Mum's the word

 Scrolling through Instragram and I saw a video (screenshot here) of a woman stealing a  potted chrysanthemum from a neighbor's yard.

I didn't go further into the story; I don't know if the perpetrator was identified. or what-all else happened. I'm sure that lots of people had stories to share about similar incidents in neighborhood all over the nation.

Here's my question. Even disregarding the fact that this theft took place during the daytime, with no cover of darkness, what is it about people that makes them think they are entitled to rip off their neighbors, or anyone else?

Long ago I worked with a woman who lived in an apartment with her teenaged daughter. One Monday morning, the coworker was talking about their weekend. She said this right out loud: "Sunday morning, we wanted to read the paper, but we didn't feel like going out to buy one, so I just told (daughter's name) to go upstairs and take it from someone's doorstep."

The other day, I saw on Instagram a video appearing to show the mother of a Kansas City Chiefs player (not that one) (or the other one, either) taking an Amazon box from a neighbor's doorway. The comments that followed all went down the same lines: "Her son makes millions playing a game and she has to steal?"

Not, "No matter what kind of money her son makes, she shouldn't steal things."

In the case of the coworker years ago, I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought it was a rotten thing to do, but, surprise, surprise, I was the only one in the room of 10 or so of us who pointed out that it was a rotten thing to do, and reflected a lack of respect for herself, her daughter, and the neighbor. Theft is not a victimless crime; when you take things, you are taking them from someone.

That happened decades ago, and I am still the kind of person who tells people they are wrong to steal. Maybe this honesty has caused me to lose friends over the years, but who wants to be friends with people who shrug about breaking a Commandment?

Number 8, if you're scoring at home.