[3423] in Depressing_Thoughts
stupidity and ethics
jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (jik@ATHENA.MIT.EDU)
Thu Nov 19 11:40:29 1992
If you found a Sears bag in the parking lot of a Sears store, with a
brand new comforter and set of sheets in it, would you turn it in to
the lost-and-found office or walk off with it?
Apparently, the odds are good that if you asked that question to a
random person at Sears, they'd say the latter, because someone did
exactly that with $80 worth of linens I forgot to lock in my car last
night when I bought them and a large bookcase (which was quite a chore
getting into the car, hence the fact that I set the bag of linens
aside for a minute to deal with the bookcase and accidentally forgot
about them).
I am literally tormented by the stupidity that would lead me to forget
to put the bag into the car, and then walk back into the store to do
more shipping. I am enraged at myself for doing something so moronic.
Last night, if Andrea hadn't been around, I'm quite certain I would
have spent quite a while banging my head against a well. As it is, I
only got to punch a few doors.
I am almost more depressed, however, by the fact that people nowadays
are such crooks. I would not think twice about what to do if I came
upon an abandoned bag in a store parking lot. In fact, I once found a
wallet on a bus with quite a bit of money in it, and returned the
wallet without even considering the alternatives. I feel like I'm at
a disadvantage in this world because I have morals. And I feel like
whoever took the bag from the parking lot has walked all over me.
So, I'm not just an idiot, I'm an idiot with morals. What a winning
combination.
Sigh.
