"Nothing worse than a thief!"

[Nick]

Do you agree with that quote, that so many people seem to say? Why or why not?

 

[invisible_light]

I do agree that thiefs are horrible people, but I wouldn't say that there's nothing worse than a thief (for example, murderers, rapists, Laurelai/Raziel, etc). Even though it's just hyperbole it definitely can mislead people.

 

[Esper]

I don't think I've ever heard anyone use that phrase.

I get it though. There are worse things, but most you'll hopefully not encounter. When someone steals from you it feels like someone stabbed you in the back. Doesn't matter if it's a stranger. The loss of something so suddenly, whatever it is, when you expected it to be right where you left it, is painful.

I dedicate this post to the memory of my stolen bicycle. :'(

 

[Kura]

I think a liar is worse than a thief, actually..

 

[-Jared-]

I think a liar is worse than a thief, actually..

Definitely! An object can be replaced, but trust isn't just something to be acquired, it is built over time and fostered by mutual understanding. One lie can be enough to completely shatter the foundation of that trust.

Of course, my opinion may be influenced by a mother who absolutely ABHORRED lying, but I think the point stands. :P

 

[Sir Codin]

Liars are not worse than thieves. If that were the case, you'd have to consider yourself worse than a thief. I don't care what anyone tells me: EVERYONE has told a lie in their life. "I've never told a lie in my life" is one of the biggest lies I have ever heard. While lying can be overdone and used for ill ends, stating lying is worse than thievery is just plain ridiculous because everyone does it.

As for the topic, no.

Rapists, murderers, and carnival game vendors are all worse than thieves. That's not to say thieves aren't infectious waste for being too chickens**t to get a real job, but they aren't worse than someone who stabs a little girl 37.65 times after having his way with her while charging $5 for a single dart to try and get a $1 poster in a rigged game.

 

[Blade_of_darkness]

Replace the thief with a child molester, & you're good to go, Yutohru.

Child molesters are the lowest of the bottom feeders, if they can be called that. Even hardened criminals frown down upon these people, so that says a lot about child molesters.

 

[PlatinumDude]

As some people already said, there are people that are just as bad, or even worse, than thieves, and that's lying. People steal things out of greed, but why do people lie? Is it to stay out of trouble?

 

[Shining Raichu]

Replace the thief with a child molester, & you're good to go, Yutohru.

Child molesters are the lowest of the bottom feeders, if they can be called that. Even hardened criminals frown down upon these people, so that says a lot about child molesters.

I think murderers are worse than child molesters lol. If I had kids, I of course would want nothing bad to happen to them, but if I were in some messed up situation where I had to choose, I would much prefer they be molested than murdered.

But to answer the question, no I don't agree with that statement. In the grand scheme of things, stealing isn't that big of a deal.

 

[Shiny Celebi]

Stealing is wrong. It isnt right to take things from others that dont belong to you vs buying your own or asking to borrow something, simply because of that, it dosent belong to you so you have no right to it. People that steal things deserve to be punished but I agree there are worse things.

 

[Mario The World Champion]

Child molesters are worse than thieves and liars. Child molesters are the rotted bottom of the barrel. Depending on the actions, thieves and liars only hurt short term, but child molesting lasts forever. That is worse.

 

[Cherrim]

I've never heard that phrase and I wouldn't really agree with it. While having anything stolen would really suck, I can think of many other things I'd prefer to a lesser extent than stealing. Most of them have been mentioned here so I won't repeat what others are saying.

I don't really see stealing as that big of a deal. Yeah, it's awful and no I would never want it to happen to me, especially not with anything big, but on the scale of crimes at least, it's not very major.

 

[Oryx]

Agree with Erica in that stealing is on the lesser tier of crimes. It's bad of course, but there are worse things.

Although someone would have to wonder why the person steals and if it's part of a larger problem. If someone steals to feed their family, for example, it's very different from a middle-class teenager that steals for the rush.

 

[Hartnett]

No, a mass murderer is worse. A corrupt politician reeks of atrocity.

 

[Ephemeral Euphoria]

Replace the thief with a child molester, & you're good to go, Yutohru.

Child molesters are the lowest of the bottom feeders, if they can be called that. Even hardened criminals frown down upon these people, so that says a lot about child molesters.

Pretty much this in a nutshell, there's also mass murderers who are also worse than thieves if you ask me.

 

[Elite Overlord LeSabre™]

Nope, child molesters and mass murders are pretty much the bottom of the barrel as far as humanity goes. And for the record, I've never heard that quote until now.

 

[Sydian]

A thief, in my opinion, is a broad term. You are a thief if you are a child molester or a murderer. You steal a child's innocence, which in a sense, makes you a thief as well. You steal life if you murder someone and you steal that person from everyone that loves them. So yeah, I would kind of classify these things as thieving, just not in the material form really.

But putting that aside, honestly I think the worst people in the world are those that could ever harm a child. I'm not saying you must love a child or every child or whatever, but to actually harm one in a sense of abuse or rape, there's nothing worse. I firmly believe the hottest and most dreadful pit of hell is saved for those kinds of people. I hear that all sins are equally bad, but you know, I can't believe that really. There are some worse than others and this is it.

 

[Honest]

Disagree. There are so many things that are worse. A thief by definition is someone who takes possession of something that isn't rightfully theirs. Is that bad? Of course. But it always be worse. He could kill instead. Although, to be technical, that's stealing a life, is it? Hm. Seems like "thief" can be defined very vaguely. But I'll still by what I said, that there are worse things.

 

[Sammi]

On the whole, no. Thieving, to me, is inconvenient. Maybe a breach of trust if the thief is someone I know. A pain in the ass, to be sure, but I'd rather be missing some stuff than seriously injured or dead. Most things I can replace. My life, not so much.

I could see a thief being the worst I've ever had to deal with -- which, in that case, there would be nothing worse than a thief in my life.

 

[Her]

If the thief in question has stolen something like money or your personal belongings or your car or whatever, then no, I wouldn't agree with the quote. I haven't even heard that quote before, lol. But if the thief in question has 'robbed' something of something moral, like their innocence, for example, then I am inclined to at least think about the quote. When a child has it's innocence stolen away from them by, say, witnessing a murder, that is incredibly tragic. I'm using abstract answers to answer the question, i sure hope I'm not missing the point of the thread. Furniture can be replaced, money can be earned back, but once someones innocence is gone, there's no going back. Do y'all get what I'm saying?
I agree with the majority of the posters thus far, though: child molesters are far worse than thieves.