This is a funny story...

[ribs]

Well...I found this link on the rx-7 forums, and the link was to the supra forums, but the post originally came from the BMW forums (damn forum whores), but anyways, here is the link to the post on the supra forums since I can't locate the original on the BMW forums: A short story about why you should never steal valve stem caps off of a BMW...it has pictures of the perpetrator too!

Oh well...F it...I will just copy and paste the story and pictures into this thread too...keep in mind that I am not the author, but it is too funny to miss...

oh man ive never been so pissed in my life, let me start from the top:

I was going to buy some new shoes so i parked on a side street and i noticed two young kids on BMX bikes riding around on the other side of the street. *click* i walk away from the car after locking the doors. I looked back at my baby once every 15 feet as i usually do but i notice these kids eyeing my car. Hmmmmm, ok so i keep walking and pretending not to see. Im 1/2 block away as i see those little vultures hover around my car. Im like "oh no you didn't" as i see them squat down to snag my valve stem caps.

I bolt outta nowhere like Oj simpson running for the end zone and one kid takes his bike and runs off and i catch the other one. I was shaking from being so pissed, i took his bike literally and i said get the **** outta here, if you dont get me back my valve stems im taking your bike. He starts balling, saying "noo noo i didnt do it!!!! My dad just bought my bike." I open my trunk as if im going to put it in there and he crys like a newborn baby. I yell at him to go get my valve stem caps if he wants his bike.

1 hours goes by, no valve stem covers, a wining little **** whos crying for his mommy. So after calling the other kids parents who were not cooperating, i called the cops. Cops came filed a report, and chewed the little **** out. There were 3 huge cops, who made the kid sit on the ground as they questioned him. He was scared ****less!!! To make a long story short, his parents came and repaid me for the valve stems and i made a "little" profit if you know what i mean

The whole time i was teasing the kid telling him hes gonna be in jail and he would'nt stop crying. I took out my camara and took like 10 picts of him and told him "this is for the cover of tommarows newspaper". Am i mean? ya........is this justice? hell ya! Here are some picts







Damn...the poor kid probably doesn't even know he is pasted all over the internet being seen by thousands of people at his worst moment...maybe he won't steal any more...

[brett25]

why do those little guys want BMW valve stems for? do they put them on their bikes ?

[PorscheG96]

They don't want the valve stems man, they want the spiffy little metal caps. Most of us have those boring black plastic ones, not silver metal jobs like the Bimmers have got -Trevor

[FRANKYDOOM]

I know what you saying but I feel sorry for the little chap - I also know that it is very frustating getting stuff nicked from your car - You might be right that he wont steal caps anymore - but was it him ??? If yes he could have just given them back ....

A bit to harsh calling the cop's and taking pictures - guess he gets a kick out of seing other people frightend - well ... enough said "Bimmer driver explains it all"

[Scott R]

I like seeing a little justice being handed out. I have had two crests stolen off my Porsche's and I never saw who did it. Last time they scratched the paint! I hope the kid learned a lesson and never steals anything again!

[eimkeith]

AMen! that's funny ****.
I say stick it to 'em.

[944S Boyeee]

First of all - isn't there a larger group of criminals out there we can be making examples of?? I wonder what the pics would look like if this guy tried stopping, say.....ME from stealing his priceless stems? Be a big pic of him laying on his Bimmer Hood saying, "I guess those stems were not worth this!!!!". What a big man this guy is!!! Jeeeeeesh buddy, get a grip!!

Look at that kid - does he look like a mastermind stem stealer?? I think not. Could perhaps a good rational talk about the importance of not stealing have been a better solution?? I could see if this lil' guy was all "street" looking and defiant to authority, but he looks like a young Boris Becker and how threatening is Boris Becker??

