> telling people not to leave anything visible in their cars
I effing hate that attitude. We shouldn't have to live in a society where every moment you have to be vigilant against the bad guys.
It keeps piling on. I suspect if we keep this up there will be signs "don't use your phone in public" (because people will steal phones from your hands). "don't eat in public" (because people will steal food from you). "don't drive a car" (because your car will be wrecked/stolen). "Don't leave your house" (because outside you're likely to be mugged).
The whole point of having police instead of having to walk around with your own armor and armed guards is so we can not have to put up with this stuff. But nearly everyone, at least on the west, takes it for granted that "it's just the way it is". It's not. It's the way we let it be. Not every place/country has this issue. We let it get there by both by encouraging it ("looking for a partner in crime") and by letting it slide (see police response above)
This isn't just SF. In Berlin I was told not to put my bag between my legs because someone would steal it from behind. In Paris a friend had her wallet stolen from her purse in ~15 seconds. She reached into her purse for her camera, took a picture, looked back into her purse, saw her wallet was gone.
> We shouldn't have to live in a society where every moment you have to be vigilant against the bad guys.
> having to walk around with your own armor and armed guards is so we can not have to put up with this stuff
The net result wont be hyper vigilant people (as in they modify their behavior). The net result will be fight or flight. Vigilantes, or migration. I found myself getting increasingly ready for violence in SF. I didn't want that to be my story and I have the self control and self awareness to do something else. So I left, and though it pains me I will probably never live there again. California as a piece of the earth is amazing, but a minority of the people there make it terrible.
Considering violence to protect your property is a fool's errand in CA. The people attempting to steal from you have a very low chance of going to jail. You resorting to violence to stop it has a very, very high chance of you getting significant time in jail. You did the most reasonable thing by leaving.
>The whole point of having police instead of having to walk around with your own armor and armed guards is so we can not have to put up with this stuff.
I might catch tuns of downvotes for this, but the Police in SF are to protect the interests of the elite. It is not in their interest to worry about "petty" crime. The police are not legally obligated to protect the public.
I effing hate that attitude. We shouldn't have to live in a society where every moment you have to be vigilant against the bad guys.
It keeps piling on. I suspect if we keep this up there will be signs "don't use your phone in public" (because people will steal phones from your hands). "don't eat in public" (because people will steal food from you). "don't drive a car" (because your car will be wrecked/stolen). "Don't leave your house" (because outside you're likely to be mugged).
The whole point of having police instead of having to walk around with your own armor and armed guards is so we can not have to put up with this stuff. But nearly everyone, at least on the west, takes it for granted that "it's just the way it is". It's not. It's the way we let it be. Not every place/country has this issue. We let it get there by both by encouraging it ("looking for a partner in crime") and by letting it slide (see police response above)
This isn't just SF. In Berlin I was told not to put my bag between my legs because someone would steal it from behind. In Paris a friend had her wallet stolen from her purse in ~15 seconds. She reached into her purse for her camera, took a picture, looked back into her purse, saw her wallet was gone.
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