How would you feel if you got to the train station parking lot, after a long day at work, and an annoying commute, to find someone had broken the driver’s window of your car, and possibly stolen items from inside?
I can’t imagine.
Someone broke into a Jeep Cherokee parked two spots away from me at the train today. I saw the glass all over the ground, then noticed the window was gone. I didn’t see anyone go to the car. I can’t even imagine walking to your car, tired and worn out, ready to go home for dinner… and finding a broken window. What a way to ruin someone’s day. Or week.
Last year, someone keyed the rear driver’s door on my car. It still makes me angry. People not respecting other people’s property is a big problem for me. Especially when it comes to cars. And nothing was even stolen from me.
What is wrong with people?
Some of them are teenagers and have too much free time?
I had a tire slashed on the north side of Evanston, where the only inhabitants are the elderly and well-off professionals. Quiet people; people who have better things to do with their time than commit petty vandalism…
Then again, when I lived in Chicago (Portage Park, a much less well-to-do area), I had a 30-something white-trash neighbor who thought a particular section of the public roadway was “his”, for his mother to park in. My roommate at the time, who drove perhaps twice/month, didn’t know this and made the mistake of parking there and returning to find one of his tires slashed (yeah, that helps get a car moved!). We of course couldn’t prove that neighbor did it, but the circumstantial evidence was definitely there. :-/
gah. that makes me SO ANGRY. i hate people sometimes 🙁
the only time i’ve had my car broken into, i was lucky enough that the people apparently did it for… fun? or something? my suspicion was that it was young teenagers who didn’t want to be REALLY bad, so they popped the lock and stole a bottle of wine, without breaking a window or taking anything of real value (eg radio, cds, several-hundred-dollar portable gps….)
Mike’s car got broken into one night when he was over at my apartment back in the early days of our relationship. They were ‘kind’ in that they only broke the smallest window to gain access but they stole all his CDs. It’s not a happy thing to discover no matter the time of day.
Within days of picking up our new car (4 days to be exact) we had a small dent and scratch on the passenger side rear door where someone had opened their door into our car. I knew what car had done it – the one still parked next to ours – but there was no way to proove it. I’m sure it was an accident, and we wouldn’t have done anything about it, but a note saying sorry would have been nice, you know?
I don’t know why people like to violate others as they do. It makes me very sad. 🙁
Oh, that totally makes me furious. Like the time I parked in the middle of one and a quarter parking spots and a guy got pissed at me because I wouldn’t pull up (so he could block me in and protrude into the alley). The next day, I came out to see my car keyed. Seriously. What the hell does that resolve. You still don’t have a parking spot.
And while I can wax poetic about an ideal world where people respect one another all the time, I do shake my head at people who leave their belongings (sometimes expensive stuff) in plain sight in their car. To me, given the world we do live in, that’s just begging for a break-in.
i so agree with you. people work too hard for their stuff to have others violate it. i wish more people had respect for others.
That’s a big question, actually. We live in a world where there are so many intersecting issues of poverty and classism and racism and etc… that there is likely a reason WHY a person did that to a stranger’s car. Is it a good reason? I can’t say. Is it awful and does it make me angry? Totally! I would feel so violated. When things like that happen to people it just turns us further against one another.
And that breaks my heart.
Scratching a car is such a cowardly thing to do (not that I haven’t been tempted to do it myself during times of extreme anger at someone, but fortunately I controlled myself like a mature person and remembered to treat others the way I would want to be treated, LOL). As for the theft – it seems to me that people these days just want instant gratification. They are not willing to work to earn the money before they spend it. If they can steal something for themselves or to sell for money for drugs then that is what they will do. Self-respect is lacking and so therefore is respect for others and their property.
E – I think this may have been more than bored teenagers, because there has been a notice sign of vandalism in the parking lot for some time – warning people. Gosh, how long did you live around that asshole of a neighbor? People like that just drive me crazy. And your poor roommate – he did nothing wrong!
Alice – Wow! Lucky you had that wine in there to deter them from the more valuable items!
suze – If someone gave me a door ding and their car was still there – the would sure have one when they got back. And probably a nasty letter too. You’re much nicer than I am!
Kyra – It makes me lose hope 🙁
Nilsa – Jeez. So this guy waited around to key your car? Was it someone you recognized? I am not sympathetic to people leaving things in plain sight either – there is even a warning note at the train station telling people not to do this because of recent vandalism.
CourtneyInControl – And I wish this on every belonging – not just your car. It seems like people think if something isn’t theirs, they can treat it like crap. I am the opposite – I make it a point to be careful/respectful of other people’s things.
sizzle – I agree. I am sure this is some reason that people do this. It’s just so awful to be on the receiving end.
teeni – Many things start with self-respect. Can you respect other people if you don’t respect yourself? Maybe not. 🙁
It gets me SO ANGRY TOO. What is wrong with people?!?!
Those kinds of people that damage other people’s property, be it keying the paint, breaking the window, spraying graffiti on the brick wall… they have no respect for anything, including themselves. Now turn the tables on them, and they get pissed.
I’d call it karma.
marissa – I don’t know. And you probably see a lot of that where you are?
martymankins – I believe in karma 100%. But what did the person driving the car do to deserve this? Is it karma for him, or bad luck?
I can’t even imagine and hope never ever to have to!!!
actually that happened to me. i came off the train to find my window smashed and my radio missing. good times, i tell ya.
Felicia – I hope none of us ever have to! 🙁
Gina (Mannyed) – Will this be less likely to happen once you move? I’m sorry you had such bad luck 🙁