When is stealing not stealing?

When you're just taking something because you don't have the money to pay for it.

Yup.

At least, that's the reasoning of some folk in the Western Cape. They don't have money to pay for food, so they went to Pick 'n Pay and just took it. After all, they argue, the government should institute a policy of giving R1500 to every single unemployed person so they could have enough money to feed their families. And since they don't, well, these folk will take the law into their own hands and just take what they need. It's not stealing though.

Of course, I'm not sure I could tell the difference between stealing and taking stuff that doesn't belong to you because you don't have the money to pay for it.

It's a bit like Julius Malema's comment that "sleeping around" is not having sex, or maybe it is, but he's not telling us what it means.

While I think this country has tons of potential, and while I believe that the majority of people (in the Western Cape - I can't vouch for the rest of the country given the overwhelming support Malema seems to enjoy) are reasonable, rational, logical human beings, it's events like this that make me wonder where we're heading as a country.

When I taught in the UK I learnt that many adults NEVER develop logical, rational thought. They simply are incapable of formal concrete thinking. While in SA I had never come across this phenomenon because of the sheltered existence I led. In the UK, however, one is not protected in the same way unless one's parents and family are royalty or stinking rich multimillionaires.

On my return to SA, I couldn't believe some of the things happening. I mean, surely anyone with half a brain would refuse to listen to the Julius Malemas of the world? Surely they could see his ignorance and bluster and realise that he's not fit to be anyone's leader? It's like a re-run of Mbeki's "AIDS isn't caused by HIV" statements.

Apparently though, the reason that idiots get into power is because there are hundreds of other idiots who are even more idiotic than them. Like the twits who stole food from Pick 'n Pay today (or was it yesterday? my brain is so fuzzy from tiredness I've lost track of the days...). Anyone who reasons that today isn't actually the 23rd July, but is the 23rd July instead, needs their head read.

So folks - if you want that flat screen TV, or that DVD-r, or Wii, or whatever, and you don't have the money to pay for it, well, that's fine. Just walk into your friendly electronics store and take it. After all, you're not stealing it; you're just taking it because you don't have the money to pay for it.