View Full Version : Moral Dilemma!
I was standing doing my dishes a couple of days ago (my kitchen is at the front of my house) when i noticed a woman probably in her late thirties walking past my house on the other side of the road eating a chocolate bar. She carried on to unwrap the bar and quite leisurely drop the empty wrapper on the pavement. Now a few years ago i would have gone out and asked her to pick it up but would be a little unsure of doing that now. In this day and age what is the correct thing to do? Do you confront someone and risk creating a huge incident or do you just turn a blind eye? What do you think? This obviously relates to other problems too.
You should have taken a description, note of time and date...maybe taken a photo if possible then handed all of it over to the police. She is - in effect - breaking the law as well as making our streets look a tip!
ciderally
05-Mar-08, 11:39
I was standing doing my dishes a couple of days ago (my kitchen is at the front of my house) when i noticed a woman probably in her late thirties walking past my house on the other side of the road eating a chocolate bar. She carried on to unwrap the bar and quite leisurely drop the empty wrapper on the pavement. Now a few years ago i would have gone out and asked her to pick it up but would be a little unsure of doing that now. In this day and age what is the correct thing to do? Do you confront someone and risk creating a huge incident or do you just turn a blind eye? What do you think? This obviously relates to other problems too.
was on the news this morning that a man got murdered doing just that by a couple of yobs...to loose your life for a chocolate wrapper not worth it but thats the way things are now....
Jees! Murdered! For a sec I thought you meant the man dropped the wrapper and the yobs complained at him!
you should of picked up the litter run after the woman & just said ' excuse me you just dropped this, I thought it might be something important' it works a treat & there is never any confrontation!
you should of picked up the litter run after the woman & just said ' excuse me you just dropped this, I thought it might be something important' it works a treat & there is never any confrontation!
[lol] Good one Brie! I think I'll try that one next time!
percy toboggan
05-Mar-08, 17:42
This kind of thing makes my blood boil , but I have been in the same position as you. When younger, and fitter I cared rather less about litter-louts but have taken several to task...thankfully with positive results. Now, I would hesitate''''although litter drives me nuts - I hate it with a passion...being surrounded by bits of paper and rubbish for most of my day.
I often pick up other peoples litter around my home and if I see somebody deliberately littering I'd weigh up the possible consequences before having a pop verbally. I don't discount the possibility because I've become a bit of a grouch (not that anyone would guess) but I'm not stupid, and do not want my head kicked in, windows stoned, or my cat set alight.
Caithness Lass
05-Mar-08, 17:50
Generally you would have thought that a woman in her late thirties would know better than to do that. I can understand what you mean about not wanting to create a big incident ashaw1. I like your idea brie!:)
I wouldnt bother its more trouble than its worth all u get is a mouthful of abuse
A few years ago was walking with my wife along Bridge street in Wick and noticed across the road a bloke letting his dog mess on the pavement, he stood and waited whilst the dog finished and started to walk on.. "hi mate you've dropped something" I shouted (my wife turned red), the bloke carried on, "Hey I'm talking to you, your dogs dropped something!".. he stopped, turned went back and using a hanky scooped up the mess and put it in a bin and sloped off.. A couple of folk actually clapped!
Fair enough he was not a big bloke (I am) so nothing to lose.. Then again another time in Brixton, London - my wife driving - we were looking for a place to pull in as wanted to call into a chippy, she saw one but just as she started to turn, a car zoomed past, braked and nipped in 'our' spot. My wife started to flash her lights, sound the horn, but I told her to stop as five huge Jamaicans climbed out.. Discretion is the better part of valour!
So what should you do? see how big they are first, weight it up..
A few years ago was walking with my wife along Bridge street in Wick and noticed across the road a bloke letting his dog mess on the pavement, he stood and waited whilst the dog finished and started to walk on.. "hi mate you've dropped something" I shouted (my wife turned red), the bloke carried on, "Hey I'm talking to you, your dogs dropped something!".. he stopped, turned went back and using a hanky scooped up the mess and put it in a bin and sloped off.. A couple of folk actually clapped!
Fair enough he was not a big bloke (I am) so nothing to lose.. Then again another time in Brixton, London - my wife driving - we were looking for a place to pull in as wanted to call into a chippy, she saw one but just as she started to turn, a car zoomed past, braked and nipped in 'our' spot. My wife started to flash her lights, sound the horn, but I told her to stop as five huge Jamaicans climbed out.. Discretion is the better part of valour!
