For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for December 08, 2011

Oh, GOOD. That will encourage them to do it again.

An example of negative reinforcement.

The reward is for returning the item, not for taking it. Punishment is due if he takes again.

I see the logic. The measure of a person isn’t that they never screw up, but what they do to recover. I wouldn’t reward him, but that he returned the scarf of his own accord show contrition and a desire to set things right. I doubt he would think, "Cool! I want to go through that again

I still think thisd is kinda a fail

I agree with MikeBx…Michael is probably the very first kid/person to bring a stolen item back and to admit to stealing it. The reward is not only for that but also for showing the store that their current security procedures are not working. That alone will save the store millions of dollars in the future.

remember the biblical father and the fattened calf, anyone?

@hildigunnur,,,of course! Took me a while to get the message of that one!

Although he was honest, and did return it, I still think he should be appropriately punished. what he did was still wrong. Yes, I am strict.

Being in black and white makes it seem stark and depressing.

Now there’s an interesting turn of events!

I think if they reward him for returning it, his mother should still punish him for stealing it in the first place. It doesn’t have to be an either/or situation.

If it was good enough for George Washington …

oh wow…

Don’t forget that it was Michael’s friend that initially told Michael to steal the scarf and encouraged him to do so when Michael was reluctant to do it. Michael knew from the start that it was wrong but let peer pressure influence his decisions.

I worked in retail operations at the corporate office of a large retailer, and worked on many a loss prevention procedure/policy.

A shoplifter can’t be accused unless s/he is seen taking the item and exiting the store. A person with concealed merchandise inside the store can simply say “I was carrying it like this as it kept my hands free, was easier, etc, and I was on my way to a cash register, to put it back, etc.”

In fact, in today’s litigious climate the very fact that Michael was stopped and hauled into a manager’s office as he was replacing the scarf might bring on the lawyers.

Yet another example of screwed up logic which leads to adults who’ve never learned to take responsibility for their actions and have never been taught how to behave.

I agree (mostly) with the folks who feel this is a moral fail. First, there’s the stealing itself, obviously a minus in points. Then, Mike didn’t volunteer his story until he’d been caught red-handed returning it, so no plus there. The only positive mark is that he did return it, so in ethical math, you’re left with a minus. Granted that his conscience punished him plenty, but he shouldn’t be rewarded for the negative behavior of stealing, no matter how much good it did the store.

I see what’s going on. I think it’s a good Idea. Reinforcing the returning of the item rather than dwelling on the negativity of the original theft!

I’m with Star Thrower (and others) on this. While I understand that he ended up doing the right thing, there shouldn’t be a reward for this. He wouldn’t have had to do the right thing if he didn’t do the wrong thing to begin with. To me, Elly should have been called in and the manager should have had a talk with them both to explain both sides of the situation. That way, Michael knows that although he’s not getting punished for stealing, he’s also not getting a “prize” for doing the right thing. A child hears the word “reward” and sees things in very simple terms, whereas an adult can see both sides of the story and understand the implications. My biggest issue here is with the word “reward”. I’m so tired of everyone getting a “prize” for doing what should be expected.I’m sure Duck will bring this up later, but on the FBOFW website, Lynn says that Michael showed “strength of character” for facing both his mother and the store manager. I disagree. He didn’t really have a choice, so that doesn’t show strength of character.

Ah, a heavy twist in a comic strip. Don’t you just love those expressions of Elly and Mike?

Here’s what Lynn said about this strip:

“Lynn’s Notes:When a child – or anyone – rights a wrong, they need recognition. To have Michael return the scarf without some praise for his honesty would have been wrong. For every manager who would punish a gesture like this, there are many more who will acknowledge the courage required when a thief returns what was taken and is ready to face the music! In this case, Michael faced both his mother and the store manager proving he had “strength of character”! "

Positive reinforcement, for righting the wrong, and returning what was stolen.IF he does it again, he will then be punished twice as bad for his repeat offence.

The comic colorist must be sick today.

Talk about MIXED MESSAGES…

I didn’t see that coming.

Remember those security cameras of the 80s – four lens pointing out and one down? I saw an ad in an electronics magazine selling surplus lens for these —-FAKE cameras and they cost more than some of the cheaper video camera available today! I wonder if someone has had the idea to put today’s cheap cameras in those old models?

His conscience was enough punishment.

“Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom.”

T Jefferson

thats not even a joke…..

Actually, stealing is still wrong even if you are starving. It still impacts the perpetrator and the victim in a negative way. It may be justified (reasonable), but it is still wrong.

What I thought, more eloquently spoken.

Stealing is wrong, period. Black and white. The return should be acknowledged and praised, but not rewarded, and the original theft must carry some penalty; you don’t reward negative behavior. Make it quite clear that the punishment is for the theft, not the return, and praise the kid for doing the right thing by returning what they stole. Sometimes you can even reinforce the lesson by asking the kid what THEY think their punishment should be.

Returning the scarf was the right thing to do, and stealing it in the first place was wrong. Why in the world should he be rewarded?