to have kept an item I inadvertently 'stole' today?

[ilikeyoursleeves]

I was doing supermarket sweep at Tesco's today, huge amount of food in trolley so I hung a maxi pack of Huggies nappies off the hook under the kids seat at the front of the trolley. I paid for all my shopping, then realised when I got to my car that I had walked out with the Huggies still hanging on the hook.

...and then drove off.

AIBU to have kept them?

I like to think I'm honest too and would always try to return something to its owner. However, a few weeks ago I had an ante-natal appointment at a hospital where I am currently living (Saudi Arabia) and when I walked past the reception/cash desk there was a SR100 note (around £15) on the floor next to the man sitting there. I politely pointed this out to him but instead of a thank you, he picked it up and scowled at me. I 'stupidly' forgot that as a mere female and an infidel, I am not allowed to talk to a Saudi man. Got a very dirty look and afterwards wished I hadn't bothered! (should maybe have waited til he'd gone then picked it up and satisfied my krispy kreme donut craving)

Kindness is indeed contagious and a good antidote to modern day stress, in my view!

I left my big handbag with money, cheque book, ID, and all the revision notes for my final degree exams once on the tube. I was in despair, and went to lost property to see if they had been handed in. While I was in the queue I saw loads of people collect wallets and so on still with the cards and cash in, and they were overjoyed. Also my bag was there too, completely intact. the finder had dropped it off anonymously so I coulnd't even thank him/her, but I can't tell you how happy and grateful I was. It really changed my view of humankind for the better.

Mumoverseas, do you think it is always better to be kind and get the etiquette wrong, than to be unkind and get the etiquette right? Or am I thinking simplistically?

A colleague of mine works with Ethiopians a lot, and one day they came to visit our workplace and one of them held his hand in friendship while touring around the whole place.

Now this was a bit awkward because everyone assumed he had suddenly come out. He did however keep holding the other guy's hand out of politeness because he was pleased to be liked and respected like this, and didn;t want to appear rude.

When we discussed it later, us (married) ladies thought it would have been a bigger problem for females, because people would have assumed we were having affairs, which on the scale of things was probably a bit worse than coming out inadvertently, we thought, but it was a bit of a moral dilemma nonetheless.

I think pointing out the money on the floor was "kindness instinct" but sometimes even that clashes with culture and often times just plain stubborn orneryness.
I don't know how many times you've heard of someone offering to help someone and it being mistaken for intrusion and sometimes just plain rudeness. Unfortunately, people expect the worst...especially when it comes to cultural differences. Some just find it hard to allow difference of culture, religion etc.
I had heard of an example when President Bush saw someone in the audience still wearing his sunglasses and asked him to remove them (he thought it was disrespect and was calling him out) but found the man was blind. I doubt he was thinking that the possibility of someone being "different" crossed his mind first.