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Hypothetical becomes real : I found a wallet w/ $600 in it..

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karasu

Member
Why is a 5dollar ID card more important than 600 bux? You realize how many hours you have to work to make 600 bucks???
 

White Man

Member
Possible justifications for taking money: I could use it, IDs show he has a steady job and residence anyway (probably won't destroy his life), he gets an expensive lesson about why you shouldn't carry around huge sums of cash, finders keepers, nobody carries around that much money unless they are doing something illegal with it (drug buy)

I'd return it. Stuff in my wallet would show that I have a residence and a job, but losing a month's rent would destroy my life. I'd lose that residence.

If this were me, if I were going to keep the money, I'd do it before pondering morality and rationalizing my decision. Once you start doing those, you'll feel guilty once you do take it. Take it from a person with a long history of doing bad things: you only feel badly about them once you stop and ponder morality.
 

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
It would be absolutely hilarious and ironic if Border returned the wallet with all the money intact, only to have the guy say "Dude, where's the other $400?! I had $1000 in here" then get beat - haha. Yea, that'd be great...

Um, anyway, return all of it. It's the right thing to do.
The satisfaction and his relief will be more valuable and longer-lasting than anything you could buy - except maybe an iPod Photo; those are sweet (and $600!!)!!
 

mattx5

Member
Just fucking return it with all the money in it!

You don't know shit about the guy, and you can't assume shit. Like someone said, he could've been on his way to deposit it, that could've been his grocery money for the next two weeks or even his fucking rent payment. No matter what your financial situation is, that doesn't make keeping the money right. If you keep it, you're no better than someone who holds a person at gunpoint for their wallet. Nobody, no matter who they are, deserves to be shitted on, the way you're thinking of shitting on this poor sap.
 

DJ Sl4m

Member
karasu said:
Why is a 5dollar ID card more important than 600 bux? You realize how many hours you have to work to make 600 bucks???

"cards" could very well be credit cards or debit cards as well.
Overall, I's day the headache and stress from losing all your info is more valuable than that small amount of cash.
 

border

Member
Yeah, there is a Social Security card in there, but no credit cards. Someone worse than me could seriously fuck him over.
MrCheez said:
Yeah, as long as you use the stolen money for stuff you need you shouldn't have to feel bad at all, right?
Not really, I'm just saying that my conscience would allow me to keep the money and feel only mildly bad, but I would feel awful if I just blew it on something stupid and frivolous. There are degrees to everything ;)

don't contact him directly.
Is there any reason that you advise against this?

Decisions, decisions...

klondike.jpg
 

goodcow

Member
I've found a wallet with several hundred dollars and ID before.

I returned it.

No, I didn't have to think about it.
 

Gek54

Junior Member
Found a wallet with $1400 in it. Returned it to find out it was worht 2 months of this guys paychecks and it was all he had saved for his family's (4 kids) christmas. He wanted to give me $200 of it, but there was no way I could take that.

If you have a soul, give it back.
 

Bristow

Banned
Man. If only half of the world had the morals of the supposed boy scouts in this thread, it would be a much better place. Seriously, you guys are wonderful.
 

DECK'ARD

The Amiga Brotherhood
It has an ID in it, you know whose wallet is. So return it to them.

If you were walking behind someone and they dropped their wallet without realising, what would you do then? It's the same case, a lost wallet and you know whose it is. Would the people who say keep it do the same in this case? Slyly pick up the wallet and carry on walking?

Pretty low in my books.
 

Socreges

Banned
Bristow said:
Man. If only half of the world had the morals of the supposed boy scouts in this thread, it would be a much better place. Seriously, you guys are wonderful.
I bet half the world DOES have such morals.
 

shuri

Banned
ipod.jpg

520-T-Sony-PSP-small.jpg

WHY RESIST! BUY US! BUY US! oh, and you dont walk around with 600$ if you are off to buy food. Nobody buys for 600$ worth of food in a single shot, at this time of the year.

Maybe for a big xmas party, i dunno ;)
 

DarienA

The black man everyone at Activision can agree on
Bristow said:
Man. If only half of the world had the morals of the supposed boy scouts in this thread, it would be a much better place. Seriously, you guys are wonderful.

