This guy turned to Reddit to ask if his thieving behavior was justified. He doesn’t think it’s his fault that mass tourism drove him to steal.
A Location Heavily Impacted by Tourism
The Original Poster (OP) comes from a country in the Middle East that has seen an increase in tourism every year, except for 2020 due to the coronavirus.
He says many sources indicate that this trend will continue into the foreseeable future, which means that things will essentially get worse for him.
OP shares that the problem is that tourists are making life more difficult for the locals.
Life is Difficult for Locals
Ever since tourism took off, all new apartments that are being built are only for vacationers, and their prices are so high that the average local cannot afford them.
OP says that this means that locals are being ejected from the city center so that foreigners can live there.
He shared other drawbacks that include a loss of customs and a lack of respect for the nation.
OP mentioned that despite having a master’s degree and being an educated guy, he’s struggling, working at a low-paying job, and is generally not satisfied with his current circumstances.
Their Culture is Struggling
As a result, he decided to start looking into other ways to either save money or earn more.
And surprisingly, theft was one of the methods OP chose.
OP said two weeks ago, he saw a white man using a card to withdraw cash from an ATM.
OP is a 25-year-old and participates in sports every day, and the white man was a short, balding, and overweight tourist who was likely in his late 40s.
OP was able to view the card PIN since he was hiding behind the tourist as he was receiving cash.
A Foolish Tourist
As a result, OP made the quick decision to grab the card from his hands and take the money he had already withdrawn.
OP stole the card and money and then sprinted to a secure location to avoid trouble.
The tourist began to run after his belongings but was unable to catch OP.
OP went to a nearby ATM once he was secure to see if he could withdraw more cash before the card was blocked by the owner.
OP says that he was shocked when the pin code worked.
A Crime of Opportunity
He was able to withdraw the equivalent of 2600 dollars in his own currency before the card stopped allowing any more withdrawals.
OP then broke the card and threw the pieces away.
He says that he recognizes that it was unethical, but he thinks this action was acceptable.
OP says that tourists are stealing their lives and that he is having financial trouble and needs the money more. Plus he says that the white man was not taking any safety measures to guard against being robbed.
OP says that he is fairly certain that the white guy is in a better position than he is and that the white guy wouldn’t have given OP anything if he had asked him nicely.
A Judgement Call
So according to OP, this was really the only option.
OP asked Reddit whether he was wrong and unsurprisingly Redditors were furious at him.
Reddit commented that OP is wrong and is a criminal and there is no justification for what he did.
One Redditor wrote, “I get that tourism is harmful to your quality of life. But you still have a job. You have a masters in your field, and some people don’t even finish high school. Are you in the worst situation in your area, or are there people who are living in the worst conditions? A homeless person can steal from you, then?”
He Receives No Sympathy
Another Redditor said that they hope the post is fake and if OP really did it, he is a very bad person.
A third Reddit user pointed out that he is wrong and if there is so much tourism in OP’s area then why couldn’t he get into the tourism business and make good money?
While OP may have felt justified in his actions, stealing is never the answer, and his actions were not ethical. He robbed someone of their money, and it is not the tourist’s fault that the country is becoming more popular, and the tourists should not be punished for it.
So what is your opinion? Is OP’s action justified?
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The post He’s a Thief, but He Says It’s Not His Fault and Tourism Drove Him to This Life first appeared on Wealthy Living
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Source: Reddit