I Just Wanted To Help A Family.......

[many houseapes]

This is a little long, sorry.

Last weekend, my BIL & his family went to a wedding out of town. They came back home on Sunday, briefly, before going out to dinner. They were gone about 45 minutes & when they returned home they found that someone had stolen t.v.s, a dvd player, all of my little niece's dvds, all of their movies, all of my nephew's games, his xbox, all of his Jordan shoes that he had collected since he started working, tools...& the theives tried to break into my nephew's car to steal his tools that he uses for his work (they didn't succeed). On the bright side, the theives thought they had broken one of the tvs & left it...my dh was able to fix it so the family could still have some entertainment.
My BIL is pretty sure who it was...some "friends" of my nephew's that he has known since the 3rd grade (nephew is 22)...and the scary thing is...is that it is suspected that one of the theives had been hiding in the laundry room closet when my BIL briefly stopped by the house - everything was messed up & knocked off the shelves - if my BIL had discovered the theif, it would have become a very dangerous situation.
Anyway, Their bills are coming due and there isn't any money to replace what was taken. So I really wanted to help them. I shared what had happened with my group members (I moderate a "Recycle" group...kinda like Freecycle) & a few people are willing help. One has an older xbox that BIL can use to play donated children's dvds for my niece, until they can afford to replace their dvd player.

Here's where the venting comes in...I also put the word out on Craigs list & the Freecycle group. I can understand that around Christmas time that there are people who love to pull scams, but my BIL's situation wasn't a scam...these people were violated.They worked so hard to afford what little they had & some heartless animals, who were too lazy to work for what they wanted, decided to help themselves to things that were not theirs. Anyway, I cannot believe just how hateful people can be...especially on CL...all I was trying to do was to help my BIL's family & I received horrible, careless, thoughtless,envious emails from people I didn't know...they didn't care that the family was violated...some expressed the idea that the family deserved what happened to them & bashed me for trying to help them......then CL flagged & deleted my post.

I can't believe that some people delight in attacking other people who are just trying to help others...it makes me sad

[madhen]

Wow, so much for the Christmas spirit, eh? Unfortunately, I think people look for the bad in others, especially at this time of year, and EXPECT to be scammed.

CL is weird. I have had totally innocent posts flagged and deleted. I think sometimes there is a group who has fun reporting posts just to see if they can get it removed.

[Libby]

Sorry you've had to encounter those jealous people. I seriously think there are a lot of people out there that don't have the same things you're looking for therefore bash others and put them down (essentially bullying them off the board) so they can get what you were looking for as in first dibs.

Everything seems to be a 'me first' mentality.

[annymoll]

They should check into their homeowners or rental insurance to receive compensation.I think people become critical when asked to assist others , in crisis, with purchasing or gifting non essentials like TV's and game systems. Christmas is such a busy time for charitable requests, I personally tend to look for families needing food, heat or shelter to assist.I do not have any game systems to offer, as I have chosen not to purchase these types of items. We only have one TV.I do see these items on occasion at flea markets for reasonable prices.

[Momto5RN]

so sorry you tried and just let the haters be haters . some people assume everything is a scam - some assume the opposite - some have been scammed so are extra accusing about things .

[mauimagic]

So glad that your BIL did not meet up with the thieves in his home and am so sorry that this happened. There is no accounting for the reactions of otherrs - and it is a reflection on them, not you for wanting to help your family out. Ignorer the naysayers and concentrate on those who are there by your side to help in anyway they can.

[oheoh's momma]

horrible horrible that is were a lot of stolen stuff shows up on Criagslist.. I am so sorry.

[Nishu]

My mom once had a hot tub that didn't work, so she put an ad on craigslist offering it for free. The response was huge, a lot of people wanted it. It went fast and there were so many people who were emailing that my mom posted in the original ad that it had been claimed. Apparently there's some rule that you should just delete the posting, but we didn't know that.

The response when mom posted that it was gone was just unreal. Hateful, angry things. People clearly mad about not getting the hot tub, calling her stupid, etc. I was completely dumbfounded.

I once had to do a project for school where I surveyed people, and I posted a few ads asking for shoe sizes. I did this in a few different cities, and I was always careful to email people with a thanks after they responded. (A lot of very pleasant and funny people were able to help me out.) Someone was sure that I was running some kind of scam, so they'd follow me around and post a warning about the psycho asking for shoe sizes. "DONT DO IT! ITS A SCAM AND THEY JUST WANT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!"

Weirdos.

[bookwormpeg]

So sorry....you know the saying "no good deed goes unpunished."
Many times this is true....

[cheryl65]

So sorry this happened. Hopefully their insurance will be able to replace most of these items.

[mh3rdwheel]

This is a little long, sorry.

Last weekend, my BIL & his family went to a wedding out of town. They came back home on Sunday, briefly, before going out to dinner. They were gone about 45 minutes & when they returned home they found that someone had stolen t.v.s, a dvd player, all of my little niece's dvds, all of their movies, all of my nephew's games, his xbox, all of his Jordan shoes that he had collected since he started working, tools...& the theives tried to break into my nephew's car to steal his tools that he uses for his work (they didn't succeed). On the bright side, the theives thought they had broken one of the tvs & left it...my dh was able to fix it so the family could still have some entertainment.
My BIL is pretty sure who it was...some "friends" of my nephew's that he has known since the 3rd grade (nephew is 22)...and the scary thing is...is that it is suspected that one of the theives had been hiding in the laundry room closet when my BIL briefly stopped by the house - everything was messed up & knocked off the shelves - if my BIL had discovered the theif, it would have become a very dangerous situation.
Anyway, Their bills are coming due and there isn't any money to replace what was taken. So I really wanted to help them. I shared what had happened with my group members (I moderate a "Recycle" group...kinda like Freecycle) & a few people are willing help. One has an older xbox that BIL can use to play donated children's dvds for my niece, until they can afford to replace their dvd player.

Here's where the venting comes in...I also put the word out on Craigs list & the Freecycle group. I can understand that around Christmas time that there are people who love to pull scams, but my BIL's situation wasn't a scam...these people were violated.They worked so hard to afford what little they had & some heartless animals, who were too lazy to work for what they wanted, decided to help themselves to things that were not theirs. Anyway, I cannot believe just how hateful people can be...especially on CL...all I was trying to do was to help my BIL's family & I received horrible, careless, thoughtless,envious emails from people I didn't know...they didn't care that the family was violated...some expressed the idea that the family deserved what happened to them & bashed me for trying to help them......then CL flagged & deleted my post.

I can't believe that some people delight in attacking other people who are just trying to help others...it makes me sad

Please be very careful about answering ads on cl, in my area a 50+man and a 16 year old boy advertised on cl about a job, they lured the people to the site , then shot and killed them, they are still finding victims. Check out WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville - Home, or WTOV9 | Steubenville-Wheeling News, Weather, Video and Sports... | www.wtov9.com, it show what has happened.

This is the second case of a serial killer using cl to find victims.
They are still finding victims, PLEASE BE CAREFUL.

[Debbie-cat]

That is just horrible!! I am so sorry for your BIL being violated and for you being harrassed!!