Which is Worse?

[nc-1701]

In general minor white collar crime or minor blue collar crime?

The specific instance that surprised me stems from a fight with my girlfriend yesterday, she stole a relatively cheap ($30) antique camera from a thrift mall. I flipped out on her about saying it was wrong etc. and she came back and said I had no right to judge her because I've made money off doing peoples online classwork/take home tests for them (about $1300 over the last two years). I was stunned because I don't consider them to be on even remotely the same level, but after talking to her she seems to think they are comparable.

In my view what I do is victimless and basically on the same level as pirating music. Not great and probably wrong, but not something I would lose sleep at night over or feel terrible about. While I see shoplifting as something terrible that makes you a common thief. In general do people feel that they are morally comparable actions?

 

[Valka D'Ur]

In general minor white collar crime or minor blue collar crime?

The specific instance that surprised me stems from a fight with my girlfriend yesterday, she stole a relatively cheap ($30) antique camera from a thrift mall. I flipped out on her about saying it was wrong etc. and she came back and said I had no right to judge her because I've made money off doing peoples online classwork/take home tests for them (about $1300 over the last two years). I was stunned because I don't consider them to be on even remotely the same level, but after talking to her she seems to think they are comparable.

In my view what I do is victimless and basically on the same level as pirating music. Not great and probably wrong, but not something I would lose sleep at night over or feel terrible about. While I see shoplifting as something terrible that makes you a common thief. In general do people feel that they are morally comparable actions?

Seriously, you've been complicit in academic cheating and plagiarism (even if you're taking money for it, it's still other people passing off your words as theirs)? Totally dishonest, totally disgusting, and ethically reprehensible. Your "clients" deserve to be expelled (yes, I'm serious). So do you, if you attend the same place they do. What's the going rate on helping to victimize the students who DO THEIR OWN WORK?

Your girlfriend should turn herself in to the police. You're right; she's a thief.

 

[BvBPL]

In general do people feel that they are morally comparable actions?

They are not morally comparable; you're actions are far more heinous. You see yourself as committing a victimless crime, but that's not the case. By doing other people's work, you're harming the ability of third parties to compete with your clients academically. The potential for someone losing a scholarship or academic standing because you've helped another person cheat is significant.

 

[kramerfan86]

Both are bad, I tend to look at shoplifting as worse because I figure cheaters will get found out on tests seeing as you can only do take home work for them.

 

[LucyDuke]

You're facilitating bad behavior, she's the only perpetrator of her crime. She's more egregious, you're just blind. You're both doing wrong. Don't bother worrying about who is wronger until you both recognize your own wrongness. Your poll options suck, since neither is terrible enough to indicate that you're bad people.

 

[red_elk]

I've made money off doing peoples online classwork/take home tests for them (about $1300 over the last two years)

Did you pay taxes?

 

[Synobun]

You are supporting bad traits in several people while being blind to it, while your girlfriend is the only accomplice in her own bad trait.

Both wrong, both should be handed in to the police/school.

 

[holy king]

i hate to break it to you, but people have done worse things. dont do it again, mkay?

 

[shadowplay]

I voted for the last option, but I should clarify I don't think you're necessarily bad people, you've just both done a bad thing. You can rectify that.

 

[NickyJ]

Both are serious offenses and you are both bad people

 

[History_Buff]

Seriously, you've been complicit in academic cheating and plagiarism (even if you're taking money for it, it's still other people passing off your words as theirs)? Totally dishonest, totally disgusting, and ethically reprehensible. Your "clients" deserve to be expelled (yes, I'm serious). So do you, if you attend the same place they do. What's the going rate on helping to victimize the students who DO THEIR OWN WORK?

Your girlfriend should turn herself in to the police. You're right; she's a thief.

Nailed it.

Really what you did is a fair bit worse than what she did, but neither of them are particularly excusable.

 

[JohnRM]

In general minor white collar crime or minor blue collar crime?

The specific instance that surprised me stems from a fight with my girlfriend yesterday, she stole a relatively cheap ($30) antique camera from a thrift mall. I flipped out on her about saying it was wrong etc. and she came back and said I had no right to judge her because I've made money off doing peoples online classwork/take home tests for them (about $1300 over the last two years). I was stunned because I don't consider them to be on even remotely the same level, but after talking to her she seems to think they are comparable.

