by Liminality » 8 Feb 2008 19:09
That statement has been bothering me the whole day, enough to completely derail the normal pleasure I’d get out of reading.
Why? This is the first time anyone has ever seriously declared me a thief, or ever launched any serious attack against my moral reasoning.
Quiet contrary to your claims, I hold extremely strongly to personal moral code, and could just as easily have told a lie to avoid misconceptions, although I strictly refrain from lying whenever possible.
The lock was dirt-covered on one side, hanging from a protrusion in the chain link fence overhanging a sidewalk, roughly 6 feet from a gate, that appeared to have recently been welded closed. The fence was closing off a field of sorts, with no homes within 50 feet. I thought about this logically, and reasoned that the lock had been removed from its old home on the gate before it was welded closed, then either cast aside or forgotten on the ground, and had been picked up by someone and hung from the wire jutting from the fence.A friend was with me at the time, and considering the issue, I asked what his moral opinions were. He is a pretty devout Mormon, even so far as to avoid profanity. I asked him what he thought of the issue, both morally and legally.
We discussed it for a short length, and reached the conclusion that morally it was no different than finding a watch left on a fence post. However we both agreed that had the lock been in use and simply unlocked, or even if there might have a chance of being reclaimed by the power company, that it would have been better to leave it.
Legally, the issue became slightly more sticky. Considering the lock was overhanging a public sidewalk with no owner present, then technically the correct thing to do would be to turn it in to a police station as an ‘object of value’, and then claim it as yours x period of time. However, we both reasoned that if it wasn’t claimed by a work crew during a lunch break, or even one that might have left for the day, it would hang there until picked up by someone.
Regardless, if this is still too distasteful for the people on this forum, then I apologize for having brought it forth. My initial post contained no ‘Pride’, but rather ‘Information’. I try to be as concise as possible, whenever possible. Moderators, please Delete/lock this thread if it is at all contrary to your views, I don’t really care at this point.
I have been decried as a villain and a thief. Regardless of your views or attacks, I will continue this hobby of 8 months as it is the very embodiment of my stance on life, looking past the hundreds of dollars its cost to buy padlocks and cylinders. Why? Because money pales in comparison to knowledge. Collecting information and forming an understanding of the whole. The challenge is bested when the picture is completed. Just like most things in life.
If anyone here has ever been alone and found a wallet on the ground… Who among you would without thinking or even checking the contents, turn it in to the administration? I can proudly say I’ve done that twice in my life.
Liminality - def: the condition of being on a threshold
, but i dont think we can keep you from looking at the forum for what you need to know 