Shoplifting

Shoplifting

Why do people who can afford to buy things shoplift them instead? Maybe it is caused by the fact that many people who are well-off are simply bored with their life and therefore they look for an adventure. On the other hand there is also a number of poor people who shoplift food and other things to be able to survive.

Another case is an organised group of professional shoplifters (also known as “boosters”) who steal purposely and the costs caused by them (being bigger than in other cases) may result in price increases. Apart from that, there are also cases of employee burglary which negatively contribute to the whole problem and make it untransparent. Thus it is very difficult to create a thorough picture of the situation.
Hopefully the modern security technologies will help to solve the problem.

More info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoplifting
http://www.crimedoctor.com/shoplifting.htm

Avarice vs. Shopaholism

Avarice vs. Shopaholism

Harpagon, that’s my idol. He would be a good medicine against shopaholism. Not a single penny spent by anybody without thinking twice.
Vice versus vice – maybe it could work this way: A niggard could be re-educated by a shopaholic and vice versa. But what makes people be avaricious? One of the reasons may be the person’s background. E.g. one who was brought up by a poor family can be badly affected by experiencing lack of food, money, etc. And in future it results in over-exceeded saving of anything, especially of money. And it also makes the person greedy and unable to share his/her property. On the other hand, a shopaholic does not know what it is to save money, so in my opinion it would be more than interesting to place these two (in this case imaginative) people together and observe their reactions. Who would win?

More info: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02148b.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oniomania

Visiting Prostitutes

Visiting Prostitutes is both dangerous (you never know who her/his boss is) and unhealthy (bear in mind HIV…). In the first case, as I implied above, you can get in trouble with the pimp who (being in good mood) can just let you go without your wallet or (being in bad mood) can change your physical appearance (punch would be the gentlest way). In the second case, you would leave unharmed, with your wallet but also (very probably, especially if your meeting was unprotected) with a souvenir (guess which one: illness, gravidity…). But on the other hand, how many clients of the oldest business worry about it? If you are the lucky one, you would survive without complications (of course, except for a slap given by your jealous partner who unveiled the truth).

P.S.: This article is not supposed to be offensive or admonishing to criminality, bad behaviour etc.

More info: http://www.portal.cz/scripts/detail.php?id=2076

Lying

Lying

Kinds of Lying + Reasons:
● White lies – To protect somebody
- To be noble (not to harm somebody’s feelings)
- Excuses: being late (small lies/minor matters)
- Lying to children about Santa Claus (but some children can take it very bad)
- Placebo Effect (lying in people’s best interest)

● Bad lies – To protect/benefit ourselves (badly)
- Covering something bad up (e.g. infidelity)
- Political lying; propaganda, commercials
- Lying to manipulate with people
- Lying for fun
- Lying to seem to be a better person (the liar is for instance a murderer)
- Perjury

● Lying as a syndrome/illness (e.g. A British man, Sean Hodgson, ended up behind the bars in spite of being innocent. He is said to be a pathological liar.)


Is good to be able to lie?
In my opinion is good to have the opportunity to make your choice between lying and telling the truth because your choices create your personality.

More info: http://diskuse.doktorka.cz/lhani/
http://www.novinky.cz/zahranici/evropa/164227-brit-stravil-27-let-ve-vezeni-kvuli-omylu-laboratore-a-lhani.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2009/mar/18/prisoner-hodgson-murder-quashed-miscarriage

Infidelity

Infidelity

What is infidelity? Is it just cheating on your partner or has it much deeper story?
In some rare cases adultery can better your relationship. According to Mira Kirshenbaum
(an American psychologist), adultery can even save it. And what’s more, she also claims adulterers and adulteresses are mostly kind and good people who are just in search of love. On the other hand her colleague, Leila Collins, strongly disagrees. In her opinion we should not pity them and support them, either.

P.S.: In my opinion is infidelity a vice, but we are just people so I do not objurgate anybody.
More information: http://www.novinky.cz/zena/vztahy-a-sex/142000-nevera-muze-zachranit-vas-vztah-rika-psycholozka.html

Smoking

Smoking
I made a little survey among my smoking friends and acquaintances and these are the results:

Reasons of Smoking:
● Free choice of lifestyle (personal freedom)
● Having a break (you dedicate your time to yourself; you do something for yourself)
● Relaxing (getting rid of physical/mental stress; enjoyment)
● Foppery (it makes you look ´mature´ / interesting, etc.)
● Curiosity (Why not to try it, friends say it’s great…)
● Want to lose weight
● Want to avoid liability for service (a young man smoked 60 cigarettes a day, then run up and down a hill => the doctor confirmed the man was not suitable for army)
● To look attractive/sexy (part of your image – rough/sexy/naughty/nasty…)

● To make new friends/ acquaintances (socialising)
x
● To deter people from contacting you (cigarette as a shield)

● To rebel against society (e.g.: gender issue => Marlene Dietrich smoking cigarettes and wearing trousers => women are equal to men)

Fascination of Smoking – (Why?):
Smoking is to some people sexy/seductive (even to some non-smokers). On the other hand, non-smokers usually don’t like the smell (so the fascination is limited).

Why Some Smokers Want to Stop (?):
● Smoking is expensive
● Health problems
● Influenced by non-smokers (family; friends)
● Death of a close friend/family member who was a smoker
● Becoming mature (no foppery any more [?])
● Anti-smoking presentation during biological seminar


P.S.: I have no intention in supporting smokers to continue smoking or in supporting non-smokers to be more/less tolerant of smokers. Let everyone judge for herself/himself.

More info: http://www.koureni.biz/