A Thunk is a beguilingly simple-looking question about everyday things that stops you in your tracks and helps you start to look at the world in a whole new light. Thunk 7:
If I read a comic in a shop without paying for it is that stealing?
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49 comments:
Stealing is taking something from someone that obviously doesn't belong to you, WITHOUT the persons permission, and not returning it back.
Technically, reading a comic strip in a store WHILE the clerks are around and watching you, isn't stealing as you aren't walking out of the store with the comic strip hidden somewhere in your handbag.
However, it does lead to a loss of money for the store. If i were working in a store and I saw someone reading a comic strip, I would ask them to either put it down, or buy it[politely, ofcourse(A)]
Yet, come to think of it.. there are a few book stores out there that let you sit in the store and read whatever you like for as long as you like. Some people, though, have a knack for collecting comic strips and these people would walk out the store PURCHASING the strip(like they're supposed to).
Either way, acc. to me (since i've done it a million times) if you aren't being stopped from reading a comic strip it isnt stealing in any sense. Though, if you are stopped and you STILL continue reading the strip in a hidden corner - well.. that's not stealing, but thats just really sad, and shouldnt be done
:P
As Tannya mentioned, stealing is considered taking something from someone without their consent.
In a bookshop, people are given the right to browse through books if they wish to, so the same should be allowed for comics. It is not considered stealing, unless the offender decides to complete the whole comic, there and then, in a hidden aisle of a book store.
Comics are generally ruled as pleasure reads, and are often shorter than most novels; which is why you don't see people sitting on those couches in book-stores, reading a comic.
So if I visited a book-store and browsed through a comic or read a page here and there, it should not be classified as 'stealing'. Whereas if I decide to read the entire comic on the spot, it IS in a way considered stealing, since I will not be paying any cash to the store for a book that I rightfully should have bought.
I guess the question at hand depends on whether an individual is completing a whole comic strip within a bookstore, or is merely browsing through it, contemplating their decision to purchase the comic?
I don't think that reading a comic strip in a shop without paying for it is wrong because the clerks and other customers there can see you reading but they don't stop you meaning that they don't mind.
Aisha Bashir
10G2
Reading a comic IN the bookstore WITHOUT taking it OUT is not stealing, as you are not taking anything without paying for it. I do it all the time in Borders in Ibn Battuta. Its an amazing library and they have chairs which indicates that you are ALLOWED to sit and read, just as long as you dont take the book out without paying!
However, some may think of it as a cause of less money made by the bookstore as people wont BUY the books when they can easily read them in the bookstore itself. But that is not stealing either.
I guess if you read it because you want to, but you don't want to pay for it, without exactly doing anything illegal, then you're bending the rules, not breaking them.
You're not stealing, but how fair is it that you read an entire book (in this case a comic), without paying for it. I know bookstores have chairs and areas for people to sit and read for as long as they want, but I always thought these areas were made so you can sit and browse through books before you decide to buy them; to help you decide whether you do want to buy them. Just because a comic book can be read in less than an hour, doesn't mean you should just give yourself the liberty to read it all, walking out of the bookstore with the same amount of money in your wallet and read an entire comic strip.
It might not be stealing, but it's unethical and immoral, to me that is.
Agreeing with Payam on this.
What's wrong with reading, and finishing, a book in a library?
"Stealing" is what we use to define "theft", its what we use to define "crime", and its used as something to keep authority ticking. So is reading a comic in a library, theft or crime? No it isn't.
How is it unethical and immoral? By reading and completing a comic in a library, you initiate a sort of addiction to the place itself, you want to come back and read more and more, finish an entire series. This goes under business activity. The library draws you in, so drawing others in, making it popular, thus, eventually, more books will be bought. So it's a trick to get you to keep coming, so that when people look in the window, and see you reading, they will be curious, and will come inside. The more visitors, the better. All under business.
It is not stealing, nor nothing to do with crime, because, the whole point of allowing you to read in their libraries, is to attract attention to others, therefore it will increase its sales.
Eventually, you will buy some books from the library, because you want to read it at home, or for future reference, so the whole idea of allowing people to sit and read, is to establish this feeling of belonging, of addiction and to empty your pockets. In addition, 80% of people who enter libraries, searching for comics and such, will not have the time to sit and read it all, so they would prefer to buy it. Another hidden technique in business.
Personally, I believe that it is fine, because it is not about the library making money, its about its rank amongst other libraries. So you see, it is no crime, actually the opposite, since you are helping the library gain customers, to read a comic/book in a library, therefore, I am concluding with no, since "stealing" goes under an entirely different category.
It is the will of the library itself, to allow you to sit down and read for as long as you like, and since "stealing" is a completely different story, so it is in favour of the library, thus it is not "stealing", "theft", or anything related to crime and unethical or immoral reasons.
