# ...Aaaand thieves suck. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 17, 2012, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173 "2012-02-17T19:31:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/21 "2012-02-18T13:30:06Z")
Appalling people. I am glad for you and your wife that nothing worse happened. However it irks me that you can’t use your property in public without some cretin doing that. ---
**Author:** ![velvetjones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/5f9b8f/32.png) [@velvetjones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/velvetjones)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/22 "2012-02-18T13:40:13Z")
In live in NY (Long Island, not in the city) I’ve been hearing on our local NPR station that this type of theft is on the rise. People with expensive electronics walking or sitting and completely absorbed in texting or reading or blogging so they don’t notice the thief approaching who then snatches their electronics right out of their hands and hauls ass. I’m glad your wife wasn’t hurt. I’m sorry this happened to you. ---
**Author:** ![Suil\_Dubh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85f322/32.png) [@Suil\_Dubh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Suil_Dubh)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/23 "2012-02-18T13:58:37Z")
I was thinking about this thread again today… …and as **Wheelz** already said a few posts up, I hate to be another “it could be worse” guy, but when you think about it, in consolation, the cretin who stole your wife’s iPad probably has a really, really crappy life. By this I mean that, through a lot of hard work, you and your wife can afford an iPad. The iThief, whether through choice or chance, is reduced to stealing. I’m guessing more many more choices than chances brought him to where he is. Anyway, his life must be pretty… what’s the term the kids use these days, um… “epic fail” if ripping off iPads from people in a fast food restaurant is how he makes ends meet. Small consolation, I know, but at least something to think about. You can always buy another iPad. He can’t buy another life. ---
**Author:** ![Gagundathar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a183cd/32.png) [@Gagundathar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gagundathar)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/24 "2012-02-18T14:01:22Z")
Wow. I chime in with everyone else to say that I am happy your wife wasn’t hurt in this crappy event. Thieves are more pernicious than most people think. In popular culture, they are sometimes glorified which (having been a victim) is disgusting to me. Not in the same level of rapist or murderer or child molester, but near. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/25 "2012-02-18T15:05:23Z")
It’s just a thing. Really. I know it sucks large to lose your new Ipad, and be victimized by crime. But it’s just a thing, when it comes down to it. A thing you can replace. (Someone once reminded me of this very thing, at a very opportune moment, and it reached me, though I was terribly upset, at the time.) ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/26 "2012-02-18T15:13:46Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Anyway, we’re going to get insurance to cover it, so my wife’ll get a new one- maybe in time for the iPad3 to be announced, if we’re lucky. I doubt she’ll take it to work with her anymore, though… kind of defeating the purpose of the thing. Rumors are that it’s coming out soonish, but you know how crazed people get about buying the latest and greatest gear. I take my iPad and iPhone to and from work with me everyday, and I just make sure to not show them off in public. The iPad might come out of my bag on the big commuter train (not the L; too many stops, too much crowding, too easy to bolt out of the train after a theft) during morning/evening commute hours, and the phone when there are a decent number of people around, but it’s firmly tucked away when I’m not looking something up - I don’t often talk on it! - and I don’t use the white Apple earbuds or anything fancy-looking for listening to music. She’s going to be skittish for a while, but she’ll start feeling a little better with time. Maybe she can think about all the other times when everything is normal and nothing bad happened. Maybe pretend to herself that she really is toting an iPad around (substitute a spiral notebook or a magazine, perhaps) to and from work, and let herself get comfortable with the thought of doing it again. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/27 "2012-02-18T15:26:03Z")
That’s scary as hell and I’m glad she wasn’t hurt! I have a tablet (not an iPad, one of those HP ones that went for super cheap a while back) that I’m nervous about bringing anywhere, because I’m scared to have it stolen. Kind of defeats the purpose of having one, which sucks. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/28 "2012-02-18T15:49:41Z")
Once again I’m amazed that apple and other equipment vendors can’t remotely brick the device or make it report its location (SIM and 3G not needed) or snap a photo from the device at any time. This shouldn’t be something that a user has to set up, like “find my iPhone”. It should be installed as a default safety feature. I ordered the first gen iPod touch a few years ago and it never came. Stolen from the mail or by a neighbor, I don’t know which. But I was flabbergasted when I contacted apple and they said there was nothing they could do. Don’t these things have serial numbers? There’s no good reason why the mother ship shouldn’t be able to help find or at least disable a lost/stolen device as smart as an iPhone or iPad. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/29 "2012-02-18T16:20:11Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > It’s just a thing. Really. > > I know it sucks large to lose your new Ipad, and be victimized by crime. But it’s just a thing, when it comes down to it. A thing you can replace. > > (Someone once reminded me of this very thing, at a very opportune moment, and it reached me, though I was terribly upset, at the time.) The ‘thing’ is easy to get over. It’s the violation of your personal space that stays with you. I had a bike stolen out of my garage (while I was home) about ten years ago and it still pisses me off when I think about it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/30 "2012-02-18T16:26:42Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Thieves are the lowest of the low. Seriously, I rank them with rapists and murderers. Yeah, rapists, murderers and iPad thieves are the lowest of the low. And telemarketers; rapists, murderers, iPad thieves and telemarketers are the lowest. