? Should they be glorified? What if they take a cruise ship and hurt a bunch of people? Would you be cheering? This guy, the barefoot bandit, is nothing more than a Somali pirate. This guy is worse. He doesn't come from the systemic despair of a country like Somalia. He's just another piece of ammo for the people who think potential parents should pass a parenting test before conceiving.

why did you quote me and then talk of armchair cheering? i'm not armchair cheering. the only comment i have had in this thread is to express my disgust about you advocating sexual assault on the person being discussed.

Veddernarian

TriumphantAngel wrote:

why did you quote me and then talk of armchair cheering? i'm not armchair cheering. the only comment i have had in this thread is to express my disgust about you advocating sexual assault on the person being discussed.

I have nothing against you. The sexual assault comment was a metaphor for the scary prison environment as a whole. It is a commonly used metaphor. People like this guy drive me to comment as I did in my 1st and 2nd posts. I can't believe people are actually praising him like what he did was ok or something. I think he should be in the general prison yard and everything that comes with that.