[foolfoolz]

one of my favorite stories is when i landed in saigon i took a taxi to my hotel. literally my first experience in the city. and the taxi driver didn’t give me the right change, he kept a bunch of money. so i’m yelling at him. he’s acting like he doesn’t speak english. it goes on so long the people im with check in to the hotel. i move up front to the drivers side door, with it open, standing between the door and the driver telling him he’s a fucking thief and the hotel people are trying to calm me down and tell me to call the taxi company. eventually he relents and gave me my money. it wasn’t about the money (VND to USD is cheap) i just did not want to let this guy fuck me as soon as i landed

[haimez]

Hey, I don’t blame you for being angry- but, and this is only an empathy exercise: where do you think that taxi driver is today? Right at this moment, even?

[ipaddr]

Could be ripping people off still, in jail, dead, retired or bootcamp grad working in sf.

Creating a sad story to explain motiviations shouldn't be an exercise one does in a situation like this.

[remote_phone]

Why is this relevant? Rules and laws are there for a reason. If society lets taxi drivers steal from people because they are taxi drivers, where do you draw the line for expected fair treatment of everyone? Do only rich people have the expectation of behaving correctly?

[haimez]

> Why is this relevant? Rules and laws are there for a reason.

I agree.

> If society lets taxi drivers steal from people because they are taxi drivers, where do you draw the line for expected fair treatment of everyone? Do only rich people have the expectation of behaving correctly?

I think this is where you missed the point. It’s an empathy exercise. Where do _you_ think that taxi driver is, right now? What do you think their home looks like? Are they pleased with having pulled one over on that foreigner fare?

Their actions don’t have to be morally correct or even morally justifiable to be understandable.

[darksaints]

If you want to signal your magnanimous virtues to the world, do it on your own dime. Nobody should be shamed into feeling sorry for someone that defrauded them.

[darksaints]

In jail, hopefully.

[boomboomsubban]

People should not be in jail because one person's recounting of an encounter with them makes them sound like a thief.

[darksaints]

Whoosh.