This_ends_now said:
Anton P. Nym said:
At the cost of making other kids suffer. Kids already in deeper trouble than mere hunger, at that. Games are proven to have excellent palliative results, particularly for children; the resulting reduction in use of pain meds, nausea meds, sedation, and probably other medications I'm forgetting does a lot to help them get better more quickly... or at least with less suffering.
Inability to play video games is not suffering. It's a minor inconvience. There are other ways to bring joy to children. Your own stomach digesting itself is more along the lines of suffering.
There are two giant holes in your reasoning.
First, it's not a "minor inconvenience", it's functionally identical to accepting that stealing the kids' pain medications would be acceptable. Remember, this isn't just for entertainment; those consoles are there as therapudic equipment, and serve a particular function in helping them recover from their illness.
Second, it presumes that this guy is doing this out of altruism which is not in evidence. It is at least as likely that he's just trying to pay off his loan shark. The harm done, however, doesn't change whatever the thief's motives. I'd also argue that this defense is at best merely shifting the selfishness from choosing oneself over the kids to choosing one's family over other families. Note plural; this is still inflicting harm on more people than it helps, even assuming the thief is a family man.
Again, I don't care what kind of hole this guy's in; stealing from sick children is low.
-- Steve
