GEEK CRIME: I guess these guys were on the dark side?

This happened at the library down the road from me and was reported by The South Bend Tribune:

19-year-old charged in library break-in

So a 19 year old and some friends broke into the library through a skylight using a rope. I'm sure at this point they were feeling very action-movie-ish. Of course, the alarm went off and notified police of a break in. They found an open window and just waited for one of the guys to climb out and they nabbed him. Maybe when they were watching those action movies, they should have been taking notes?

"The other two fled through a door in a different direction. Police say one of them was caught after a brief foot chase; the other was brought to the police station by his father."

Well, their action movie just came to a rather unclimactic ending.

Here's the best (or worst, depending on how you look at it) part:

"Police say several laptop computers, display case keys, boxes of Star Wars books and other items had been collected together, apparently for the purpose of being carried out."

These guys were there to steal laptops, keys to the display cases (cases which, in that library, sometimes have valuable items), and Star Wars books!

Star Wars books!

So, what, do these guys root for the Stormtroopers or Darth Maul when they watch Star Wars? Or did they forget that Star Wars is about GOOD GUYS vs. BAD GUYS? And the Jedi they enjoy watching on Star Wars would most likely try, you know, STOPPING people from doing things like breaking into a public library?

"Schultz, who is charged with a C felony, faces up to eight years in prison if convicted."

This is the worst part. This 19-year-old kid has made a HUGELY stupid choice, and that choice could carry a HUGE consequence. Part of me feels bad for him. I mean, he IS a fellow geek. Part of me wants the book thrown at him. Robbing anyone is wrong enough, but robbing a public library? There's some sort of line being crossed there.

This reminds me of the kid who just loved Spider-Man so much he just had to take twenty or so Spider-Man comics and shove them down his big, baggy pants. When my friend noticed he was walking funny, he started pulling Spider-Man comics out of the front of his pants . . . the back of his pants . . . from down his shirt . . . up his sleeves . . . It was like some sort of twisted clown car trick. Or, you know, that magic trick where the handkerchief just keeps coming out of the clown's pocket? Meanwhile, in the VERY Spider-Man stories that kid loves so much, Spidey busts kids just like him for doing things just like that! My friend was SO tempted to ask the kid, after he'd been caught and the police were called, to ask him, "What would Spider-Man think of you doing this?" Instead, he asked the police to give the kid a talking to and didn't press charges.

Geek crime.

I think I just got an idea for a comic book . . .

~ Ben
www.benaveryonline.com