Quote:
Originally Posted by Niels
I can't believe the number of posters on here who said they would cut the cord (I assume AFTER they had unplugged it  ). I think that by cutting the cord you take a minor problem (someone stealing your electricity) and possibly turn it into a MAJOR WAR. This person is your neighbor. Someone you might be living next to for many years. Do you really want to start an ongoing war with a close neighbor over a few cents worth of electricity?
My personal opinion is, anyone bold enough to steal someone else's electricity can probably figure out a way to get even with you several times over for cutting his cord. Just look at Scroll's post for a few ideas on how this person will get even with you.
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I wouldn't cut the cord either. I agree it could escalate to a major war, but there's an even more important reason. Two wrongs don't make a right. Think about it. Wouldn't cutting the cord be fighting theft with criminal damage to property? If I run across someone whose standards of conduct I find contemptible, the last thing I hope I would do is lower my standards to his.
Flipping the breaker on and off could damage my own equipment/ appliances tied to the same breaker and would just encourage the guy to make sure I'm not home when he breaks in.
I think Freeda's husband did the right thing to talk to him first. However, unlike TH, I would not pretend that, like the thief, I also make no distinction between "neighbor helping neighbor" and theft. That would lead to a worse-case scenario, the one Red described in which TVers actually assume "entitlement" to taking from neighbors without permission (see also, theft).
Isn't acting like this is no big deal doing precisely that: granting TVers entitlement to take things belonging to others without asking? Isn't saying what TH suggests saying precisely that it's an acceptable norm?
Wouldn't kicking the can down the road-- or worse, calling it acceptable-- contribute to the problem in the long run, instead of helping to prevent an entitlement mentality from taking hold?