You are talking about the faulty implementation of penalties, which an entirely separate thing.
Proving my dog is not a German Shepard does not mean that it is an Airedale.
My Pipes Were Not Stolen
- Thread starter cosmicfolklore
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You are talking about the faulty implementation of penalties, which an entirely separate thing.
Proving my dog is not a German Shepard does not mean that it is an Airedale.
Not really
If the the death penalty were meted out more swiftly and with more certainty I don’t think it would deter murderers any more than the current faulty implementation does. More cops and more cctv surveillance are better crime deterrents than serve penalties - but I for one would not advocate for either
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Well, it's a damn shame. Nice that you didn't lose the pipes. Sorry about the windows and all. I assume your insurance covered that.
Luckily we live in the United States where the Supreme Court has interpreted the ban on cruel and usual punishment as forbidding the government from imposing a criminal sentence that is disproportionate to the crime committed.
Unlike in Singapore you don’t get the death penalty for drug trafficking the USA.
And if you’re the sort of fellow that thinks public canings are a grand idea…-well we just disagree I guess.
I’m ok with that.
Unlike in Singapore you don’t get the death penalty for drug trafficking the USA.
And if you’re the sort of fellow that thinks public canings are a grand idea…-well we just disagree I guess.
I’m ok with that.
I understand your feelings about the subject.
They have nothing to do with the reality of dealing with criminal behavior, however.
Which (again), is:
If you allow it, you get more of it.
If you do not, you get less.
(If only there was some way to make people who are OK with crime be its only victims.)
They have nothing to do with the reality of dealing with criminal behavior, however.
Which (again), is:
If you allow it, you get more of it.
If you do not, you get less.
(If only there was some way to make people who are OK with crime be its only victims.)
We have a higher incarceration rate in the US than almost anywhere but that has not deterred the criminals.
It's self defining:
To NOT take whatever action is sufficient to deter the behavior.
What would you suggest?
What should or could we as a society do to effectively disallow crime or not allow it to happen?
What should or could we as a society do to effectively disallow crime or not allow it to happen?
I grew up in NYC when everything was locked. My first bagpipes teacher had something like 5 deadlock, and a solid steel bar wedged against the front door. Then about 20 years ago, I heard people are not locking their cars. Take the radio out, never leave valuable stuff in the car. It cheaper to have them take loose changes and CDs than getting windows busted. Then recently, I heard people are locking cars again. Apparently, thugs now days trash the cars anyway for the hell of it. I'm happy I don't live there anymore.
That's a different subject, still...
ANY behavior can be stopped if sufficient self-interest is invoked.
Think of a slider with the word "Reward" at one end and "Punishment" at the other. Which direction do you move it to discourage or encourage not just humans but virtually every living organism on Earth?
Which makes the answer "Whatever it takes"
I think I’d very much like to have a drink and a smoke with you.
I like your slider analogy but the problem is the sweet spot on the slider is going to be different depending on context and depending on the individual whose behavior is being modified otherwise it’s too permissive or too authoritarian.
So I gather you were not able to enjoy a pipe on the drive home due to wind shear?
@cosmicfolklore I certainly hope you don't drive a GM. Windows are on crazy backorder right now.
Glad to hear your collection survived and the ne'erdo'wells didn't make off with your man purse.
Glad to hear your collection survived and the ne'erdo'wells didn't make off with your man purse.
Thank God you're safe ! Glad it wasn't worse. Make sure to tell them not to vacuum and shampoo the interior when you have the windows replaced ... unless you need a re-stock on cigars ! 
Information sharing among criminals + organization (coordinated teams) + little risk (effectively zero arrests or prosecutions) = auto break-ins are surging dramatically in all major cities, and significantly pretty much everywhere else.
Why now?
Three reasons:
Instant communication ability, reduced police headcount, and a collapse in social values.
By "collapse in social values" I mean a not-insignificant number of today's kids are being taught (directly or indirectly) that while owning things requires working for them, the NATURE of the work doesn't matter. Namely, "That guy owns that car because he worked six months at an office for the money to buy it... Now it belongs to me because I worked for it by robbing him. Found a car I wanted, followed him home, pointed a gun at him in his driveway, and threatened to shoot him if he didn't give me its keys."
It's all effort, right?
(I'm not kidding or making it up. That's literally how street criminals think.)
Glad you didn't lose the pipes Cosmic. One of the regulars at the shop was in Santa Fe for a weekend vacation and had her car broken in to. They took her pipe bag, which had a nice meer and four Petes in it. Guess there's a lower class of thugs in Santa Fe.
The feeling of having your space violated like that really sucks, not to mention the windows. I’m sorry to hear that man. That’s hilarious that thousands of dollars worth of pipes were just cast aside. It is a universal thing that people unfamiliar with pipes just think they’re $20 bucks or so. I have friends and family that are astonished at the $90-$100 price tag on Savinellis. Funnily enough most people seem to understand that meerschaum pipes tend to be expensive and aren’t surprised to hear they usually cost at least $100.