Did the store owner do the right thing?

If this man had been a christian you never would of heard about what faith he was . Why does that matter ? He was just a man who did something out of the kindness of his heart. His religious faith is irrelevant.

yeah especially the muslims that took down the towers. PLEASE

That is kind of the problem. Whenever it is some bad people who did something, it's "Muslim terrorists" and "Muslims took down the towers." Always, "Muslim did this bad thing." It's never "the Christian terrorist who blew up the abortion clinic."

Hey, when abortion clinics are blown up it is always mention that it was a christian extremist group. Same when abortion doctors are shot, and when mother drown their babies. It is pointed out that these are cristian extremists.

So your comment is highly flawed. In reality we should not be bringing up religion in any othese cases. In the case of the towers it was politics, same with abortion providers ,and the case of the mother drowning her kids is extreme mental illness.

The jails of this country are over crowded with people FULL of religion after they have been caught! This has nothing to do with religion, and everything to do with robbing from a man who works to feed his family. I applaud this man for his caring, but hope that after this he will pull the trigger next time. There must be consequences to people's behavior. The consequence for robbing a man should be death.

I don't know that the consequences for robbery should be death unless the theif is trying to kill you. However, paying the criminal for his crime isn't going to solve this man's problem. Even if he was out of work and really trying to support his family, he was probably out of work because he's a theif! People don't abandon core principals out of desparation. Robbing someone with the threat of violence isn't part of any decent man's core values.

I would have ordered him to the floor and had him arrested. Pulled the trigger of he continued threatening me. Pay it forward does not mean pay it to scumbags.

Extremists in any religion are a threat to the stability of any society. Just ask the late Dr. Tiller's family. Mr. Roeder wasn't Muslim, yet he murdered an innocent man. Inside of a church, no less! So, if your logic holds true, debbie tesoriero (et al) , then all Christians are bad too, because of the actions of a few. Or in the Tiller case, one Mr. Roeder.

The difference here is that your guy asked for $20. There's nothing wrong with asking for help when you're down on your luck. I would have given him the cash too. If he threatened you with a bat and demanded all your money it would be a different story.

He should have been arrested and processed. If it turned out that it was his first offense the shopkeeper could have dropped the charges. Sure, he would now have a police record, but it would probably be enough to remind him that there's a right way and a wrong way to feed his family.

You are good people for sharing your good fortune with someone who is down on his luck. $20 is a small amount to many of us, but I can remember years ago collecting recycling with my mother because the payment on the house and fixing our car had used up all her cash, and we had no food. We made $13 and change last for an entire week!

Years ago I saw this happen: A couple of teenagers told a man I know that they needed $20 for gas to get home. The man gave them the $20, and after they left, the people around him (this happened in our church parking lot) gave him a hard time, because maybe those kids weren't going to use the money for gas. I will always remember his response, That he was only responsible for helping out those in need, and it was on the people who took the money to be responsible for what they did with it.

People do crazy things, and it is not easy or fast to get public assistance. Don't judge until you have had to look at your hungry kids and know that you will have to put them to bed hungry tonight. And, I don't know about your area, but in mine, food banks are turning people away because they just don't have enough for everyone.

To eed017:

Or maybe you were just scammed. Wait until next week when a new one shows up!

The word "sucker" comes to mind....

Yeah, I caught this too.  Maybe his starving family had celiac disease?

Maybe it was white and they only eat wheat?

Yes - leaving the bread was a give-away. What about "Hey can I sweep out your store or do an odd job in exchange for some food for my family?" He didn't even try "asking" first. Threats and violence should NOT be encouraged. The police officers I know say 99% of the time it's for alcohol or drugs.

Yep, so the next hungry man can stop in with a bat for a free $40...

That just expands the incentive for carrying a bat for a living. What, hit 10 stores on I44 between 2 and 4am, that's $400 a night! Shoot, I think crime should be punished. Of course, anyone with a conscience would be sorry and have an excuse, and I don't think they should be encouraged.

The bread could have been traced back to him, not the money. That is why he did not take the bread.

Um...exactly how were they going to trace a loaf of bread back to the man??? That's just stupid...LOL. I agree with the other folks. If the man really wanted to feed his starving family then $40 is not going to do much with prices being what they are. The bread would have helped. I think this guy was a scamming the store owner because he was on the business end of a shotgun. I hate to be cynical but him leaving the bread kind of proves it.

Did any of you IDIOTS watch the VIDEO??? It CLEARLY shows him picking up the bread and carrying it out of the store with him. The person who wrote this story is a moron, they wrote that he dropped the bread to pick up the bat and the money, but didn't bother to write that he also picked the bread back up again. Be sure to have all the facts before you write a bunch of nonsense!!!

Yo! If he's on the street with the loaf of Bread, and without the maksk do you think that might be a clue! Think people. Sounds like a guy that was telling the truth, and didn't want to get caught.