So what should you do? see how big they are first, weight it up..
hehe! love little anecdotes! you go :)
i cant stand it when people do this, i have taught my kids (even my 2 year old) to not throw their rubbish on the ground as there is plenty of bins scattered about the place as for people allowing there dogs to use our pavements as their toilets without their owners picking it up, just last week some idiot allowed their dog to do the toilet at the top of the steps leading down to our house, now to try and dodge that with a pram was difficult, i myslef have a dog and would never dream of allowing it to dirty on th epavement and just walk away and leave it. oh it make my blood boil:mad::mad:
Boozeburglar
05-Mar-08, 19:31
Was the woman in question overweight?
There is perhaps a more pressing moral dilemma.
Boozeburglar
05-Mar-08, 19:33
five huge Jamaicans climbed out
You felt so threatened that you stopped to ask where they were from?
percy toboggan
05-Mar-08, 19:50
You felt so threatened that you stopped to ask where they were from?
Did he though?
Maybe it was blindingly obvious.
Anyway, those Caribbean islands all look the same on the map.
George Brims
05-Mar-08, 20:16
you should of picked up the litter run after the woman & just said ' excuse me you just dropped this, I thought it might be something important' it works a treat & there is never any confrontation!
I remember Barbara Woodhouse ("Walkies!") on Parky's show talking about the wee village where she lived. She had been out walking some dogs when she saw a bloke in a parked car ahead of her drop his fag end out the window. She picked it up and dropped it back in the open window, saying "Thank you, we don't need that here". However she had not realised that (a) it was still lit and (b) the guy was wearing shorts. He hit the roof of his car so hard she thought he might have suffered a fractured skull. Ever since, I've wanted to do that to one of those eejits.
Haha! Barbara Woodhouse -- the hero of everyone on this thread!
Lolabelle
05-Mar-08, 20:29
I hate littering too, and I don't know what I would have done in your situation ashaw1, I was in a dilema once where I saw a woman stashing some groceries down the side of the child seat in a trolley, it was ingeneously done, made to look as if she had "just missed it" but I watched her do it. I was ahead of her, being served at the check out at the time, I kept glaring at her in the hope that she would put the items up unto the conveyor belt. But she just didn't look at me. I wish that I had said , "Oh look, you missed those". But I was so flustered I didn't do anything.
Sorry, back to littering. I went out with a bloke before I met Dave, and he used to chuck everything out the window of his car, and we fought constantly over it. He lived on a big property and I was always saying how would he like if everyone dumped their rubbish along the roadside infront of his place. Never stopped him though. He was a drip anyway! [evil]
lolabelle.........you should've said something!
Lumberjack
05-Mar-08, 22:21
Until recently, I was a referee for the CSBRA (Caithness Small-Bore Rifle Association). The Scottish Championships were held for 2 years running at Castletown; 2005 & 2006.
On the Saturday, in 2005 I spoke to the farmer that had rented the ground to the CSBRA, and he remarked that he had been a little nervous about allowing such an event to take place, because of the mess left after the County Shows. He then asked as to how many people it required to clean up after each day, and was astonished to hear me say "none". Just then, a young girl of about 15 or 16, that had been chatting with friends, walked about 20 feet to deposit a piece of chewing gum into the bin. A quick check around the field revealed no cigarette packets, soft drink cans, crisp bags, fast food wrappers etc'.
Now, I am not trying to butter up the shooting fraternity - who have had a lot of bad press of late, but I am just trying to point out that all it needs is a little discipline.
booseburgler; "You felt so threatened that you stopped to ask where they were from?"
Eh? maybe you're a bit naive, or maybe not been to the big bad city, but if you're in Lambeth, more particularly in Brixton - which is the unofficial capital for Jamaicans - and big black blokes wearing T-shirts with a yellow cross on black and green, climb out of a merc, then yep, I'd say they were Jamaican?
Note earlier; you did think about joining up, but "it is something I occasionally regretted, until my friends started coming home from the first Gulf war as shadows and ghosts." - so don't suppose you'd ask 'em if they were Jamaicans - you'd be away man..
A discarded sweet wrapper? How absolutely disgusting, I can't believe anybody would stoop to such criminality. The level of moral degradation that society has descended to is beyond belief.
I think there should be an immediate public enquiry to discover what led to such an horrific occurrence! :roll:
Kevin Milkins
05-Mar-08, 23:43
I often feel very dissapointed when i see people just throw a crisp packet on the ground or a empty can of coke out of the window of a car. I think what would it cost to employ sombody to pick it up. I have done both at some time in my life and feel ashamed of it but if we can make more people change the way we think about litter and how it affects us and the envirroment that we live in without getting each others back up we could move foward.
Boozeburglar
06-Mar-08, 00:55
booseburgler; "You felt so threatened that you stopped to ask where they were from?"
