General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: My property is never worth more than a person's life. [View all]gulliver
(14,160 posts)The people who commit the crimes know the rules. I only wish we would do the things necessary to keep them from needing or wanting to commit the crimes in the first place. You are entitled to renounce defending your own property. I wouldn't kill someone stealing a chicken to feed a starving child, maybe not even someone stealing my car to feed a drug habit.
But what about the person who really needs the thing being stolen? What about the harm to them? What about the psychologically delicate? If you burglarize someone's home, for example, you are putting them at risk of a life-ending confrontation. Or you could be stealing the only food they have for that day. You might make them feel victimized for life, give them PTSD, tip them into a suicidal depressive tailspin...
It's not simple.