The Shattering of My Faith in the Goodness of Humanity

Someone criminal bastard broke into my car Wednesday night and stole my GPS.  The passenger side window wasn't the only thing that was shattered -- a bit of my faith in the goodness of my fellow man also was demolished tonight. In all my years as a Bronx resident, I've never been a victim of vandalism, let alone theft, so I've skipped through life with rose-colored glasses (okay, contact lenses), always seeing the good in people and not the bad. 

Initially when it dawned on me that I'd been robbed, I was furious, but a strange serenity has come over me and I've been surprisingly calm ever since.  Thank goodness my insurance covers the minimal damage. Maybe that's why those vile cretins think what they're doing is easy money and not such a morally reprehensible act.  I guess I was naive to park on the street instead of in the garage, and I was doubley-tripley-quadrupley clueless to leave my GPS device in my glove compartment, but you live and learn.  And as these thoughts ran through my head, I chastised myself for finding ways to blame myself instead of blaming the lowlifes who did this.  Yes, it's just a material loss, but my always vivid imagination started dreaming of taking an aluminum baseball bat to the criminal's own property to see how they'd like it.  All of this, again, was dancing through my head in the most calm, peaceful, relaxed manner. 

Rather than wish death upon the lawbreaker, rather than be stressed out or emotionally distraught over what happened, I'm aware that it could have been worse.  They didn't steal my car, nothing of sentimental value was taken, no one was hurt.  Instead, I'm peacefully reflective.  I'm imagining who this lone vandal is or whether it's a gang of hoodlums. My mind is filled with ideas of karma, the notion that people are eventually rewarded or punished based on their actions, either in this life or the next.  Is that superstitious mumbo-jumbo that our collective human psyche comes up with to make us feel better when not-so-nice things happen to us?  All I know is that while I'm having these philosophical contemplations, some losers out there made some cash by smashing my car window and stealing something I bought with my hard-earned money. While I spend my precious time tomorrow fixing the damage they did, without any remorse on their part, they'll be out spending their ill-gained money and likely planning to break the law again at the expense of some other unsuspecting person.

Tomorrow, I'll return to my regularly scheduled blog posts.  Until then, I sit back and ponder a world a little less kind, a little less gentle than the one I had always pretended it to be.