The Audacity of Some People...

In my college town a couple of days ago, three women decided to take an unsecured scooter from the front of one of the Walmarts. They went in the store, noticed the scooter sitting there, went shopping, came out 30 minutes later, saw the scooter still there, and apparently thought, "Abandoned. Mine," and then scooted off, taking the scooter with them.

Well, as you can imagine, this was not an abandoned scooter but was the property of a seven year old kid who was in the store with his mother. The police had camera footage of the three women, and the department posted their pictures all over social media. The little boy got a new scooter and helmet from some donations from concerned community members, and then the women returned the scooter and "apologized."

The apology, which the police department also posted on social media at the women's request, included statements such as "If we had known it had belonged to someone, we wouldn't have taken it," "we tried to apologize but the mother wouldn't accept our apology," and "we are truly sorry," just rubbed me the wrong way last night.

Here's the truth. They were stupid. They thought that an apology would be enough to let them absolve themselves of any guilt with the situation. They stole something that was not theirs and thought nothing else about it until they were held accountable for their actions by authorities.

I wonder about these types of people. I wonder when they decided that their wants outweigh the needs and property ownership of others. I wonder if there will ever be any sort of consequence for these women who just took what they wanted when they wanted it.

Can you imagine what the seven year old felt when he walked out of Walmart with his mother and found that his scooter was gone? Can you imagine what his mother went through, having to report this to the police, calm an upset seven year old, and still have to face the walk home juggling kid and stuff? I don't blame the mother for not accepting the apology. I really don't. The selfish actions of those women affected more than just them. They caused pain and anguish to someone who was completely innocent of everything - someone who thought that we lived in a place where people would respect the property of others and would leave things where they were. Most people did. Most people probably looked at that little scooter and thought, "how cute." These women looked at that scooter and thought, "finders, keepers" and blissfully sailed off into the night with it. (Remember, there are pictures!!)

I am not sure where this mindset comes from entirely, but I have been watching some social media commercials lately, and I think I know that some of the "it's all for me" mentality comes from marketing. We seem to have swung to the attitude that we can have it all, and if we can't get what we want when we want it, then it is the workings of an oppressive culture acting on us to prevent us from having what we want. The message seems to be "if you see something you want, you deserve to have it." That message has really changed from the message I got when I was younger, but those messages came primarily from my family members and my school requirements.

The message I remember most clearly was "work hard to earn what you want." So, I do. I work as hard as I can to get what I want. I know that my choices are mine and mine alone. I accept responsibility for what I do, and I try my best to do good in the world rather than to just look out for myself. It makes me sad to know that there is less of that type of thinking in the world these days.

This cannot be the product of just the pandemic. This attitude is something that was taught and learned rather than just happened. I think the pandemic made it a bit more noticeable and pronounced, but I think these three women just didn't even think about anyone else. They went on impulse and took something that belonged to someone else because it was there...and they wanted it. I do not understand this at all!

Something else I cannot understand is the attitude that comes through from younger people that seem to be "I don't need to work, I'll just become famous on TikTok and YouTube." (I am the aunt to one of these younger people - this continues to baffle me... I even offered to follow his YouTube channel and give him another subscriber on his way to financial security. He doesn't have a YouTube channel...um, hard to make money when you don't have anything happening...) When did we get to this point? How will we get out of it? Will the next generation of children watch their parents constantly focus on seeking fame without capturing it, and then those children will take over the responsibilities of life? Is this what happened after the 1919-1920 influenza pandemic (but, without the global social media of course?)? 

Today, I am going out into my world to do what I can do for other people. I will accept responsibility for my own actions. I will try to lead others to their own choices. I will do my best to be all the things in the Girl Scout Law that I took as my guiding principles way back when I was 8 years old. All I can do is control my own urges and hope that others will do the same thing.

I cannot control other people. I cannot control other people. Other people out there may be stupid, but that is not my fault or responsibility. I just have to live in a world where those people exist and may affect me, but it is not my responsibility to fix stupid.

On that cheery note, I'm finishing up the second watching of Obi-Wan Kenobi, episode 5 and will be taking my shower and heading out of my house to go to work. Oh, happy day!

Do good in this world, fellow music therapist. Do good.