Jesus told us that we can never be diminished by what goes into us [i.e., is directed at us], but only by what comes OUT of us [our words, motives, even thoughts]. In other words, we can and must be responsible for our own actions and should not, cannot, worry about how others react to us.

The shop owner gave a gift--without condition. That's what make it a gift! If he told the man what to do with the money and bread, then it would have diminished his noble act. How a person reacts to what any of us do (kind or unkind) is beyond our control and should therefore be irrelevant to how we choose to act.

Good for the shop owner! Who cares what faith he practices? Love is love. God is Love.

It's pretty simple how they would trace the man, if the store owner called the police and told them the guy was carring one loaf of bread of a specific brand it would be a pretty good description and they could intercept him while he is walking wherever. That's not stupid at all, in fact this sort of thing happpens all the time. What do you mean the bread would have helped?? Bread is like $1.35, I'm pretty sure the $40 would buy more food than a loaf of bread....???? I'm not saying it was right to give the guy money, I'm defending the idea that carring the bread would have been a really stupid idea, bread is dirt cheap too, well generic anyway.

Actually, without trying to be nit-picky, there was a condition... The thief was asked to promise that he would not do this again. Let's hope that this act of kindness by the store owner helps the robber keep his promise and pray that the down on his luck man finds gainful employment soon.

Gun rights save the day. Imagine the crime rates in a society where law-abiding citizens could only call on law enforcement for an armed response. They didn't even find the guy!

I knew it was a matter of time scrolling through to see something about 'gun rights'. The simple fact is that 'gun rights' cause more deaths than any other civilized country. 'Gun rights' would have done nothing for this clerk had that person come in with a gun, and the odds were he could have been shot as much as let go. I love when people cite the 2nd Amendment as a bastion of freedom when it takes away more freedom than anywhere else in the civilized world.

As far as the clerk, he did what he thought was necessary at the time. It has nothing to do with religion or anything else. Does it matter if the guy was lying or not? The clerk though he did right. That's all that matters.

Thanks JLM- when seconds count, the police will be there in 10 minutes.

Duckdgrs- gun rights do not cause more deaths here than in any other civilized country, Criminals cause more deaths here than in any other civilized country. Criminal control, CHILD-CONTROL (bad parenting, leave it to society and the school system to raise their children, that way they can blame guns, not their neglect of their children), not gun control.

" gun rights cause more deaths than in any other civilized country" (would like to see the figures that will back that up.) History shows that Hitler disarmed the people. Do believe a lot of death happened there. History shows that Japan did not attack the mainland USA. One reason was they knew behind every blade of grass there is a gun. Gun rights do not cause more deaths. Gun rights protect the people. Sure some misuse guns. But disarming the general public will not stop that. Even in this case. the actor comes in with a bat. (a bat could do considerable damage to a person) When confronted with a gun he decided that was the wrong coarse of action. Even if he had a gun I believe he would have paused when faced with a gun. The purpose of the second amendment is not to just let people carry a gun. It gives us the the right to protect ourselves from the tyranny of Government. It enables us to be armed against the Government if necessary. With that right comes a grave responsibility. Thomas Jefferson explains it much better. And he is right on target. His statement proven true in the actions of Hitler. So yes the second amendment is critical in a civilized country. But as in all things it does get abused. People are not responsible all the time. There are those that are evil. We have laws for those. But as we all know laws are not always followed. But do not punish the good for the actions of the bad. Punish the bad. Frankly I am tired of being punished for the actions of the criminal. One thought further. Where do we stop. take away guns. Take away bats. take away cars. Take away any tool that can be used to kill. Might have to cut off arms and legs since death by hitting, grabbing and kicking is possible. Might cut off private parts too since a killer might be reproduced. We do not need the Government to protect us from ourselves. It is the Government that gives us the right to protect ourselves in the first place due to the wisdom of our founding fathers. Please do not insult peoples intelligence by saying they are not smart enough to handle a firearm. And take away their rights to protect themselves. Punish those who are wrong. Not the innocent responsible people. You cannot legislate good behaivor. You can only punish those who willfully disrespect the law. But here are those who think we ought to have pity on the criminal and forget the victim.

Just the facts:

http://community2.myfoxorlando.com/_Firearm-Death-Rates/blog/233939/72667.html

From the US Department of Health and Human Services:

Upwards of 98,000 people die in U.S. hospitals each year as the result of medical errors.

Now, according to the CDC, Center for Disease Control,

The Three Leading Causes of Injury Mortality in the United States are:

Number 1 was Motor vehicle traffic deaths were the leading cause of death with 43,667.

Number 2 was poisoning with 32,691 deaths.

Number 3 was deaths from firearms with 30,694.

However, per the Department of Justice reports:

Out of that 32,691 firearm deaths, approximately 54 percent were the result of suicide, 41 percent resulted from homicide, and 3 percent were unintentional.

Spare the guilt talk. Guns don't kill people: People kill people. (And not even as many as auto accidents).