I can't help but draw parallels to listening to the radio. You listen to songs on it all the time and you rarely purchase the albums they belong to, so technically you're getting the benefits of a product for a short period of time without buying it. It's the same with comic books, also it's a good way to promote the product when the producers aim to expand their costumer base. It may not be that successful since there are people who just read every volume in the store itself, but some people after reading an issue or two, get hooked up and since comic books aren't that expensive, decide to buy them.
Another example is perfume stores, where testers are available. Some people might pass the store 5 times and try out one perfume every day. Since this time of promoting is seen here, with the radio, comic stores and probably many other places, I don't think it's considered stealing. However I think that people who keep reading comics over and over again without buying them don't really have respect for the people who put the efford into making them.
When reading a comic in a store and not buy it, your not stealing, like nadine said you're merely just bending the rules. However if you go to Borders, they actually promote reading instores because they have a Starbucks and a children's area for them to sit and read.
I have to disagree with everyone here :P. I dsagree because the whole point of buying the comic book is to read it,if everyone reads in the comic shops then they wont make money so in a way your stealing-stealing what the comic contains but not the comic itself and what it contains is the reason people buy comics in the first place.So yes i think in a way its stealing.
Marwan Harraz 10B2
Well we could chose to look at this thunk in two perspectives,
There are many libraries and places where books are sold along with many other items for eg: a Superstore; where there are signs that say: NO reading please. It is in these places that reading without purchasing isnt allowed.
Then there are libraries and places that allow customers to read before buying; that is ofcourse if they feel that the customer is actually going to make a purchase. Common sense is needed when deciding whether or not this is correct, because inorder to decide to purchase a book, the customer has to atleast flip throught a few pages to see if it appeals to their taste!
Therefore reading before purchasing or not purchasing a book/comic or any other literary material, isnt stealing.
I dont think so reading a comic before buying it is stealing because you wont finish the whole comic in the store. The reason they allow you to read in Borders or other shops is so that you can get a touch of the book.For example, some people cant decide whether a book is interesting or not just by looking at its blurb, so in that case they can read a few pages perhaps one chapter and then decide. Its not for people to grab a coffee spend hours there reading a book and without paying for it.So you cant really say its stealing.
Well, being a die hard comic book fan, I dont think it is stealing simply because if the shop owner did NOT want us to read it, he would have wrapped it in plastic! Personally, I think the very pont of being "allowed" to read it is to give us a taste of what we are going to get in the comic book.
Like the free samples at Baskin Robbins and Charleys! =)
If it really were illegal, that bookstore in Dubai Mall (I cant spell the name) would have put me on death row.
As an avid comic book reader myself (I read Uncanny X-Men which is a MARVEL publication) I wouldn't call this stealing. It would only be stealing if you took the comic book and walked out of the bookstore without paying because then you would essentially be taking away the store's property without paying for it like you rightfully should.
Let's not forget the fact that a person reading a comic book within a bookstore doesn't necessarily have to lead to a financial loss for the bookstore as there could ba a very high chance that someone else might pass by later and decide to purchasr it. Of course, this wouldn't be the case if the comic book was actually stolen.
Wheather it is unethical or not largely depends on the bookstore's policy regarding this issue. If the store has put up a sign which clearly indicates that people are not permitted to read comic books within the store then we should make the moral decision of respecting such policies. On the other hand, if the store doesn't mind visitors reading the comic books it sells then it's perfectly fine.
As for me, I always purchase my copy of Uncanny X-Men using my monthly allowance even if I do read part of it within the store.
No, I don't think its stealing. If the book stores thought that this was wrong, they could simply seal it up in a plastic wrapping. But they don;t do this, beacuse they don't mind people having a peek at the book they are going to buy. After all, you won't buy a book by just glancing at its cover right? And as many of you earlier stated, you are not going to walk out of the store with it. Nor will you be able to finish the whole book in the store itself.
And a prime example is Borders. I actually read a the first chapter of the Lost Symbol before buying the book! Now I don't think thats considered as stealing, because I bought the book right? :P
Stealing is the act of taking something from someone unlawfully.
And you are just READING a comic NOT TAKING it away unlawfully.
*I do that in bookstores and the clerks there don’t mind.*
Sonal, didnt you tell me in Math class that you didnt like The Lost Symbol?
Did my interest in the Freemasons and Dan Brown influence your decision =P
haha nice thunk. actually i think it is considered stealing. because if it was okay to walk into a store and read a comic wihtout buying it, no one would ever buy a comic again! a person is meant to purchase a book from a store before reading it.
as mentioned in above posts, stealing is taking something from someone without their consent. so when you read a comic book isnt that taking knowledge or ideas from someone without their permission?
Haha what a regular routine!
No though, ofcourse it isn't. If you read it while still IN the shop it's nothing near stealing, but if you TAKE it and then read it then yes, for obvious reasons it's stealing.