This was the absolute worse thing "BIG BAD BIMMER MAN" could have done. The long-term effect on this child will be very negative. He will lose respect for trust and has probably developed new fears and nightmares from this - all so he could be taught "not to steal". What he was doing was not "stealing" - how many of us have thought about putting that dinky in our pocket at K-Mart? How many of us have seen that extra change on mom and dads dresser and thought, "Ummmmm Gum money". I'm not saying we all stole as kids, but children are like crows - anything shiney is material for show and tell the next day in school. If BIG BAD BIMMER MAN had any skills with children he would have recognized this and acted accordingly. He has shiny stems on his car and doesn't expect young children to be draw to them??? What possibly could a child use a stem for?? Nothing - so it's obvious to me that this "crime spree" was nothing more than childhood instict kicking in. "WOW - that's shiny - I want it!!!"

The obvious solution is to do what I did the time I caught a kid, who resembled this mafia kingpin in the Bimmer story, stealing my front badge. I got my 944S a month ago and as soon as I bought it, I bought 4 extra badges - cause I KNOW that eventually I will be replacing them. I KNOW this because, A) they get stolen by kids and, B) I stole one as a kid (a kid that was pressured to "fit in" by being bad - perhaps like the boy in the Bimmer story). I excepted the fact that when I bought a Porsche, other things besides the great handling would come with it's ownership.

.....so when after only 4 days of owning it I catch a group of kids "eyeing" the badge at the local Supermarket parking lot. As I entered the store, I saw these kids on their Razors (scooters for all the unhip people out there) "circling" my car. I watched them and noticed there was the kid who told all the other kids what to do and the poor lil' bastard that was forced to pop the badge with what turned out to be a popcycle stick (very effective tool). I also darted out of the door in hopes of catching them, but only got the lil' guy who was preoccupied with the prying. I knew he wasn't a "criminal" and also noticed one of the kids was someone I know to be a bit of a "tough kid". I knew he was the one behind it and he was the one I needed to stop from doing it next time.

So, what did I do?? I sure as hell didn't threaten to keep a kids $80 scooter until I got my $15 badge back (he didn't get it off anyways). Here is what I did. I asked the kid why he was doing it. When you ask a kid, "why did you do that?" and thay say, "I don't know" - it usually means they are scared. So, playing off his fear, I asked him who the kid was who came up with the idea. Sure enough, it was the one I suspected. Now, I told my hostage that if he told me where this kid lived and his name, I wouldn't tell the kid where I found out - that I would just tell his parents I saw him. He fessed up right quick-like. He was starting to get "crying eyes" - so instead of taking his picture, I told him that telling the truth is the right thing to do and he told me that they were gonna steal the badge so the "leader" of the group could put it on his scooter and that they were going to take turns using on each one's scooter (there was like 4-5 of them).

Then I did what I still think freaked this lil' guy out for life. I took my screwdriver out of my tool kit and popped the badge myself (at least there will be no scrathes!!). I told him, "Here, you take this and only YOU can wear this on your scooter - this is your reward for telling the truth". Just like the Bimmer story, the kid started to cry - not out of fear, but rather out of joy.

I then explained to him that these badges only cost like $15-20 bucks and that if any of his friends wanted one, that they could save up and the whole gang could have them on their scooters. I told him not to bother trying to steal them cause there isn't enough cars like this around to provide everyone with one. I told him to go back to his "friends" and show them that he got what the rest of the lil' pussies couldn't and that from now on - the Red Porsche 944S is off limits. He was my rouge kid. I used him to spread the word to stay away from this particular car because I have a mini-video camera that will tape anyone who is trying to steal anything from it and they would end up going to jail and they would be on TV as a criminal (kids will believe anything - and the story will spread thru their elementary school faster than popular bands fade out)......and I actually did put a small "Car Under Internal Video Surveillance" sticker next to my safety inspection sticker - it's an extra deterrent (you can get them at some Car Stereo places).

I went home, popped another badge on my car knowing, A) I had the info on the kid I needed to nail for this B) I made a kids day because not only did he get away unpunished, but he also now has the "cool" Porsche badge C) I sent out the word with "the kids" to stay away from my car D) I gained respect and admiration from this kid and he will never, ever forget that good deed, until the day he dies. I will be the subject of stories he will tell his children as a mature father who will look back and realize that good defeats evil EVERY time.

