“Take Out All The Quarters”: People Share 40 Unscrupulous Practices They Live By

Bored Panda got in touch with MinkSableSeven and they were kind enough to share some more details. Naturally, we were curious to hear why they asked this question in the first place. “I've been on Reddit for over 3 years (separate profile) and I wanted to ask something that allowed people to reveal what they're really up to. Something that inspired them to share. Reddit is littered with repetitive content; the same questions are posted over and over again.”

“As writers know, people love to talk about themselves and if you give them an opportunity, they'll share things you never expected. I've always had a curiosity about my neighbors and the common person.” 

Given the hundreds of comments people posted, it would seem like this question really sparked some interest, so we wanted to hear OP’s take on what made it so engaging. “I think the more comments we got, the more interesting the topic became. Once people started posting some shady things they do, it kinda gave consensus for others to chime in without guilt. I also think the key aspect of the question was the "without guilt" part. I asked what sneaky things they did that they felt no guilt about. I think people just wanted to get off their chest the things they can't tell anyone else. And since Reddit is predominantly anonymous, they opened right up!”

“What I've learned most from the post is that the majority of people are frustrated with the high cost of living and the overall broken system. The majority are very comfortable with forms of stealing. A great number of commenters admitted that they steal by taking things from work, not scanning items at the self-checkout at stores, and exchanging Amazon purchases with defective products they already had (a Canon printer!) to get a new product with a new warranty start date. One guy even takes the $150 his company allows for airport transportation, takes public transportation instead, and uses the "free" money for sports games,” they shared with Bored Panda.

“With the cost of living increasing so fast and people struggling to make ends meet, few feel guilty for the creative ways they get to "stick it to the man". But then there were some comments that were very encouraging. Like a math teacher who refuses to pass students if they really can't do the work. A nurse who uses funny puns so that patients don't notice any pain while she's starting an IV. The nice neighbor who knocks on doors when an Amazon package has been sitting there. Collecting perfectly good food that's to be thrown away so families can eat. But some of the best ones are completely silly and relatively harmless. Like sneaking in alcohol instead of paying for highly-priced drinks. Peeing in brother's bath water because he's a prick!”

Many of these fall, one way or another, into the pretty broad category of a “victimless crime.” Even the term “crime” is perhaps too strong, as not all breaches of ethics are against the law. After all, you can share your streaming service passwords to your heart’s content without the law being bothered one bit. However, the service provider may block your account. 

Indeed, these days, lawmakers and lobbyists will generally find ways to simply revoke laws punishing victimless crimes. For example, in the past, an able-bodied person begging could be punished by death in the UK. While it is perhaps good that people actually work, this is a pretty extreme punishment for something that doesn’t really bother the vast majority of society.