Get ready to get angry. Incredible Hulk kind of angry. A cargo worker at JFK Airport in New York is facing charges this week for allegedly stealing from care packages that he was supposed to be getting onto planes, care packages that were packed up for members of our military serving overseas.
Cops say the suspect in the thefts, Terrance Ralph, was caught because he had the audacity to actually wear some of the pilfered items to work. No surprise, really. If he really is the kind of guy who would steal from a care package, he can't be terribly bright, can he? At least I hope this alleged crime was simple stupidity, because the other alternative is even more depressing.
If you're stealing from care packages for our troops, and you're not dumb, then you're just plain cruel. Think about it. A care package for a soldier is meant to brighten his or her day. And those days can get pretty crappy. They're far from home and family; they're often facing life and death situations. Trust me, they need that care package more than most.
And what makes these kind of crimes so hard to track is exactly what makes them so nice to get: they're full of surprises. This isn't something a soldier ordered of the Internet that will come as expected, with a record that can be tracked in case it doesn't show. There is no recouping lost goods by calling up a credit card company with something like this.
It's very likely packed with love by a volunteer who just wanted to show this guy or girl that they appreciate their sacrifice for this country. That means it could have granola bars or DVDs or maybe a letter from a little girl who wants a soldier to know she is thinking about him. That's what makes them priceless. It makes them sacrosanct.
I have to hope someone who would break into care packages for soldiers is just too dumb to know better. Because if they're really that mean, that's a serious level of mean.
What do you make of this accusation against a cargo worker?
Image via Dell's Official Flickr Page/Flickr