I think the "victim" is in the wreong here...

I used to work in a large book store where I was the 2IC. One of the security directives was that all the staff bags be stored together in the bottom drawer of the back room file cupboard. The reason for this was that in one of the other company stores, this directive was not followed and when someone left the back door open momentarily, one of the staff's bags was stolen...it was just sitting on one of the shelves in the back room. Now remember, I worked in a large store and there were more staff than most stores. All the bags did not fit in the drawer and I did not trust a couple of the staff. In my opinion it was too easy for someone to go into someone else's bag and steal something. Anyway, I used to stuff my bag right up the back corner, on a high shelf, behind some books. It could not be seen and only one or two other staff knew it was there. I went to go to lunch one day and my bag was gone. I felt sick. I searched everywhere but it was not to be seen. I went to the boss (who was also a close friend) and told her and that we needed to call the police. We'd had no deliveries or anything and so the back door had not been opened or anything like that. I was in panic mode and my boss friend was telling me to stay calm. After I had sweat bullets for a while she started to smile and she told me that my bag was safe, she wanted to "teach me a lesson". I was so angry. What she did was wrong. She had taken my bag with my money, car keys, phone, and personal things and I was devastated. All this happened in my lunch break as well. I had a big bag and it did not fit in the drawer - she told me to put it in the one above and I thought where I had it stashed was a much better option as far as I was concerned. The guy who took the computer was wrong but I think the whole thing went too far when this guy lost his scholarship and got kicked out of school. Taking someone's means of living and something valuable and difficult to replace caused considerable anxiety and I would never do that to someone. I think it's quite a bullying tactic too and the guy that took the stuff picked the wrong person to play the joke upon as seen by that guy's reaction to the theft. The guy who nicked the stuff should have thought of the consequences before he did such a nasty trick.

doesn't sound right they are good friends and the other guy did explain it to him and returned his stuffs so why did he call the cops for this? if it were other people, he wouldn't have gotten his stuffs back let alone explanation maybe there is something going on between the two that he didn't say jealousy, competition, some past anger? hmm

Another mans happiness is another mans misery. What do you think ran into the mind of the victim of a joke. Was it a harmless joke. What is defines as a harmless joke. Have you ever been in the situation similar to the ones your talking about. What is the reason that the guy was so piss off that he called ht police on his best friend. Is there other factors that has not been told. Yes an outsider might say how can you call the police on your best friend. We don't know the whole story we cannot say. You cannot judge a book by its cover. Can we judge the outcome of this story without knowing all the ..... Human are an unpredictable creature with complex psychology and behavior. At the end I can only say, only God knows.

I agree with you. That is harsh treatment of someone who is playing a harmless practical joke and trying to teach them a lesson. Sure, they probably went a bit overboard by taking the computer to teach them a lesson, but the joke certainly did not deserve the punishment that it got!

For me it is not good you feel sad.

That was completely absurd...but again i wouldn't even think of calling cops for such an silly issue despite of my friend trying to steal my stuff.I might get angry but not to an extent that i end up ruining his entire life.Great day.

You would think the guy was grateful for the lesson, but some people are unteachable, even when it comes to common sense..

I agree that was totally extreme. I bet the guy was just really mad at the friend, but how about just don't talk to him for awhile or something? There's no need to call the cops.. the stuff was returned!

Dear Abby is an idiot. So is he and so are the police. They should of arrested him for wasting their time. I mean its not like he didn't get his stuff back. If anything I'd have been like " Next time just say something to me. Don't take my stuff like I'm a child or something." and that would have been that.

I think there is a problem with him! If he can't take a joke, and can't understand a lesson being taught to him, then I think there is really something wrong with him. And for the 'Dear Abby' writer/s to agree with this guy, I also think there is something wrong with them!

Wow, that is really mean! I would be so thankful that a friend had my stuff instead of it being stolen. Goodness gracious. Poor guys life is ruined for basically no reason!

I agree with you. The guy called the cops because his "good friend" made him look like a fool. I hate being embarassed as much as the next person, but I would never call the cops on someone for it. If the friend had kept the stuff for days, knowing the guy had to study or do a report, then I think the cops should have been called. The friend gave it back after a few hours with a life lesson. They both should have laughed about it and gone on their merry ways. The fact that the guy asked advice on what he should have done proves he knows it was wrong. He just wanted someone to coddle him and say he did the right thing. I wonder if they were rivals in some way, girls or their chosen profession maybe. I hope the friend was able to overcome the incident.