Comments for Nico

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Nico

Nico — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:21:13 +0000

The irony in all of this is that the other morning at 4:30am on my way to drive my wife to the airport I saw the same guy riding the same bike with a huge bag of bottles on his back. He swung around a corner and I actually had to swerve around him, chuckling to myself thinking “I guess he didn’t learn his lesson”. Or is that making too much of an assumption?

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Nico

Nico — Sat, 12 May 2012 07:19:18 +0000

I appreciate your thought here Jeremy. As I was writing this blog out I thought of changing the first word that came to mind (bum) but ended up leaving it because this is a place for my thoughts (even though they may not be void of judgements and I didn’t think the word “bum” was offensive. I did look it up, however, and according to the http://www.thefreedictionary.com/bum a bum is “A lazy or shiftless person, especially one who seeks to live solely by the support of others.” and Dictionary.com defines a bum as “a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler”. Pretty accurate to what this guy was. Either way, point taken. I had a heart for this dude otherwise I would have tried to hurt / insult him.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Nicogroove

Nicogroove — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:08:35 +0000

I appreciate your response Jeremy. I did think of doing this & I even told him that if he had asked for the money, I probably would have given it to him. I even thought of taking the word “bum” out of this post as I was writing it for fear of offending someone, but in the end I didn’t think it was that disrespectful. According to dictionary.com a “bum” is “a person who avoids work and sponges on others; loafer; idler.” Either way, I respect your point and in no way mean to discriminate against this guy. He was just being a workless sponge of a loafer and deserved to be brought to justice (even though I couldn’t really fulfill that whole side of things).

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Nicogroove

Nicogroove — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:03:31 +0000

Yes, photographing as I went. Mobilographer I believe is the correct definition.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Nicogroove

Nicogroove — Fri, 04 May 2012 06:02:55 +0000

Thought about taking his bike but I gave him my word that I wouldn’t touch it. I was more tempted to just throw it down the creek or saw it in half. Selling it would have taken energy.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by travis c

travis c — Fri, 04 May 2012 04:37:41 +0000

First, my hat is off to Nico for confronting the guy. Not many people will do that now. I think it’s ridiculos about the cops to call you when they have time. good thing the province just gave them a fat new contract to do what??? the man may be hungery, tired, homeless, bla bla bla. he can work or even just ask for money bottles or food. why does he or the rest of the criminals in this world need a hug and a free ride to feel better? I don’t feel safe for me, my family or friends with this soft justice system we have now. there has to be a better way that will actually alow honest and morel humans a safe place to live and love!

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Erica

Erica — Thu, 03 May 2012 23:40:53 +0000

I’m glad we agree that Nico did an honorable thing! As for the rest, we’ll just have to agree to disagree.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Jeremy B

Jeremy B — Thu, 03 May 2012 17:14:37 +0000

It’s true that many homeless people suffer from mental illness, and substance abuse; further to that many of them come from broken homes, have suffered abuse in the past, etc. etc.. I just think that offering some money for the bottles would have spelled LOVE and shown compassion and “turning the other cheek” in a way that possibly no other action in that situation could have. Either way, the homeless guy in the story is making money off the bottles and you can’t control what he’s going to spend it on.
I think that Nico did an honourable thing by trying to stand up for what is right and did a very kind thing for his neighbour, but I think the alternative I suggest might have been better (but not easy).
And again, I don’t think it’s cool to call people who are homeless/live on the street by the term “bum”. There are worse terms, yes, but we can do better than this. Peace.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Karl Hourigan

Karl Hourigan — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:24:22 +0000

Interesting story. I think I agree with Jeremy B’s comment. And in the heat of the moment, I don’t know what I would have done.

Comment on A fight with a bottle-stealing bum by Erica

Erica — Wed, 02 May 2012 18:18:23 +0000

I think it’s wonderful that you put your safety on the line to defend another’s property. If more people were that brave & honorable, I think we’d have a LOT less problems with theft overall. I’d be willing to bet that thief will think twice before stealing near your house again, so good job! Also, a fantastic example for your children. As a society, we need to abandon our “look the other way” & “it’s not my problem” outlooks & start taking action to stand up for what is right. Good on ya!

As for Jeremy B’s comment: you’re right that all we know about the street person is that he’s a lying, stealing bum. I think the suggestion that Nico have rewarded him with cash is absurd. Statistically, most homeless people have problems with mental illness, substance abuse, or both. Providing cash would not necessarily have helped the person with any essential needs and since Nico was probably not dealing with someone capable of the same logical thought process as you or I, it’s quite likely the man would not have learned from that experience. Nico did what was right for his neighbor & to set a fantastic example for his children, which is more than anyone would ask!