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/31 "2012-02-18T20:01:10Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The ‘thing’ is easy to get over. It’s the violation of your personal space that stays with you. I had a bike stolen out of my garage (while I was home) about ten years ago and it still pisses me off when I think about it. This. We humans generally like to feel safe in our personal spaces. We like to think that when we’re going about our lawful business, that nobody is going to harm us. As others said, the thief ONLY took a physical possession, but he quite possibly could have seriously injured the OP’s wife during the grab’n’run, either accidentally or intentionally. I’d also like to see the tracking and/or brick software on these devices. They’re so valuable for their size that they are really tempting. [QUOTE=Súil Dubh] when you think about it, in consolation, the cretin who stole your wife’s iPad probably has a really, really crappy life. By this I mean that, through a lot of hard work, you and your wife can afford an iPad. The iThief, whether through choice or chance, is reduced to stealing. I’m guessing more many more choices than chances brought him to where he is. Anyway, his life must be pretty… what’s the term the kids use these days, um… “epic fail” if ripping off iPads from people in a fast food restaurant is how he makes ends meet. [/QUOTE] Oh PLEASE. the thief isn’t reduced to stealing for necessities. That tablet was a luxury, a shiny, and the reason he grabbed it was because it was shiny and he either wanted one, or wanted to see if he could get some cash for it. If the thief had grabbed her sandwich, then possibly he was hungry. But he saw a shiny, and he wanted it. He almost certainly doesn’t need to steal to make ends meet. He just doesn’t give a shit about other people. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/32 "2012-02-18T20:13:59Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > Yeah, rapists, murderers and iPad thieves are the lowest of the low. And telemarketers; rapists, murderers, iPad thieves and telemarketers are the lowest. I see someone has a soft spot for child pornography distributors. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/33 "2012-02-18T20:40:39Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I’d also like to see the tracking and/or brick software on these devices. They’re so valuable for their size that they are really tempting. If you set the screen to be passcode-protected, you can also set the option to wipe the device if there are 10 incorrect guesses in a row. Just don’t do this if you have curious toddlers/determined kids around the house. And there is tracking software, it’s just limited to needing to activate it. People went ape-fucking-shit when they discovered that iPhones were keeping track of the locations of cell towers accessed (for efficiency at finding them again); there would have been calls for blood if these devices were always emitting “I’m here” signals. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2012, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/34 "2012-02-18T20:58:49Z")
> [@Darth\_Panda](#): > > I see someone has a soft spot for child pornography distributors. … and child molesters, and people who talk in the theater… > [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > And there is tracking software, it’s just limited to needing to activate it. People went ape-fucking-shit when they discovered that iPhones were keeping track of the locations of cell towers accessed (for efficiency at finding them again); there would have been calls for blood if these devices were always emitting “I’m here” signals. Yeah, luckily the first thing she installed on it was the “Find My iPhone” app… and just as luckily, she hadn’t gotten around to installing anything else (like our banking information). The Find My iPhone app works pretty well, but I’m irritated that the option to remote wipe the device is basically saying, “Here, have a free iPad”, because it would remove the app and allow the iPad to be completely adopted by its new owner. I’ve left it locked with the message that it’s stolen, just because I don’t want the thief to profit from it. I really wish there was a way to wipe it without unlocking it. If you ask me, the app should be automatically, permanently installed- even wiping it shouldn’t get rid of it. The serial number is registered to the user’s account, so being able to brick the device remotely should be an option. ---
**Author:** ![Becky2844](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@Becky2844](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Becky2844)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/35 "2012-02-20T05:16:27Z")
I can’t even imagine such a thing. I barely know the difference between an iPad and an iPod except that one plays music and one is bigger than the other. Is an ebook read on a Kindle? I think it might be…or an E Reader? I’m not trying to be stupid…I’ve never personally seen any of these devices. I don’t have a cell phone. I do know, tho, about blatent theivery. I’m sure my fingers would have loosed my treasure to a madman, too. But after a second I would have run out into the street and beat the motherfucking shit out of the guy because of his audacity, taking something away that meant a lot to me. That’s how you explain something to somebody who’s that stupid. You make it graphic. Where do you live? I’ve never lived anywhere where that kind of behavior would even be contemplated, much less executed. (Sorry if I missed it in the thread.) ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/36 "2012-02-20T05:25:31Z")
[QUOTE=Lightnin’;] 14788185Yeah, luckily the first thing she installed on it was the “Find My iPhone” app… and just as luckily, she hadn’t gotten around to installing anything else (like our banking information). [/QUOTE] I don’t get it. Why should you care if the thief gets your German Chocolate Cake recipe? Everybody needs a German Chocolate Cake recipe. That’s not even to mention Pineapple Upside . . . What? (banking, not baking) Oh. Well, that’s very different. Never mind. ---
**Author:** ![BeaMyra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/2bfe46/32.png) [@BeaMyra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeaMyra)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/37 "2012-02-20T07:11:16Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I hate to be the “coulda been worse” guy, because I know how much this kind of thing can piss you off. What happened truly does suck. But at least the cocksucker didn’t physically hurt your wife. Except for the gay slur I agree. ---
**Author:** ![Lightnin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightnin/32/180_2.png) [@Lightnin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightnin)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/38 "2012-02-20T11:55:11Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Where do you live? I’ve never lived anywhere where that kind of behavior would even be contemplated, much less executed. (Sorry if I missed it in the thread.) Baltimore, MD. This happened downtown, near the harbor. My wife said that she did run after the guy, but by the time she realized what had happened, he had such a lead on her that she lost him on the street. Frankly, I don’t know what she would have done if she’d caught him- I’m glad she didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/39 "2012-02-20T16:05:16Z")
> [@BeaMyra](#): > > Except for the gay slur I agree. Gay slur? 😕 What part of that post did you consider to be a “gay slur”, pray tell? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2012, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173/40 "2012-02-20T16:13:30Z")
> [@JBDivmstr](#): > > Gay slur? 😕 > What part of that post did you consider to be a “gay slur”, pray tell? Using “cocksucker” as a derogatory term. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aaaand-thieves-suck/613173.md?page=3)