[sagarun]

My dad used to tell me this story, In rural India in the 60s the Federal Government would lay copper cables to bring electricity to the town. Some locals would bring down all the cables overnight and sell it in black market to some quck money.

For them electricity wasn't that important compared to food on the table.

[hkai]

We totally did the same in Russia!

People would also risk their lives dismantling live cables and would often die in the process.

Sad reminder about the value of life under communism.

[52-6F-62]

I don't think it has anything to do with communism or capitalism...

[vmception]

I heard that story about fiber optics somewhere on the African continent 15 years ago

so now I don't believe either story, unless this is a common entrepreneurial endeavor I've been sleeping on

[onion2k]

Some basic research goes a long way to augmenting what you might or might not believe about the world - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_theft

[vmception]

I heard they were being used for fabric / fashion

I haven't thought about it for 15 years, and now with "basic research" and I couldn't find anything about either fiber optic or copper metal theft being used for fabric in Africa

nothing on snopes, nothing in your wiki page. in my prior comment I felt either was equally likely

it did nothing to augment what I might or might not believe, thank you for the contribution about general metal theft

[hrydgard]

It's absolutely a thing, even in developed countries people will steal cabling for scrap metal, even if it's getting rarer. Copper roofs on very old churches are also commonly stolen for scrap value.

[fastball]

The issue is that you didn't mention fabric / fashion in your first comment, and nobody can read your mind.

Your initial comment came across as saying you just didn't believe that people steal metal.

[vmception]

The parent comment was "my dad used to tell me this story", "in rural India in the 60s"

It wasn't about not believing the possibility, it was about noticing how I heard a similar story which featured association and no source, and identifying that this is the same way that all urban legends exist. I also said "or maybe I have been missing an entrepreneurial opportunity" completely, and clearly saying that I am open to believing when referencable information was provided, which it immediately was by the first response while ironically villifying me instead of leaving it at the educational moment.