Take that BIMMER MAN......and go stock up on valve stems, cause I'm sure you will be a "victim" again, and again, and again, and again.

Me, I drive around my home town, feeling good about what I did and that kid waves to me everytime he sees me and his "gang" has asked me where they can by these badges. What I did was round up them and a few other friends of theirs (not the ringleader - he wasn't allowed) and asked a local garage if we could use their parking lot to hold a car wash. I bought some Turtle Wax Carwash and they made signs and charged $4 for a full wash (which is actually a good deal). They washed cars all day this one Saturday and between them all made around $175.

I ordered 6 badges and now the "Porsche Razor" gang is rolling around my town with badges on the handle bars, livin' large and I'm their King!!!!

My niece goes to the same school as these kids and whenever I go to pick her up, they all come over and "hang" with the Porsche guy. They are now the "cool" kids and the original "leader" is the outcast. They all say, "When I grow up, I'm gonna get a car just like this one!!". I told them to get jobs as paper boys or something along those lines and start saving now. I told them if you want something nice in life, you don't steal it, you pay for it and you need to work to make that money to have nice things. I think they learned that with the whole carwash thing cause they keep asking me to help them hold another one, but I had to tell them that I couldn't because they need to do it with their dads or something - but they now know what they have to do to get what they want and I don't have to worry about my car getting vandelized because I now have 5-6 "insiders" on my side.

Why did I do all this? - because kids are worth it!! Mind you, I work at a children's resource centre, so my view on this whole subject may be a bit skewed, but I feel I did what was the right thing and am proud of what I did........and if anyone on this board feels that Bimmer Man did the right thing and "justice was served", I'd check your heads cause people like you are not helping. The children are the ones we need to focus on - not Bin Laden, gun control or "the war against drugs". If we fix the kids, there won't be any of those problems in the future. If we pay school teacher the salaries that uneducated freaks like Shaq get and make them "the stars" or put money into schooling and children's program instead of developing a missle defence system that is useless - perhaps this world wouldn't be in the shape it's in right now.

Sorry for the huge rant - but this is a subject that is dear to my heart.......and I don't even have any kids.

[eimkeith]

Yeah, I'd say your view is a bit skewed.

With all due respect for your efforts, mind you.

Not all kids are "little darlings". Blaming the car owner is ridiculous. You and he did essentially the same thing, only his kid actually believes he almost went to jail. I was a kid too, and a good dose of FEAR of wrondoing goes a long way!

And justifying vandalism and theft because "everyone is tempted" is ludicrous.

I see nothing wrong with either of your approaches. Apparently neither of you will make an easy second-time target.

Your view, however, is akin to blaming girls for dressing skimpy because "boys are like crows - they like things that are shiny"

That kid got a good lesson in cause and effect.
The problem in our society is that EVERYONE goes EASY on kids, our little darlings, they couldn't POSSIBLY be responsible for their own actions! Wasn't his fault he shot people, he was picked on, our parent's are overbearing, etc. etc.

Reality. Some kids are good, Some are Rotten, Some are evil - they are just like adults, no matter how much we try to romanticise them into puppies or whatever.

That kid will get laughed at in school for getting caught, but he prolly won't go to jail for joyriding a stolen car in highschool because of this experience.

What you did was to protect your car, not straighten out a potential delinquent.

[eimkeith]

And by the way, I AGREE with you that we need to invest in kids.

The carwash thing was a good thing and the model will go a long way with those kids.

The bully, however, NEEDS the fear treatment.

the BIMMER story is still funny as ****.

[Leigh 13]

944S Boyeee, you are my new hero.

I admit that I got a laugh out of reading Bimmer-guy's story and seeing the kid crying in those pics. But your story really made me rethink my position, and I kind of feel like a heartless @$$hole for laughing at a little kid.

