Thursday, August 13, 2015

I've Lost My Faith In Humanity

I ride the commuter train (Metra North Line) to and from work every work day. On the evening commute home, I often fall asleep for a 15 to 20 minute cat nap. I usually sit upstairs in the single seats and place my hat and coat and maybe any parcels on the flat coat shelf that is adjacent to the seats. You can probably guess where this story is going.

So on this evening's commute home, I set my baseball style billed cap and a light fleece pullover on the coat shelf. I slept no more than 10-15 minutes and when I woke up, my cap and pullover were gone. I didn't realize it until my station stop came up, and then when I went to pick up my belongings, I realized that they were gone. Now I was awake the full time after my nap and I didn't see anyone steal the cap and pullover, so it happened in those brief 15 minutes.

The blue cap is one that I bought at Fredericksburg National Military Park's bookstore and probably cost no more than $15-20. The pullover was purchased from J Crew in an inventory sale for probably $20. So the combined value of cap and pullover is not a significant amount, so no big loss.

However, I am stunned that someone would steal my belongings and feel like I've been violated. If my belongings had any significant value then I could sort of understand the rationale for the theft, but they really had no value. So the thief did not steal my cap out of need or to get any money from selling it. No, he did it because it was an easy steal. He did it out of spite and contempt for his fellow man.

I am really hurt that someone would even think of taking a low value item from me. It never occurred to me that anyone would steal my cap. I guess that I tend to be a trusting person, but not anymore; or at least not on the train. I won't ever be so trusting again. 

Even worse though, you son of a bitch, you have made me a worse person by changing me from an honest, trusting person to one who will now view every fellow commuter with suspicion. I will trust no one anymore. You have chipped off a veneer of humanity from this little part of the world. We live in a time where we need more kindness, more trust, more humanity. So thanks for nothing pal.

29 comments:

  1. hence why I left Japan, I got bloody sick and tired for being the target of everyone's anger and hatred on the subway in the mornings. I just feel sorry that my mates are still over there.

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  2. I moved from West London after 48 years to Newbury in West Berkshire. I still cannot get used to perfect strangers saying hello and chatting after a year.

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  3. My trust in humanity was never great. I was always looking over my shoulder in London. I am more relaxed and less anxious now. People will steal anything at anytime. Sorry about you belongings. Best just to move on.

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  4. Sorry to read your post. There have always been thieves, the difference today I believe is the impunity with which they appear to operate. In an age where respect and discipline are two elements in what seems to be terminal decline, the moral compass of some individuals spins at an alarmingly different rate. There are good people we just don't notice them as much.

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  5. Sorry to hear about your loss. I too lived in London and learnt not to trust anyone on the commute to work due to the amount of pickpockets etc.

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  6. As I see it, the problem is our relatively newly acquired lifestyle in large but cramped metropolitan clusters of tens of millions of people, with less and less living space for the individual. The human mind is social, but configured for responsibility in a group of 12-24 people. Put us in a larger environment, and we start to loose our empathy, since our brain can’t cope with the massive social input we experience and just shuts it out.

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  8. Sad and irritating story that. It is even more irritating that such things happen obviously everywhere in the world. I spend 2 hours in the commuter Train every day but I never sleep. Too many too strange people in and near Frankfurt. Actually it came to my mind I should write a book about all these weirdos and bizarre incidents I experienced sofar.

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  9. This is a bummer indeed. You're right about the low value of the stuff and the importance of the impact this has had on you personally which is of high value! I suspect something good will happen to you to counter this, just wait and see...

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  10. "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

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  11. I have always believed that forgiveness is defined not by condoning the offending act, but not letting it dictate who you are.

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  12. Your story makes me sad, but I cannot say I am surprised. Anything not firmly nailed down seems to grow legs these days. However, I might have a little something to brighten your day. I'll contact you when my family has returned to the US from Germany this weekend.

    -- Stokes

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  13. I'm very sad to read this happened to you and how it's so negatively effected you. I wish you the best and can find a way to recover from this as I went through the same thing but when I was much younger in my life/career.

    I follow something similar to Kevin Kearney and WQRobb posted which developed from multiple "evil" experiences on the Metro early in my career. Whenever something bad or "evil" happens to me, I go do something "good" for someone or a group. In other words, for every evil act done to me I pay it forward with a good act. I've discovered I do more good without evil occurring now, it's become a habit. These days it's helping more at church or church outreach. I'd rather not, I'd much rather sit in my chair reading and/or painting but I get out and help others without asking for anything. That helps me greatly regarding my appreciation for humankind. Not a recommendation as everyone has to deal with evil their own way, just relaying another experience.

