Letters to the Editor
-
could be a set up...
my abusive ex was very forthcoming with the confessions about his history of battering his girlfriends. of course it was in the distant past. he was over it. it just so happened that despite years of sobriety, therapy and meditation he found me exquisitely irritating to the point that it brought out his abusive tendencies, making him feel bad about himself all over again (poor guy).
on the other hand, it's possible that he was only stealing because opportunity met desperate circumstances. one of the posters cited a study which showed that children were always dishonest under the same circumstances. perhaps those circumstances will never occur again in his life. for one thing, he will never be that age again. young people interpret circumstances differently. when i was in school i cheated on math tests (i can hardly believe that now). my self-esteem was caught up in being amazingly good at math. i wouldn't cheat on a math test now, because i have a bigger life, and a lot more to lose. are there other circumstances under which i might not be completely honest? even i don't know that. life is unpredictable in some ways...