Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Finders.... keepers?...

This morning was a bust. I looked out the window and saw snow! Then, after getting the kiddo situated I sat down to run an updated maleware virus scan (lord please keep me from catching that stupid conflicker bug, that's the LAST thing I need) and it took 2.5 hours!! I am not kidding, oy. My whole morning routine was killed by that point.

Still it came up clean so I think we're good. *knocking wood*

This afternoon I have spent catching up on all the things I was supposed to be doing this morning. In doing so I came across an article that referenced the police chase in San Diego a couple weeks ago (and the 17 thousand dollars tossed out onto the freeway while it was happening).

This article today was an interview with one of the people that stopped and picked up some of the money (about 700$). Basically the writer asked them why they hadn't turned that money in, or if they were planning on doing so now. The individual said no, they were keeping the money to help them buy groceries and new tires for the family car.

Quite frankly I think of myself as a fairly decent person, and honest. But were I in that same position I'm pretty sure I'd be keeping the money too. What do you think... does that make me a bad person?

2 comments:

360_gandering said...

That's a tough one. They say they need the money to be used as evidence. However, they also say they will use videos to try to find people who picked up the money, and you'd think that videos of the money being picked up would serve as evidence as well as the money itself.
That aside: 1)some cases never make it to trial and the evidence sits around forever doing nothing, 2)if tried and found guilty, the police get to keep things like cars so I guess they would keep the money and that would benefit the police department, 3)if tried and found not guilty the evidence is returned to the defendents - who are probably guilty as sin but it can't be proved. That's two out of three chances that the money is better in your pocket than given back. And for the third one, it can be reasonably argued that - with the economy the way it is - society would benefit as much by having that money spent by regular folks on regular stuff today as it would by the police department getting to keep and spend it at some indeterminate time in the (probably distant) future.
So I can't say it would be bad to keep any cash you picked up in those or similar circumstances. However, if any kid of mine stopped her car on the freeway (especially in California with the way I've seen them drive there!) to grab at money that was being blown around, I just might lock her up and toss away the key to protect her from her lunatic urges.

Tags said...

That's not fair. I can't tell you that its wrong if you said you'd do it - then I'd be placing judgement on you.

So I won't

I won't say that you're wrong.

Or evil. Definitely won't say you're evil or wrong.

...doesn't leave me with much to say. :p

Thoughts...

Thoughts Become Things; Choose The Good Ones.