A burglary at home

Feeling violated for the first time in America

http://www.pranaygupte.com
I came to America 38 years ago from India, where I was born and raised. In all these years here -- and in dozens of countries I have visited as a journalist -- I've never had anything stolen from me. Call me lucky.

The luck ran out this week. I discovered that an expensive IBM laptop computer was missing from my study. It had been sitting in its case on a sofa for several weeks, since I hadn't an occasion to use it; at home I generally use my desktop computer -- the laptop is mostly for traveling purposes.

I cannot tell you how violated I feel. One's own home is supposedly a secure sanctuary. But thefts like this are not only unsettling, they generate considerable sorrow. Who should I suspect? There couldn't have been that many people with access to my apartment. If I eliminate various possibilities, it would hurt me to suspect the suspects that remain.

So what do I do? Accept the what happened and shrug off the theft of a valuable computer? Or do I file a police report that is certain to result in an investigation that would cause much pain?
3,150 views 4 replies
Reply #1 Top
I'm sorry your laptop was stolen, but even more sorry that you have no choice but to suspect people who are close to you. That must be the worst of it. Betrayal is a horrible thing, and can cause us to become jaded. I pray that you will not only retrieve the laptop, but will also be able to keep in tact the relationships in your life that are most important to you.

As for how to deal with the missing laptop, only you can decide that. Personally, I would report the theft. Whoever stole the computer (assuming it IS someone close to you) probably has some serious issues that need to be dealt with. Helping them to avoid facing them by not reporting the theft isn't doing them any favors, imho. It is enabling them to continue in whatever path of self-destruction they seem to be on. You must do as you think best, though.
Reply #2 Top

File the police report.  Nothing will probably ever come of it anyway.

And sorry you are now a member of that not so exclusive club.  I was robbed 30 years ago and then again 3 lears later.

Reply #3 Top
I appreciate your thoughtful comment. It's particularly distressing for a journalist like me because so much of my work was preserved on that laptop. Thanks for your kind words. Bests, Pranay
Reply #4 Top
Thanks for your kind words. In addition to feeling violated in my own apartment, there's the question of losing important data. For a journalist like me, a laptop is an extension of one's limb. Besides the cost of replacing it, there's always the underlying concern over how much personal data I'd stored. In this age of identity theft, one can only imagine the consequences of such a theft. Bests, Pranay