Fight fire with fire
In February I was finally arrested for shoplifting after several years and several thousand dollars worth of liberated merchandise. I had to ask myself then why I was a shoplifter, and if I could morally justify my actions. I came to the conclusion that stealing is not so bad if done for the right reasons (after all, who finds fault with robinhood?) but my reasons were most often selfish and materialistic. I had been telling myself that I was nobly fighting corporate greed; I was stealing from those who stole from the people; I was empowering myself, the individual, while taking power (albeit a very small amount of power) from those mega-companies whose humanitarian and environmental practices left something to be desired. But that was not really it, I don't think. I did it for the thrill. I did it because getting away with it time and time again made me feel invincible. I did it because I got free stuff. I would like to think otherwise, but at the base of my shoplifting frenzy there was only ME and my own desire and boredom.