Am I cynical or just facing reality? A comment on yesterday's blog suggested I should give people the opportunity to prove they are trustworthy and that if I had gone back to the gas station I might have been surprised to find my card either still there on the ground or having been turned in to the cashier. That's possibly true and a few years ago I would have done that and would have been surprised if it wasn't there or hadn't been turned in. I was very trusting and believed everyone was good - I would never think to steal anything from someone, I would never keep something of importance that I found, and I figured everyone was like that - some would say I was a little naive. The past year though I have been the victim of not so trustworthy people - house broken in to, money taken, etc. L had her car stolen with all of her belongings. Two friends had their CC numbers stolen and had thousands of dollars charged to their cards from Internet purchases. Has this turned me cynical or just helped to take the blinders off and face the reality of what the world has become - you can't trust everyone - there are people out there that want to take advantage of good people - you need to protect yourself first - random acts of kindness are rare these days.
De
2 comments:
All very valid points, especially given the traumatic experiences you've gone through this past year. However, I stand by my comment. I just think you have to give people the benefit of the doubt until they've proven untrustworthy. So....based on the last year I would have to lean more towards "cynic", but that doesn't mean that's a bad thing. You absolutely should do all in your power to protect yourself, your belongings, and those of your loved ones. However, until very recently, you had turned a major corner in your life in returning to the normal order of things (i.e. getting L out on her own). Having taken that step I think you can now start coming back out of that "cynic" mode little by little. Course, now L's back with you for a little while so you have to withstand the storm again for a little while. Although, come to think of it, I haven't heard any good L stories recently, is she much improved since being out "on her own" for a while?
I went camping this past summer, and left my iPhone in the bathroom. A younger girl found it, started scrolling through the phone, and dialed my sister's number, and was able to return the phone to me. Everyone was shocked that she didn't keep it, and I was so grateful to know that there are good people out there! :)
But, I would've cancelled my credit card too, just because I would have been too lazy to drive back there. :P
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