Eh? maybe you're a bit naive, or maybe not been to the big bad city, but if you're in Lambeth, more particularly in Brixton - which is the unofficial capital for Jamaicans - and big black blokes wearing T-shirts with a yellow cross on black and green, climb out of a merc, then yep, I'd say they were Jamaican?
Note earlier; you did think about joining up, but "it is something I occasionally regretted, until my friends started coming home from the first Gulf war as shadows and ghosts." - so don't suppose you'd ask 'em if they were Jamaicans - you'd be away man..
Spent over fifteen years living in London, lived and worked in Lambeth for years, married into a Caribbean family.
My wife wears a Jamaica T sometimes, it is a fashion thing like the Marley stuff. You don't KNOW jack, mate.
You are way off the mark.
I'm with lumberjack on this one, about the only people who keep their sporting areas tidy are Shooters. Every range I have been too is immaculately tidy with no litter lying around.
It carries over to life too, most shooters would not even consider dropping litter because we were too lazy to pocket it to bin later.
What amazes me is the people who drop littler NEXT to a bin, why? The bin is not full?
.
What amazes me is the people who drop littler NEXT to a bin, why? The bin is not full?
I think that's what everyone asks...some people are ignorant idiots who don't give a damn about their town!
Booseburgler; "Spent over fifteen years living in London, lived and worked in Lambeth for years, married into a Caribbean family. My wife wears a Jamaica T sometimes, it is a fashion thing like the Marley stuff. You don't KNOW jack, mate. You are way off the mark."
Ah I wondered why the touchy response over a simple comment resulting from a passing glance ref the blokes wearing 'Jamaica T's'.. I apologise, but you seem to have missed the point.
I'll try to explain;
If one is in a situation where one is faced with what looks like overwhelming odds, it is better for one to demur..
PS who's 'Jack' that I don't know?
Spent over fifteen years living in London, lived and worked in Lambeth for years, married into a Caribbean family.
My wife wears a Jamaica T sometimes, it is a fashion thing like the Marley stuff. You don't KNOW jack, mate.
You are way off the mark.
are we splitting hairs here! its an easy mistake to make!
Boozeburglar
06-Mar-08, 14:58
Did he though?
Maybe it was blindingly obvious.
Anyway, those Caribbean islands all look the same on the map.
They do?
How do the Caribbean mainland areas look to you?
I do hope you wear glasses when driving yer truck.
Anyone else go some ideas about what we can do to stop littering?
I lived in Singapore for three years, and their draconian action has created a VERY clean city.. (although I seem to remember they are easing the chewing gum laws..)
http://www.expatsingapore.com/content/view/1376 (http://www.expatsingapore.com/content/view/1376)
"The running joke is that Singapore is a "fine" city. To maintain the clean and green city, there are strict laws against littering of any kind. First-time offenders face a fine of up to S$1,000. For repeat offenders--it's a fine of up to S$2,000 and a Corrective Work Order (CWO). The CWO requires litterbugs to spend a few hours cleaning a public place, for example, picking up litter in a park. The litterbugs are made to wear bright jackets, and sometimes, the local media are invited to cover the public spectacle. Naturally, the authorities hope that public shame will make diehard litterbugs think twice about tossing their scrap paper or cigarette butt on the roadside.
Chewing gum
As an extension of the "no littering" mantra, the import, sale and possession of chewing gum is banned. You are also not allowed to bring in chewing gum for your own consumption. In short, no chewing gum whatsoever.
This rule was introduced because of the high cost and difficulty in removing stuck chewing gum from public premises. In particular, chewing gum stuck on the Mass Rapid Transit train doors stopped the trains from moving. It happened a few times and those were a few times too many.
A discarded sweet wrapper? How absolutely disgusting, I can't believe anybody would stoop to such criminality. The level of moral degradation that society has descended to is beyond belief.
I think there should be an immediate public enquiry to discover what led to such an horrific occurrence! :roll:
So that makes it acceptable if just one person does it? I don't think so. Myself and other parents spend a lot of time teaching their children to use a bin. So what is the point if they see an adult blatantly dropping litter right infront of their noses. Fair enough if just one person was guilty of this but what are the chances of that being the case? If we all did it we would all be upto our knees in god knows what. I don't allow anyone to drop litter on my property and i would certainly never allow any of my family to drop litter on anyone elses. I can't believe you don't see the problem with this!
percy toboggan
06-Mar-08, 19:27
Spent over fifteen years living in London, lived and worked in Lambeth for years, married into a Caribbean family.
My wife wears a Jamaica T sometimes, it is a fashion thing like the Marley stuff. You don't KNOW jack, mate.
You are way off the mark.
Jack who?
At last I know where you're coming from Boozeburglar.
I'd been wondering like.
Glasses? Yes, the rose tinted ones fit particularly well.
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