Actually HALF the world does. That's why there isn't chaos everywhere.
 

sonicfan

Venerable Member
I found a wallet on the beach on Lake Michigan when I was about 12 years old or so, I was with a friend. We used to walk on the beach to see what we could find now and then.

It belonged to the guy who owned a grocery store in town. It had everything, credit cards, driver's license, etc. and about $20. When we returned it, we found out the guy was fishing out on the lake about 10 miles south of where we found it, was sitting on the side of a boat and it must have fell out. Anyway, the guy didn't give us anything, and said there was more than $20 when he lost it. Man, was I pissed, not that he didn't give us anything, but he basically was accusing me and my friend of taking some of his money.

But we knew we did the right thing, there was no question of what to do.

My wife a few years ago found about $800 on the side of the road when she was just out for a walk with a friend, this was when we lived in the detroit area. It was just lose bills blowing in the wind. They turned it to the police. We knew that after so many days, if no one claimed it you would get it back. Well after some time, they went back to see if anybody had claimed it, and the cops tried to tell them that money turned into them "goes into a fund" for them after some time. A quick call from the lawyer husband of the other lady set the cops straight, and they got the money. I was pissed again, not that over the thought we wouldn't get any money, but it was the damn COPS that were trying to scam us.........
 

Bristow

Banned
DarienA said:
Actually HALF the world does. That's why there isn't chaos everywhere.

Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I've seen too many 'so-called' moral people stab their best friends in the back for monetary or work related gain.

Alot of people will do whatever it takes to get ahead in this world. You can view the world with rose tinted glasses all you like, but that's a cold, hard, fact.
 
It doesn't matter whether you keep all the money or just a little, it's still stealing. You can't get around that. It doesn't matter if you blow it on something or just use it to buy necesseties, it's still stealing. I'm sure we've all had the lesson "stealing is bad" pounded into our heads since childhood; so do the right thing. Just return it.
 

Eminem

goddamit, Griese!
You know, people here don't seem to get the point. I don't think there is any persuading here.

Either you're a jerk and you keep the money, or you're a good person and return it. Really, I think Border knows what he's gonna do either way. You just have a feel for it, right away.

Again...personally I'd keep it with no regrets. And again, I am a bad person. I wouldn't need any persuading.


Just do what you're gonna do man. You already know.
 

Socreges

Banned
Bristow said:
Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. Maybe I'm just a pessimist, but I've seen too many 'so-called' moral people stab their best friends in the back for monetary or work related gain.

Alot of people will do whatever it takes to get ahead in this world. You can view the world with rose tinted glasses all you like, but that's a cold, hard, fact.
What is your point? There are plenty of other people that AREN'T like that. Just because there ARE doesn't mean everyone else should live by their rules.

Eminem said:
You know, people here don't seem to get the point. I don't think there is any persuading here.

Either you're a jerk and you keep the money, or you're a good person and return it. Really, I think Border knows what he's gonna do either way. You just have a feel for it, right away.

Again...personally I'd keep it with no regrets. And again, I am a bad person. I wouldn't need any persuading.


Just do what you're gonna do man. You already know.
No, people understand that quite well. They're only responding for those people that try and justify it without admitting what you have.
 

Goreomedy

Console Market Analyst
Here's what you do, Border.

Give it back.

But first... print off the URL of this thread, and stuff it into the wallet so the owner can easily find it. His curiosity will bring him here, he'll read through all these suggestions, and know how lucky he is.

We might even get a reply.

What's half a grand when you have a chance to make this thread a true GAF classic. To be preserved for all time.
 

Prospero

Member
Goreomedy said:
Here's what you do, Border.

Give it back.

But first... print off the URL of this thread, and stuff it into the wallet so the owner can easily find it. His curiosity will bring him here, he'll read through all these suggestions, and know how lucky he is.

We might even get a reply.

What's half a grand when you have a chance to make this thread a true GAF classic. To be preserved for all time.

This is genius.

GENIUS.
 

Bishman

Member
Gek54 said:
Found a wallet with $1400 in it. Returned it to find out it was worht 2 months of this guys paychecks and it was all he had saved for his family's (4 kids) christmas. He wanted to give me $200 of it, but there was no way I could take that.

If you have a soul, give it back.