In my view what I do is victimless and basically on the same level as pirating music. Not great and probably wrong, but not something I would lose sleep at night over or feel terrible about. While I see shoplifting as something terrible that makes you a common thief. In general do people feel that they are morally comparable actions?

Her crime has a victim. Yours does not.

You aren't even committing a crime, in my book. You're selling a service. If anyone is committing a crime, it is they who employ you to do what you do. The crime is theirs and they are the victims.

 

[JollyRoger]

You are victimizing those poor people known as corporations who may rely on the inflated grades. The cost in salary and benefits before your crime becomes evident costs the poor corporation more than the cost of the item your girlfriend stole.

 

[Save_Ferris]

Your actions are bad and you should feel bad!

 

[MobBoss]

In general minor white collar crime or minor blue collar crime?

The specific instance that surprised me stems from a fight with my girlfriend yesterday, she stole a relatively cheap ($30) antique camera from a thrift mall. I flipped out on her about saying it was wrong etc. and she came back and said I had no right to judge her because I've made money off doing peoples online classwork/take home tests for them (about $1300 over the last two years). I was stunned because I don't consider them to be on even remotely the same level, but after talking to her she seems to think they are comparable.

In my view what I do is victimless and basically on the same level as pirating music. Not great and probably wrong, but not something I would lose sleep at night over or feel terrible about. While I see shoplifting as something terrible that makes you a common thief. In general do people feel that they are morally comparable actions?

Your're both criminals.

 

[djvandyke]

Both scum but you are worse!

 

[Skwink]

You're both doing very bad things. If I had to pick one that I would be madder about, it's be her stealing from the store as the store lost it's item and it's profit. But you both shouldn't do what you do.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Her crime has a victim. Yours does not.

You aren't even committing a crime, in my book. You're selling a service. If anyone is committing a crime, it is they who employ you to do what you do. The crime is theirs and they are the victims.

It's an ILLEGAL service (or should be).

Some of you know that I used to type papers for college and university students. What's the difference, you may ask? The difference is that I only typed WHAT THE STUDENT WROTE. If the student wrote a crappy paper, I did nothing to improve it, save for fixing spelling errors, common grammar mistakes, and making sure the formatting was correct (since that's what I advertised I would do, and since the Student Association approved my ads, they obviously deemed it acceptable).

However... academic dishonesty is a whole different thing. Some jerk actually asked me - in front of the Student Association secretary! - if I'd write the paper for him too! I told him flat out, NO. I told him that my doing such a thing would get BOTH of us kicked out, and rightly so. And when a guy in one of my clubs asked if I'd do an essay for him (write the thing, not just type it), I told him not to even joke about it. When I told my grandmother about these incidents, her first thought was that I was being tested to see if I was honest - that it had been a sting, and I'd passed. Apparently there's more of a market for underground papers than I'd realized. It's very sad, disappointing, and so damn infuriating for those students who work very hard for their grades.

That said... there were times when a student made a significant mistake in their paper or left something out or messed up their references and citations. In those cases, if there was time, I'd call them and let them know there was a problem and ask if they wanted to do something about it. Sometimes they did; sometimes they didn't. Sometimes there just wasn't time. I did as much as I could ethically do to help them get the best grades they could, which (I heard) was more than most typists would do for their clients.

But I NEVER wrote the damn assignment for them from the get-go! NEVER. Not even the title of the paper, when they asked me to. I told them it was THEIR grade riding on it, and it wasn't my job to think up things that weren't there.

 

[Phrossack]

Shoplifting is theft, and that's just wrong. And if a person sees no problem with doing it once, they could do it again. Your girlfriend is also very wrong for using the "But but but you're doing it too and so it's okay!" argument.

Writing papers for money is low-down cheating. A lot of us work hard to make good essays on our own, and enabling lazy lying cheats to get grades as good as honest students isn't right.

 

[LucyDuke]

The difference is that I only typed WHAT THE STUDENT WROTE. If the student wrote a crappy paper, I did nothing to improve it, save for fixing spelling errors, common grammar mistakes, and making sure the formatting was correct (since that's what I advertised I would do, and since the Student Association approved my ads, they obviously deemed it acceptable).

You were still selling an advantage. The Student Association's approval doesn't change that. It's not on the same level as writing the whole thing yourself but it's not nothing either.