As everyone has mentioned, stealing is taking something without someones consent or taking something that doesnt belong to you. You're not taking/stealing the comic when you read it, you're taking it's contents in your head... you dont pay for memory
Reading a comic in a shop is not stealing but is unfair to the people who pay and buy the comic.
However, if the shop assistants or shop keepers see you reading and don't stop you it means it is okay with them. If you are hiding and reading the comic on the other hand, it is very wrong.
I feel that it would be wrong to go into a store and sit there all day wrong reading comic strips. I admit that even I do it, I bet that almost everyone does. Probably because it IS fun, sneakily sitting in one corner of a store, among all of this knowlegde of different minds and thoughts in books ranging from young to old about different topics and subjects. But then again, I believe there are lots of people like my uncle who sit for hours in a store reading comic strips and laughing their heads off silently and eventually when they have to leave to go back to work or their routines, they do buy the comic books or strips because they do believe that you cant read a good comic strip just once because you wouldn't be buying it if you did not think it was good enough. I also believe that once a comic strip is funny to you, it will always be funny to you.
In a way, yes.
They are there to be bought, not just read. It doesn't matter if it's in the shop or outside of the shop. You still didn't pay for what you're reading.
Then again, no.
Everyone uses, for example, youtube. We're not paying for what we're watching / listen to but that's never classed as stealing.
Personally speaking i ALWAYS read books in the store, but i don't damage or walk out with them. as long as the book doesn't leave the store un-payed for, it is not stealing.
It is stealing.If everyone reads comics in bookstores. How is the writer going to earn? It's like finishing perfume inside a shop without taking the bottle.
Hmm. I'm sorry but, since when did the value of books go down to only money?
Books are informative, books are joyful, who cares if you pay for them or not. It's not the price, its the item and its priceless value.
I don't think reading the comic in the shop without paying is stealing but it is not the right thing to do either. Mostly shop keepers do not mind customers having a quick glance through something but actually reading it won't be accecptable in most shops. The customer would save money if they read it in the shop but it will be a loss for the shop.
Technically stealing is when you take the item out of the shop without paying for it.So reading the comic inside the shop isn't exactly stealing it but it buying it and reading it at home is the right thing do because this is the reason why we go to the shop and the owner of the shop has kept it to sell it. If reading the comic is allowed in the shop then that is a different thing.
read on,as well as the clerk or whoever is there knows that your reading....even if they dont tell you not to read it cause they dont know that you are reading,then well it could be a form of stealing....if you want to ream the comics,either buy them or atleast let whoevers in charge know that you are reading the book
In my opinion, you are stealing the CONTENT of the comic but you are not physically stealing the comic itself.
Most book stores would probably be against the idea of reading the comic in the store as they have purchased the comic from the producer and they would like those intrested in the comic to purchase it from them (the book store). If stealing the CONTENT was allowed, the book shop could just photo-copy the comic and sell it in that way.
If you put yourself in the producers position, im pretty sure you wouldn't want anyone benefiting from your creation FREE OF CHARGE.
uhmmmmmm???? confusing..... but no its not stealing, each book shop has tables and chair some even coffee shops which indicate to you that you can sit and read there without paying for the book!! i do it plenty of times when I'm tired of walking behind my mom with shopping bags, i just grab a book and sit and read!! none really stops you!! it just cant be stealing, although it becomes unfair for the sales of that store as, if everyone can just sit there and read none would actually by the book, but its definitely not STEALING!!
Well Reading A Comic Strip In The Store Is Not Regarded As " Stealing " But Still Its Not Good Or Sort Of Illegal To Do That ! Well It Is Not Possible To That In Well Known Place E.g Magrudys Cause Eventually Some Clerk Would Catch U Doing That.
I wouldnt say so, much like a library i never saw the point of book stores when people could borrow the thing for free or even read it there and then at the library.
Same thing goes with comic books, if its there on display you have all the right to read it and not buy it. But the irony in the question is that (If I'm not mistaken) the industry has realized this and now they come in sealed plastic packages... So you cant open it at all!
I pay for the info in a comic not the paper.
I get the info without paying.
Therefore i am stealing.
Case closed people.
AHAHA.. i never actually thought about that.. not that i do that or anything (A).. no it's not stealing because stealing would be if you took it without paying for it, you're just looking through it. And as long as the shop keepers have no problems with it it's ok.. but uhm, if you end up reading the comic all the way out of the shop without paying, that's stealing :P
Well, I guess your not exactly stealing directly, but indirectly, they are losing out on money because we conveniently read the book and say 'Oh well, i've read the book, guess i dont need to buy it anymore!'
I think that it is stealing beacuse the point of a comic is to read it, and if you read it without paying for, the store gets no profit.
