What happened to personal responsibility?

[SuzySunshine]

I agree - too many kids get off easy these days, he needs to learn. If he has a problem that they need to work with him on then they can still do that, but he needs to learn.

[alison]

Not so sure... Did your brother get his stuff back? I wouldn't want to get embroiled in a situation where your brother could potentially be victim of retaliation. I would get my stuff back and just leave it. Your brother probably has more important things to worry about in school as it is.

Sounds to me as though the school / bookstore needs to have better security if they require that students not carry their bags into the store.

Alison has a point about possible retaliation, as do you about teaching responsibility. I would worry about my own back first and probably choose not to press charges - especially since he did get his stuff back.

[alison]

I see. I guess I see it differently, namely from the perspective of someone who was mugged at gunpoint and just doesn't see how a stolen backpack is worth going after the person to teach him/her a lesson.

[alison]

I'm pm-ing you, Chrisada.

[alison]

duplicate

The kid deserves to be punished. In an ideal world, your brother should press charges. Most likely, he will continue to steal and the crimes will get bigger with time.
In the real world, if it were me, I would not press charges. I wouldn't want the hassle, paperwork and worry over retaliation.

[DCJenn]

I'd totally press charges- retaliation back fires 99% of the time.

Jenn

[Meenah]

I would most definitely press charges.

If that happened here, I'd definitely press charges. I think people need to learn about the consequences of their actions, particularly if the individual is of age.

That said, it seems like there's a bit of a different culture in the States. You'd be worried about retaliation? Is that really common? In that case, I'd probably consider if the person in question was a first-timer or a re-offender. Maybe I'd give a first-timer another chance, and perhaps the scare would be enough to put him off trying in the future. On the other hand, a first-timer probably would just get a warning, right?

And Alison...mugged at gunpoint?! Wow, that's terrible. How do you come through that and feel safe again? I hate to ask a stereotypical question, but is that common in the large cities of the US? I've never known anyone who was mugged before. Thank god we have tough gun laws here. Guns just freak me right out... I'm so sorry for what happened to you.

[Stella]

I'd press charges. Or, I'd just call my Jersey boys and have them lay the smack down. :>

Oh, and why don't the bookstores let you take your bags in????

[SuzySunshine]

Our bookstores didn't let you take bags inside in college either, but they had a safe place we could check them.

[Vishenka69]

I don't remember ever having to leave my bag outside when going into a college bookstore. Although NYU had lockers that you had to pay a quarter for to store your stuff (the quarter was to lock and take the key). I think in this case I would press charges to make sure the kid thinks hard next time he decides to steal something.

I guess another pro for going to a small private liberal arts school is not having to worry about your stuff, most people's stuff is even nicer.

[MissCrabette]

I guess another pro for going to a small private liberal arts school is not having to worry about your stuff, most people's stuff is even nicer.

Amen! I felt like the poor kid in college around all those filthy rich "gotta wrap my boat before the winter" kids.

I think the right thing to do would be to press charges and that would probably be my first reaction. But then I don't think it would be worth my time or the risk of retaliation. Yes, I'm horrible for saying this, but I'm a chicken. See, Robyn said she might give the guy a break if it was his first time and that she might pursue the case if he'd done it before. I'm the opposite. If he looks like he's done it before, I don't think I'd want to mess with him. Feel free to throw stones now.

[Stella]

I've never heard of such a thing. Our Honor Code was a really big deal at my school, so I can't really relate.

Anyway, I'd still charge him, crying or not. He stole. That's not a grey area.