Everytime I find a wallet on the street, I will think of this.
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
What kind of poor person walks around with ~1000 dollars in their wallet?
 

totoro'd

Member
Bishman said:
Everytime I find a wallet on the street, I will think of this.

Exactly. If he had that much money in his wallet, it was obviously for something important (rent, pay other bills, pay off the loan shark so they won't break his legs, etc.). And like someone said, it could very well be for rent and he could get evicted!

The fact that you know his identity practically makes it stealing (IMO) if you keep the money.

Give the money back and be a good person
 
D

Deleted member 1235

Unconfirmed Member
Holy shit Goreomedy thats a terrific idea.

I'd be stoked if that happened to me and would probably reply.
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
*waits for a joke account pretending to be the guy who got his money back*
 

Dan

No longer boycotting the Wolfenstein franchise
Hey, I didn't say the person would be smart enough to realize that and not give it a try anyway ;)
 

TheOMan

Tagged as I see fit
1. Border, I'm not going to tell you what to do, as it isn't really my place, and I try my best not to judge people (but unfortunately I fail at this sometimes). I like to give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they give me reason not to do so. In your heart, you know what's right, it's up to *you* to consiciously choose to do right or to do wrong - nobody else.

2. If *I* were in your situation (and I have been), *I* would return the money, the wallet, the whole enchilada, no questions asked. If there was no id, I'd find a way to get it to the person that owned it or turn it into the police. I would not do this to feel good about myself (although, that usually comes along with doing the right thing) or expect a reward. I would do it just because it's the right thing to do. Again, I'm talking about myself here, and I'm not you. So please don't take this as a "Holier than thou" type spiel or any offence. I'm just answering the question you posed honestly (I think).

Thinking about it though, if I were in a different financial situation - the question becomes harder to answer. I'd like to think that I'd return it - but I'm sure I'd be tempted.

Character is who we are and what we do when we think no one is watching or we won't get caught.

Oh, and Goreomedy, your idea is pure brilliance
 

mashoutposse

Ante Up
When you're in a better place in life (at least financially), you'll laugh at yourself for even having to debate this.

Do what you would want someone else to do for you. Return the money completely.
 

yoshifumi

Banned
anyone who walks around with $600 in cash in their wallet deserves to get robbed, but then again maybe there was some kind of reason for it
 

Particle Physicist

between a quark and a baryon
if you take the money. its as good as stealing.. and you are stealing a good amount of money.

it would be quite different if you just found a wad of cash .. but you have the id. the persons name.. address .. etc.


do the right thing and return it. you didnt earn this money.. and for all you know, this could be very very important to that guy .
 
I bet the money is already gone..................or not

I'm telling u to give it back but me, i wouldn't even make a thread about it. I think you want to give it back because if you're was that bad of a person, like I said you wouldn't make a thread and spend it without any hesitation.


My verdict : Find the guy and give it back
 

fart

Savant
border said:
Is there any reason that you advise against this?

Decisions, decisions...

klondike.jpg
yes, the man could claim that you returned it without any money, or missing something important. you could be implicated in a crime. when you return it to the police you'll probably have to fill out some paperwork, and an agent of the law will bear witness to what was in it when you got there, etc. even doing that it's a bit of a can of worms. in most cases i think the guy will be happy enough to get his important stuff back that it shouldn't be a big deal, but you never know, and even as the good samaritan, you have to protect yourself.

the reason i say you should destroy the wallet is because the man has probably already given up all hope of finding it, and the biggest favor you can do for him is actually to make sure that no one more malicious has access to it. there are established avenues for protecting onesself when ID, etc are lost, and i think it's safe to assume he's already exhausted these avenues. the only issue is the lost money, and it's up to you on whether you want to return that or not. i won't judge you either way. it's just money, after all. the other contents of the wallet, if they might have sentimental value, or if they put the man's privacy and security in danger (IDs, etc) are a much bigger deal.
 
Keep it.

There are two kinds of people that carry around that much money with them in cash: drug dealers and idiots. If he's the latter, this will teach him an important lesson about these crazy new inventions called checks and debit cards.

Then again, maybe he really did lose it when he was going to buy Christmas gifts for his family, which doesn't sound at all like a lie ripped out of a Hallmark TV special in order to cover up a drug deal.
 
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