Its like walking in to a store and taking a CD, puttin it in your player and listening to it then an putting it back. Its like an unwritten law.
Even though the shop does lose the cost of the comic since once you've read it,you dont exactly need to buy it,I still dont think its stealing.
Its not stealing because you dont physically take the comic book out of the store & its not like you're keeping it.
If it was considered stealing then bookshops would not have had places for people to sit & read & as long as it does not say that you are not allowed to read in the store then its fine.
No, reading a comic book in a shop without paying for it would not be called stealing. I mean, stealing is when you take something of someones without them knowing. So when you are reading the comic book in the bookstore you are actually only getting a taste of it and this could also make you want to buy the the comic. I also think that you could not finish the comic book in the store itself because I know that I could not.
On the other hand i agree with Zaid he does have a point.
well, if i were to walk out of the bookstore with a comic without paying for it, that would be considered stealing
the same goes for trying on new clothes in a store etc.
ive noticed in stores like borders and kinokuniya which are very large book retailers , have areas , where a customer can sit and read a book
. and the books which we aren't allowed to read are usually covered in a plastic casing
this is a clear indication between the books we are and aren't allowed to read
sometimes , even when we have read the book , we are still persuaded to buy it
im not much of a comic fan . but from what i know .
it do not think it is stealing , if we read a comic strip or a book without purchasing it.
No. Stealing is whwn you take something illegally. Its how Aisha says- if the clerks don't mind you reading the book then it ought to be fine.
In a way, yes it is a lot like stealing. When you read the comic without paying for it, your using up something that someone has worked hard to accomplish. In return of this persons hard work and creativity he deserves his value. In this case money. If everyone reads the comic book without paying for it. All the authors of these comic books will decide not to make any more. These comic books have a value. By reading it without paying, your stealing the value of creativity and hard work. :)
uh ...yaaah of course its stealing .You read a comic in acomic book store for free and its not stealing?What profit does the store get?
Hmm well stealing is taking something without permission, but physically no you are not stealing, but mentally yes you are, you are stealing the words of the book. :]
Well the shop keepers wouldnt be keeping them unpacked in the shop if they didnt want customers to have a look through them.
No, I don't think it's stealing beacause your just reading some bits and you may want to know what the comic book is like so that you can buy other ones.
hhhmmmmm...ok, so if you go to a supermarket and go to the chocolates aisle and you want to know what the galaxy bar tastes like, you pick one up and eat it while your shopping for the rest of the stuff.....what do you call that? sampling or stealing?
ofcourse its called stealing if you read the whole comic book in the bookstore.
If you are an avid reader or a collector of comic books, then you should just simply browse through a few pages and pay like the rest of us and take the book home and enjoy it at your leisure.
As for the comment of my fellow students about the coffee shops and the comfy sofa sets provided by the book stores....that is for the convenience of the buyer to have a break from walking around the aisles looking at various books and maybe for them to again browse through a few titles before they choose the ones they like.
Nothing to do about attracting customers, they just want to make the experience of being in a bookstore pleasant.
People who go to bookstores already love books and they will keep going back for more.
So next time, you want to browse through a comic, take a quick look, pay and go home and read it at leisure!
yes it would be like stealing because after reading a book you wouldnt want to buy it. I see many people doing this especially in Hypermarkets , They read all the gossip of the magazine and leave.Do you think its morally right to do such a thing? i doubt so.
No, I don't think so. I do that and I dont think it'a wrong thing. When we flip through it, we only get to read a part of it and not the whole magazine or comic. Its only when we buy it, that we read everything. So, it is not stealing. When you steal, you get to keep it as well as use it as you like. But when we are simply glancing through it, we dont take it home with us without paying. So how is that stealing?
Stealing is the act of taking the property of someone unlawfully.. according to me reading a book from a store is stealing since it is the property of the store and also the store’s not a library where one can read books for free especially since you don’t intend to buy the book.
i like this one :) i honestly think it is stealing because who would buy a book after reading it? yet for me saying this is very ironic cause i do it all the time and i think most of us do weather it be reading a comic book in a store or downloading movies or songs before they release etc. it does make you think how many a time we criticize people for shop lifting, stealing etc but we don't stop to realize were just like them
This is why some magazines/comics come wrapped up in plastic :)
(smart cookies =P)
In my opinion, yes, it IS stealing.
You go to a bookstore, pick up your favourite comic, read it discreetly in some corner of the shop and then leave, that's not 'gaining knowledge', thats stealing. Marwan's right about how our selfishness will eventually lead the publishers to bankruptcy :P naturally, leading to the death of your favourite comic or whatever.
OKAY, A BIT FAR-FETCHED :P but you know what i'm trying to say..
-Utsa
its not stealing as you're only reading whats in it not taking it out of the shop
if they didn't want you to read it without buying it they wouldn't put it on display
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