Missing aluminum cans

We are being victimized at church. Yes, we are. No kidding. I had no idea to be honest with you, but I had some suspicions. I began to notice that whenever we would realize that the aluminum can bin was full and needed to be taken for recycling, somehow the cans magically disappeared. I am somewhat delusional at times and I decided that probably some fine church member was taking the cans to be recycled and was holding the money for Relay for Life, which is after all why we collect the cans in the first place. Only this is not the case. It turns out that some fine industrious folks are coming into our parking lot, mostly likely to get food from our food pantry, and helping themselves to the aluminum cans. You may ask how it is that I know this. It is because our maintenance person and my friend Stacy happened to be in the parking lot and observed the theft in action. She said they took off when she said something, but she got their license number. Colombo would be so proud.

Here is the thing. Is one upset about having cans one is willing to give away stolen from one's parking lot. I am in a complete quandary about this. On the one hand, it does seem wrong that people, going to the effort of saving their aluminum cans and bringing them to the church in order that they may be cashed in and the money used to support Relay for Life, are not getting any money for this cause as a result. In fact they are bringing their cans as a bank of sorts for these folks to come in and take a withdrawal and use for whatever purposes. This is outright stealing and whether the cans are locked up or not does not make it right to go into someone else's can bin on someone else's property and help yourself.

On the other hand, we are perfectly willing to give away the proceeds, in fact we are collecting them in order to do so, so is it reasonable to be angry that the cans are being taken instead of given. After all, if these folks come to the food pantry we happily give them a week or ten days worth of food. We go out of our way to provide as much assistance as we possibly can so, why am I worked up about the cans?

I have been mulling this over and I think it has nothing to do with the cans and everything to do with the method. If we were asked for the cans we would have the option to choose whether we wanted to part with them. When things are taken instead of given there is a feeling of coercion that is less than pleasant. In fact it feels like a violation. Wait, I think it is a violation.

We got into this kind of discussion, though not on the aluminum cans, but about submission this week. There was some digging in over the term quite frankly. There was a negative spin over the word submit and we never got to resolution until we got to definitions. It is only submission when we are given the opportunity to yield our wills to that of another. It is oppression when the options is removed. We make the free choice to submit, to give, to share or care, that which is taken or forced or legislated is something else entirely.

This is why I am feeling just a little bit like sitting at the recycling bin with a gun and saying "go ahead, make my day". I don't have a gun, maybe a golf club. I don't have a good swing though so maybe a baseball bat. I am not any better at that, so maybe some hair spray. Actually, I don't hair spray, I use that foamy stuff, and I dont think it's much of a weapon....I am thinking maybe I better just sit in my car and think things. This sounds safer.