You have not a clue. So happy to hear that you have never done anything wrong in your whole life... Mr Perfect.

Shot someone for holding a baseball bat? It is not a weapon unless it is held in a threatning manner.

if someone strolled into my store with a bat and was trying to rob me....that's grounds for me to shoot them..becaus ehe was holding it in a threatening manner it was only when the clerk grabbed the gun is when he started to cry... and no i'm not perfect but i have never robbed anyone either....

My 2cents should probably put them in a pocket instead of a brain vault, as someone invading a store with a baseball bat with intention of theft just may be wielding a weapon held in a threatening manner. Dontcha think? Really??

Amazing.... you can read a persons mind.. someone you have just read about! What a gift!

Gee I wonder why he dropped the bread? Could it be because it could have been traced back to the store. Think before you type.

I want to know how a loaf of bread can be "traced back to the store."

The $40 with serial numbers can't be traced, but the loaf of bread is easily traced to the store? I'd like to hear your logic on that.

The police would follow the trail of crumbs! LOL

Or in the current White House Administration!

Might as well, They are all thieves there anyways

I agree. The owner is a kind-hearted gentleman, but instead of cash, he should have given him a bag full of nutritous food. Giving him cash is just inviting trouble.

The same thing happened to a store owner in my home town years ago, and he personally took the man through the store with a cart, filling it with food and soap. Then he told him to come back whenever he needed food, but made him promise never to rob a store to feed his kids again.

Well, that would be just the kind of thing that a scumbag would need! An excuse to not be responsible for himself, and to do the right thing! A license to steal!

Yeah, the bat would do it for me, too. Scam artist brings a bat to a gun fight. Too bad for him - can't disappoint Darwin.

Yes, please do so, and forget the bread, give him beer and cigarettes, so he will not have to rob the next store. The real fix to this mans problems is a bullet to the forehead. One less robber, one less problem!

An excellent a beautiful point....until the Christian Faith remark. The Muslim faith has the same tenents, as does the Jewish faith and most every faith on earth.

Capecodmom, the smile at the end of "Steve's" remark means that he's kidding.

My husband is a pastor and he gets many stories about why people need cash and many promises to "pay him back." He's never been paid back. People who claim they are hungry complain when he gives them a food gift card or offers to refer them to the local food pantry. They claim they need gas money to get to work, but don't want a gas-only gift card. One woman (he found out later) tried to sell the mall gift card he gave her to buy Christmas gifts for her children. He gives out all the aid our church has available, but rarely in cash. It is mostly gift cards or money orders made out to utility companies.

Your husband is a very smart man!

Another mind reader! You have already judged someone based on a couple of sentences about their misfortune and jumped to the assumption they have inherited money from their parents. How did you reach this conclusion?

I agree the store owner is a compasionate man and someone we can all respect, but he was obviously conned by the would be robber.

fortunately i still have my parents, neither have passed. they raised me right and taught me to work hard for my money and not to depend on others. i was simply trying to make a point that many people are having hard times right now, and resorting to this type of action is wrong! If everyone did it, it would be chaos. No need for foul language!

your sarcastic wit was right on confused. mike fields for some reason took some unwarranted hostility onto you, it should have been directed at the deadbeat robber but some people are weird as to which enemies they choose. have a great day! :)

Thank you Dave! Same to you!

confused should remind her husband to first dig out his Louisville slugger before he goes out to visit different stores.

yeah...a grown man crying for his next fix

Daniel, I have been in a situation where I had to point a weapon at a kid while on a project site in the inner city. There were two of them - they approached me and demanded money - I offered them work. In response one lifted his shirt and said "spose we jus cap yo B#### A## an take da money". I picked my mossberg 590 riot shot gun that was laying under a tarp on the deck of my Geoprobe (I am an environmental geologist) and pointed it at them. The kid kept his hand on the butt of that pistol and never flinched - even when I pumped a round into the chamber and pushed the safety forward. The kid finally said "we cool" and backed away - disappearing around a building about a half a block away. I had a bad feeling. Sure enough, he came back around that corner with his gun out - I had kept my shotgun up and pointed in the direction they went. When he saw I was ready - he ran.

I was milliseconds from shooting a kid. It was a justifiable shooting. The cops told me that the kid would have killed me in a heart beat. I have been shot at - I am no neophyte. None the less when I got out of there I pulled my truck off the road and had a good cry. It was not about the risk of death - it was the risk of having to face life after killing a child. I would have killed him - I will not let anyone make MY children orphans. But...I would have lost part of my soul as a result.

I come from a family of cops and soldiers - so I am no bleeding heart. Killing someone is easy to talk about - but when you face the hard reality - its not so easy. The people in my family who have taken lives in the line of duty are not happier people for having done so. I would never kill anyone over money or material things. I would only kill to save my life or those of others.

You write the most beautiful, intelligent, meaningful posts. My hat off to you and thank you.