Kids do stupid stuff, and will always do stupid stuff. Hell, Shaun and Ribs have probably done ten times the damage of anyone here. But for this guy to come out and pull a power trip on what looks to be an 8 year-old, that's just cruel and doesn't teach anyone anything.

Seriously, S...you have proven yourself to be more mature, smarter, and more thoughtful than most of us will ever be. We're happy to have you as a fellow Porsche owner!

- Leigh

[Goku]

although MAYBE a little harsh, it's things like this that need to be done. I agree..kids are treated to easy and when they get out in the real world they're screwed. Non of this, my mommy didn't like me thats why i did it shi*. Honestly. NOBODY takes responciblity for their own actions. And what would've happend if he just let the kid go...he'd do it again. Posting crap on the net might be too far..but at least something was done. The fall in society is directly connected to the fall in the family.

[Bob's944]

Give me a break!! Being scared and balling his eyes out is just what he needs, but in the eyes of his lil friends is what will make it work better on his mind. I'll bet if the parents don't lay down even more punishment... there's a good chance the next day he'll be laughin to his friends on how he put on the waterworks and got away with it. If they do handle it the right way, there's an even better chance the kid will be saved and not end up a common street thug/gang member in just a few years.

[944S Boyeee]

Thanks Leigh - I really, really appriciate the positive comments.

As for a child needed a good dose of fear in order to learn, well - that is one approach, the worst approach, in my opinion.

Sure my kid didn't learn "fear" - but he also wasn't robbed of his innocence. My kid learned that stealing is the weak way out and that working for something is the right way. The Bimmer kid only learned that if you steal - you get caught, so next time, he will be more careful and now he KNOWS that the police won't hurt him or he won't die from stealing - so now he is "toughened up" and all ready to face the music WITHOUT fear. Once you go thru something you fear - the fear is gone. Next time you see this kids picture, it will be a mug shot.

My point is that allllllll kids start out good - then they imitate their atmosphere. It's the parents doing if a kid turns bad (not all the time, but the majority of the time). You never hear young children blame their parents - it's the weak older ones who use it as an excuse to fess-up to their own inability to take responsibilty for thier actions - we have to get to the kids at a young age so they don't have excuses. Sure parents are doing crappy jobs now-a-day, but should we take it out on a kid that doesn't even have the thinking capacity that we do to understand the point we are trying to "scare" into them? Children around this age (8 or so) don't need fear - older children need that. An eight-year-old doesn't have Concrete Operational thinking patterns and "stealing" to them is not what "stealing" is to an older child or an adult. Back to my "it's shiney, I want it" idea.

Anywho.....this is a subject that can be debated until the end of earth and I have made my points as to where I stand and feel my views are both educated and based on years of research in the childhood studies area.

I'm not saying I'm a "don't beat your kids" guy - if anything, kids today need to be taught respect more than ever - but when they really, really do something wrong or won't listen. You don't go around grounding and hitting and hollaring everytime there is a problem - use your head first and appendages later. It's all about reading a situation and using balance.

[Rollins]

I gotta admit it, I too stole some valve covers (AKA chromies) when I was younger. It wasn't so much for showing off though. My friends and I did it at night and we found the hardest cars to get to. I personally just got some kind of rush out of it. It was stupid, I admit it. Personally, I think the Bimmer guy was indeed a little too harsh. It's like he needs to prove something to others when he tells the story. He proved that he can bully a little kid. I don't think he should have called the police. I think he should have called the hostage's parents and let them take care of him, and then gone to the other kid's house and let his parents know EXACTLY how it is. Lots of people think they are tough, until push comes to shove. So when he got there, dad wouldn't be half the badass he was. And in terms of threatening the kid and mocking him, that was totally not the right thing to do. Personally, I have a bad temper. I will scream and yell and go crazy when I am pissed, but I think that in that kind of situation you need to react different. Like 944S Boyee says, kids are the future and *****, so we shouldn't f*ck them up mentally. Ya know?

