I was reading this article from The Register, about the students who “hacked” the website containing information about whether their applications to various universities had been accepted.
Part of the article talks about how we judge right vs. wrong in the “real world”, including:
We finally consider certain exigent circumstances in deciding whether, as a society, we are willing to accept the conduct (OK to break into a locked car to get a baby out, OK to open door of unlocked car to turn lights off).
This is the part I found of interest. The rest of the story is really old news that I really didn’t care about, even when it was breaking news.
I’m sure we’ve all probably heard (or at least thought about) someone breaking a car window to get a child out (although now that I think about it, I can’t think of a single instance I remember, nor why the child needed to be retrieved in the first place). I, however, had never considered checking a car to see if it were unlocked when I noticed that the lights had been left on. I generally look to see if there’s someone who might be the owner walking away from the vehicle, and when I don’t see anyone who fits the bill, simply walk right past and don’t think twice about it.
Do people actually do this? In the cruel world we live in today, where everyone fends for themselves, do people actually care enough to (technically) break the law and enter another person’s vehicle, simply to turn their lights off and save their battery?
I’d venture to perform a test, leaving my car unlocked and in the mall parking lot, but I honestly don’t think anyone around here would give a rat’s ass. With my luck, I’d return to my car not only to find the lights on and the battery dead, but also my CD player missing, and the peculiar scent of urine in the air…
Does anyone out there (all 2 of you reading this) actually have experience with this type of thing? Have you ever gone into someone’s car for an ethical reason? Has someone ever gone into yours for one? Leave a comment or drop me an email. I’d love to know…
I wouldn’t enter someone’s car to shut off their lights. I do however try to get the word out to the owner that the lights are on (Get the manager of the store or whatever to put it on the PA system) Enough people have done this for me that I feel I really should “return the favor”. Actually opening a car door to shut off the lights…That starts to get a little freaky, like what if the owner of the car walked out at that minute and saw you, what go though your head if somone was leaning into your car like that….Cops..sue…not a pretty situation.