All these people who cry "burglary!'.

[seeker]

It always happens at night and there are never any witnesses. I bet they either left the door open, just inviting people into their houses then shout "burglary!" when someone misreads their signals. Or they've just lost their stuff and say it was a burglary to get other people into trouble. Or some people just do it for the attention. People should take responsibilty for their stuff.

Very clever thread. And very, very true. Impressed :)

I hate it when people don't get a thread and then ruin it after loads of people have already got it.

And it is an excellent thread.

good thread!

Brilliant thread seeker

Oh Soupy

Excellent thread.

What gets me is people who get drunk and then wake up in the morning and find they've been burgled - I mean, whose fault is that?? They probably pinned a sign on the door saying "Please come in and take whatever you like, the money's in the box on the mantlepiece" and then forgot they'd done it.

The worst bit is when you tell people you've been burgled and not only do they not believe you, they slowly stop having any contact with you because you're clearly a delusional liar.

And nobody wants to talk to you about it because it makes them feel uncomfortable.

And your own parents think you were asking for it just by dating a person who has the potential to be a burgler.

Especially if you occasionally gave that person gifts because you liked them. Of course they then think they can take any of your belongings whenever they want! Why wouldn't they?

Nope, Meditrina, my ex was burgled and had clearly left a door unlocked, was totally upfront and honest about it and still got his payout.

The thing is, it's very different when one of your loved ones, your dp or whoever, gets accused of burglary. My teenage son got some very mixed messages from a homeowner who'd been having a garage sale in the afternoon, but then suddenly decided to lock up at night and wouldn't let him in any more.

And of course it is terrible when someone gets burgled - and by that I mean proper, serious burglary, where the victim was unwilling....

that's the problem, isn't it Malcontent - if the victim had previously given or sold some of ther possesions to the burglar, they are just asking to have some taken away for nothing next time! Who is going to believe that the victim was unwilling this time? Even if they were asleep?

I agree! I mean, its just the owners word against the burglars isn't it? I'm sure that the owner invited them in and said they could touch their stuff and only got a little huffy when they wanted to take it away with them too.

I also think that people who invite someone in to pick up something that they bought off ebay shouldn't be surprised when they take other things that haven't been paid for. Surely if they are selling some stuff, they should expect things to be nicked as well - Its just asking for it really, isn't it?

Yeah, I mean, if they didn't want their stuff to be pinched they shouldn't have bought nice things that they knew other people would want.

They should be fair and buy rubbish that no one likes if they don't want to be burgled. That's how you let people know, after all?

it's crap though when you've got a shit, ugly house, with no desirable belongings, and it still gets burgled. But then you should be grateful someone burgled it I suppose; without a burgler, who would want to enter an unattractive house?

I think if you leave nice things around your house then you have to expect that people will want to take them. Some people specifically have evolved to be unable to resist the sight of valuable trinkets.

Frankly if you don't conceal all your belongings under dustsheets then what do you expect?

It's not the burglars fault that he(or she) can't resist their natural urges

Unless we're talking about statutory burglary....

Well, if you had some wine with your dinner and were later burgled while sleeping, surely it's your own fault and you were asking for it?

Also, did you put a clear sing "no! don't take my things!" up? How were they supposed to know you really did not want your things to be stolen?

And of course, sometimes people are still in the property when the burglars are there. "No" they say "Really, no, put that back, stop it, help!" - but how do the burglars know they really mean it? And they aren't just having a laugh? Especially if the house owners have had a glass or two of wine!

cross post

:o herecome, how were you reading my mind?

Don't most women, secretly, have fantasies about being burgled? I mean, they play little games with their partners where he might steal something from them in a playful sort of way, and she has dreams about being burgled by a celebrity bit of rough? They pretend they don't want it, but really they do, all women do.

Except my wife of course

They should all get burglar alarms fitted. If they don't they are simply asking for trouble.

It's all very well supporting the victims of burglary, and I don't deny there are some people who genuinely have been burgled through no fault of their own.

But imagine the poor teacher, who, in trying to support a confused, unhappy fifteen year old, finds that the lines become blurred, and a chat after school in the classroom suddenly becomes that little bit more, and getting mixed signals from the girl (and let's remember that some people who live in houses now are much, much more grown up and knowing than they used to be), the teacher ends up jemmying open her bathroom window and stealing all her parents' possessions. She sees him there and suddenly decides she doesn't want him to take the stuff any more, starts getting violent and he whacks her on the head to shut her up.... the girl and her family take the poor confused teacher to court, his name is dragged through the press as some kind of criminal, no-one lets him near their houses again, even though the courts clear him of any wrongdoing and give the girl a stiff talking to.

He loses his job, ends up on the burglary offenders list and is never allowed to house-sit again, despite being cleared of all charges,

Where's the justice?

Yes, those adverts for Milk Tray tapped into a rich seam of fantasy...I still think of the handsome balaclava'd stranger fondly, zooming off again on his jet ski to score some skag after selling a knock-off DVD player