You have the magical power to stop one and only one of the following two scenarios. Which would you prevent?
1. A neighbor steals a thousand dollars from you and skips town with your money.
2. You lend a thousand dollars to a neighbor for what you think is an emergency situation. You find out later that the neighbor has lied and has skipped town with your money.
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3 comments:
IMO: $1000 is gone in either case so what I'm looking to prevent is either a lie & betrayal or a violation.
I bet most people would prevent the betrayal (#2). I would prevent #1. I think it would be easier to deal with the consequence of a decision I'd made than something I had no control over. I think it would have a greater mental impact.
I'm curious: if it were family, would that make a difference? Not for me. Hawk's family has "borrowed" thousands from us over the years.
I'd stop the second one. The first would be one of those bad things that you can't always prevent no matter how careful you are, but the second would call into question my judgment and people-reading skillz.
I'd prevent #1. In #2, the fact that I lent the money willingly means that I had it to spare. So while the lie is a personal betrayal, the financial loss is clearly one I can survive. As for #1, if I had a $1000 in my house for my neighbor to steal, I would presume it was there for some immediate purpose, like say, paying rent. So in that case, the theft could mean I lose my home since I don't necessarily have another random $1000 to cover the loss. It also means that my neighbor broke into my home and rifled through it to find the cash, which would also be a violation/betrayal of trust.
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