Nothing Worse Than A Thief!!!

[plateauguy]

Sorry to hear about this, Gary. There is a feeling of rage that you can't explain unless you've been stolen from.
Two years ago our travel trailer was broken into. Pretty sure it was a woman or someone kinky. My wife's candles, underware, and nightgown were stolen along with $50 and all the booze. My wife went insane! Everything in the trailer was thrown out into the front yard. Walls, windows, cubbards were all scrubbed like we had been exposed to the plague. All the bedding was given to the Goodwill and new bought. All dishes were ran on the sterilize cycle of the dishwasher. No "Thief germs" were left.
Worse part, the police wouldn't even investigate since it was under $1500. A thief is the lowest form of humanity.

 

[bullbriar]

Sure feel helpless and pissed when something is stolen. Would be great to find the guy and teach him some manners.

 

[thehappypiper]

My home town is Glasgow and there is definitely a "scum" class which will stab you for fun. The last family home before I made my own way in the world was quite posh. I was upstairs in my room with my girlfriend one afternoon and there was a massive crash from downstairs, then rummaging etc as some loser went through my parent' stuff. I cannot tell you the fear I felt, at seventeen, without any sort of weapon at my disposal. We just sat there trying to be quiet, hoping he woudn't come upstairs. At that point there were no mobile phones apart from for yuppies. My dad came back and caught him a few minutes later and this guy was so high or desperate that he launched himself through the plate-glass window of our living room, leaving a massive blood-trail in his wake. It was far more than theft. It was a terrifying violation. I wasn't even embarassed at being scared in front of my girlfriend. I bet if I could have seen him I would have realised he was just some d*ckhead I could do something about, but there was something really creepy about only hearing what was going on and imagining the worst sort of rapist scumbag in my home.

 

[lawmax3]

I hate em,I hate em!!!!!!! In Tennessee it is the Metheads that are the worst.

 

[instymp]

I had a friend in the old days, that spent time for murder, found wife with a guy doin it, yada yada, served his time & trusted him more than a thief & liar.

Been broken into & robbed 3 times before at home & business, feel for your loss & violation!

Hope you get all back.

 

[instymp]

What I meant by "Violation" is that I felt like my personal home/business was violated by someone not supposed to be there.

 

[rmbittner]

The group behind the home invasion of our friends were much more sophisticated than simple burglars. They had staked out the house for days, checking the mail to get the names of every single occupant (including 3 young children). They cut phone lines. They bound the three children, a grandmother, and they bound and beat the husband. Meanwhile, his wife had hidden upstairs and was able to sneak out a second-story window and run to the neighbors to call the police.
The thieves left prints and evidence behind. They were caught within a week. And it turned out that our friends' house was the third one they'd broken into.
The stupid thing: Our friends were living in their brand-new dream house. They had been in the house less than a week when this happened. And they had sunk absolutely everything they had into it. But the thieves assumed that anyone who lived in a $1.2 million house just had to have valuables and a safe inside. (They had nothing like that.) That's the sole reason our friends were targeted.
Our friends moved out of that house within five days, back to their unsold condo. They sold it for a loss (this was back around 2009, when the market was awful), but there was no way they were spending another night in that house.
One feature of their "dream house" was a downstairs charging station for their cell phones and other gadgets. That's where every cell phone was when the thieves broke in. And that's why I now make it a point to charge my phone at my bedside.
This doesn't contribute anything to the main discussion, but here's some information about their case, which was presented when one of the six home-invaders appealed his sentence: http://statecasefiles.justia.com/documents/illinois/court-of-appeals-second-appellate-district/2-10-0688.pdf?ts=1324303443.
Bob

 

[foggymountain]

Sorry for your loss. I have lost many valuables to thieves. I have thought of something worse. A politician. They steal your country, mess up your health care, take your money and make Americans so hated that we hesitate to travel abroad. And one more thing-they are causing the Earth to become hostile to humanity.

 

[rmbittner]

foggy:
"...make Americans so hated that we hesitate to travel abroad..."
Quite a statement. My wife and I have traveled abroad a lot, and we've found a universal welcome as Americans. Granted, we're not visiting the Middle East, but still. . . It seems like a gross overstatement to paint all politicians -- and the world -- with such broad strokes. I don't see the world as my enemy. And I've definitely never felt "hated" when traveling overseas! It's usually just the opposite. We've never been more warmly welcomed than we were on trips through Germany and on a visit to Morocco.
But I guess if you go into these adventures expecting to find negatives, your expectations are likely to be met.
Bob

 

[dochudson]

put in a solid door and frame with a good dead bolt. add a motion senor light over the door. if you have bushes etc.. clear cut around the shop. if the shop has windows be sure they are looked (a dow rod in the track works great.
I think someone got carried away with the political/american hate.. since retired we have cruised the Med (spain, france, italy, turkey, greece and were treated quit well. we also did a river cruise u through germany, etc and had no problem. have spent a lot of time in england and ireland w/o hassle. Now in montreal you would how thought us scum of the earth. they like to play the game they didn't speak english and would make fun of us in french. then my wife would smile and tell them what she thought of them in french.
I'm pretty ure if you think things are so bad here you could afford to move to wherever you think is better.

 

[claypipesarchaeologist]

And, perhaps, the worst part is part is that they steal your sense of security.