Shoplifting

Being a vain sort I often look to see what sites link back here. I've found a really good one recently with a great piece on shoplifting.

I've shoplifted loads in Belfast. It's a great passtime. I never really did it for fun or kicks or whatever. I mostly did it because I needed food, or clothes, or money for crack. You might argue that there's a difference in need and want but that's for another time.

One of the most interesting things about theft is how society looks at it and both how and who gets punished most severely for it. An example being the riots in England in August that started in Tottenham and spread throughout the country.

What was interesting about what was taken was that it was mostly status items (shit trainers and expensive electrical stuff). The riots were wrong, sure and you can say that the rioters deserved to be punished. Where this falls down is the fact that our politicians stole from us (as we found out during the expenses scandal), and as yet I think only one politician has gone to jail for this and even then he was released shortly after. In August a man was imprisoned for four years for posting some shit on facebook encouraging people to riot (there's no evidence that this post actually led to any rioting).It seems that for people of elevated status theft warrants a less severe punishment.

The issue again gets blown out of proportion when dickhead tabloid journalists start frothing at the mouth about it, and the fact that the majority of their readers are also dickheads means that although the public see an issue as serious, it's the public themselves which are hard to take seriously (unless they're busting into your house to give you a kicking - which happens from time to time - though not to me).

Even looking at the headlines on a tabloid newspaper makes me feel like I'm being shouted at by an incredibly thick person who thinks I agree with them.

That's why when I go back to a shop in Belfast that I've stolen from I feel slightly smug and walk around thinking about how I got away with it, and how here's me and who's going to catch me now. (You see I was never caught and I don't do it anymore - so anyone who doesn't like it can suck it).

Here's a link to the article. It refers you back here to share my glory days of shoplifting if you go down far enough, so you can go on a never ending loop between our websites if you fancy it.

And I'm not happy and I'm not sad

Yesterday at work Kissy Boy said that he was going out to get pissed and asked who wanted to go too. Me, him, Little My, Betty Blue and another guy Crusher Bones went out. We went to The Kitchen Bar and queued for ages to get a pint. We took the booze outside because Little My and Crusher Bones wanted to smoke fags.

Crusher Bones and Little My were talking about the riots up in Ardoyne and saying they didn't think it was on but that they chucking stones at the police when they were kids and that it was good crack, they just did it for a chase.

Crusher Bones said that one time he threw a policeman through a double glazed window and the cops chased him but he stopped and fought them all and won.

I thought this was pure balls even though he's a big scary guy but Little My was loving it. In the middle of thinking his story was balls I noticed that Betty Blue and Kissy Boy had slipped off.

I didn't think I'd give a shit but it turns out I do. I like her, and I even though Kissy Boy is a cool guy I don't want him with her either.