[PrerYDoG]

HA! I hope he presses charges. No more of this "it's the parents fault stupid"... No more of the "we can't blame the kids, they're innocent." Oh no no no no sirry. Crime and Punishment. Dostoyevsky's best, and this exemplifies it. Guilt, now that's a good feeling. Teach a kid guilt, let him know what it feels like, then he'll avoid it. Consequences of actions, he now knows that. His own actions brought about what happened, and now that he knows guilt and fear, he'll think long and hard about the next time he wants to steal.


HA! I love it.

[Eturbo924]

Hey the BMW guy might have been a bit over the top, but that kid likely was real pissed at his friend for either talking him into vandalism and theft or running out on him.

Listen steeling and vandalism is just that and children should know that there are punishments for doing these things. I too wanted a Porsche badge when I was young and I knew of some that would pop a badge or two... not when I was present though because my parrents taught me right from wrong.... and it is absolutely wrong to take some thing that is not yours. I do not care if it is a valve stem or a pumpkin off your neighbors porch. They paid for it no you... keep your damn hands off of it!

Nice what that other guy did giving his badge awaty and gaining a friend but not real practicle... What if the kid was breaking into your house to steel your TV? Going to give him and all his friends a TV to make them your friend?

Eric

[Scott R]

Agreed, the humility alone would be enough to make me think twice about every taking something again. One of the above posts stated that "next time he will probably be more carefull." What a defeatest attitude, make the consiquences more horrible than the allure of the crime, and it will make the kid think twice before he tries it again. I was caught stealing at 14, as a lesson my father made a deal with the sherrif to have me held over night in holding cell, to this day after that experience I would never contemplate stealing anything again!

I think that the BMW guy was too harsh on the kid. I mean, the stem caps couldnt have cost more than $20 and he called the police on an 8 year old kid? Please, I dont think the police will fix anything that the parents of the kid couldnt. If you told the parents of the kid, they would probably punish the kid far more than making him cry and lieing to him would do. When the kid looks at the newspaper the next morning and his face isnt plastered on the front page, he will realize that the BMW guy was full of **** and will forget the whole lesson to be learned. I think 944S's approach was a lot better but Im not sure I would try and reinforce the whole stealing thing by giving him a hood crest. I do like the whole carwash idea and showing them where they could buy them. To all the people who are saying to stop blaming the parents, when you are 8 years old, basically everything you learn about your morale system of development is from your parents, they should set the example and punish the kid when he screws up. Oh, and Crime and Punishment doesnt really apply to this story, the guy in the novel is 18-20 years old and he realized that he did something wrong because his stage of moral development is much higher than an 8 year olds. The little kid didnt know it was wrong, read some things written by psychologists on this (i recommend Piaget and Erickson) and you will realize the kid didnt realize what he was doing as wrong. Give the guy a break!
Maciek

[eimkeith]

8 year olds know it is wrong, 4 year olds don't.

Regardless of what they grey-haired old phDs speculate.

Don't blame the 4 year old that steals stuff. But punish him, or he'll do it again!
If that 8 year old can' comprehend that the vandalism/stealing thing is wrong, he wouldn't have circled and waited until the coast was clear... unless he was retarded, then I say don't scare him.

Anyway, I know what to give out instead of candy next Halloween...

[Brian J]

Scared or not the truant will think twice the rest of his life about being dishonest and stealing. Guarantee that his little friends will know not to steal off of cars. In my day (I'm 52) having my whinny little face all over the place would be the least of my worries. My dad would be the one to ultimately dole out my dues.

I caught two young urban youths using the front end of my '84 944 as a park bench. When I asked them kindly to remove their butts from my car they gave me a look like I was crazy. I told them when they earned enough to by a Porsche let me know and let me set on it. But in the mean time get OFF!. I do not know if it was my authoritive voice or my 6'3" frame that convinced them to move along. Some kids do not have any respect and I give the parent(s) the blame for that.


WHEW



I feel better now.