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  14. Sorry 'bout your bad break , these things rankle so ! , hope something good happens to balance it out , Tony

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  15. Having served 20 years as a police officer, I have watched our society disintegrate. Nothing ever surprises me! Fortunately you were assaulted, as well .Be safe my friend...Bill

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  16. These days I don't trust any humanoids until they prove to me they can be.

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  17. Stay close to church, family and friends mon ami.
    We appreciate you very much.
    Bill P.

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  18. Swine! He will win of you become cynical. Please don't!

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  19. I feel like I am now past the Anger stage of Grief and have settled into Acceptance. Whatever will be will be. :)

    Thank you everyone for the support and kind comments. It helped me very much.

    My only regret now is that I can no longer take a nap on the commute home. I really enjoyed those naps.

    Jim

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    1. As someone who works in law enforcement in the USA, sometimes it is hard to keep faith and know that the vast majority of people are good...most likely you were victim of opportunity...but maybe the person who stole your goods was a person in need. perhaps you actually helped someone...just don't leave any figures unattended!!..take your naps and maybe once in awhile leave a few pieces of coin for the ferryman.

      Pat L.

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    2. As someone who works in law enforcement in the USA, sometimes it is hard to keep faith and know that the vast majority of people are good...most likely you were victim of opportunity...but maybe the person who stole your goods was a person in need. perhaps you actually helped someone...just don't leave any figures unattended!!..take your naps and maybe once in awhile leave a few pieces of coin for the ferryman.

      Pat L.

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  20. Sorry to hear about your experience Jim. The sort of person who did it just makes the decent people all the more worthwhile spending time with.

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  21. Consul Scipio well said. In my v small way I try and do likewise. I do think the vast majority of people are fundamentally decent from what ever bit of society you come from. It is the obnoxious minority who do their level best to cause problems for the majority of society.

    What perplexed me in this story and not being too rude Jim but why would anyone want to steal a second hand hat which someone else has worn. I'm presuming it wasn't someone in dire financial need as they wouldn't normally be on a peak priced commuter train. The cap is also fairly specialised and not something like a football team cap. I have known people who steal - there is sometimes no obvious reason. They don't need the item, they have plenty of money etc. Sometimes its a mental issue and it's the potential risk/excitement etc of being caught. The items are just dumped in the rubbish bin and not even worn. Go figure.

    regards,
    Guy

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    1. Guy, your analysis of the situation is exactly what I was thinking at the time. It just didn't make any sense because the items clearly had no value. It just leaves me shaking my head. My sense now is that it was done as a prank: steal something from the sleeping guy, ha ha ha. Actually, it would have been funnier to place the hat on my head and walk away.

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  22. I am so very sorry you experienced this. I am glad, though, to see you are coming through it somewhat better now, and reminded that not all is bad in the world.

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  23. Well Fritz I can feel for you loss, but I will tell a slightly different tale of having left my latch open/the back end of my minivan full up and open for 5 to 6 hours on a college campus behind an education building and NOTHING WAS STOLEN - it ws probably just a lucky break and a gift from God or I might just not have had anything in it worth stealing though I did have a pack of some 20 to 30 CDS Course it was also on a small university with common police patrols and not late at night - and back around 2008 0r 2009 before the venomous lawlessness had spread as evidenced by the hunting and brutality being down TOWARDS our current law enforcement as POTUS says we need soul searching? Nah we just need folks to step up and take notice NOT pictures - In Miami I was mugged repeatedly because of my race from 74-75 - And yet when some one tried to rob me of my chicken unlimited food I resisted (I was hungry and my mother and I barely had enough to live on) and folks came running - Perhaps the person was cold in your instance - bet theft is taken care of by our maker

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  24. Some steal because the opportunity has presented itself. There could be a good chance all the materials stolen were tossed into a trash bin.

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  25. I don't know if your love of the 18th century extends to Voltaire's Candide, but there is a quality to your story that would have spoken to Old Fritz's table companion. We can love humankind, but there are sure a lot of bad apples running around out there. I love you webpage or blog or whatever it is.

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