Mikhail drove up in his old British Mark V tank. It was a bit beaten down since he purchased it after the great war. He bought it from some guy who had ties to the KGB and somehow got the docks to approve it through customs. Mikhail spent quite a hefty amount of cash on this old piece of scrap metal. But he sure did love driving it...

He parked his tank a couple blocks from the busy sidewalks. He jumped down to the hard pavement and made his way to the opening of the streets. He recognized a few of his comrades making their own speeches or asking the masses for their opinion. As he walked, someone tried to pick his pockets. He caught the younger made guy and beat him within an inch of his life with his blackjack. The poor beaten man mentioned something about showing your status, before he ended up running away.

Mikhail continued on his talk towards the streets and wondered what others thought of this... Why would someone mention something about having a status and not expect to be beaten if they were caught in someone's pocket?

"Comrades, debates on pickpocketing have happened time and time again, but this is not a question of the act itself, but the presence or absence of responsibility to state your preferences. Why would I be displaying a public stance stating whether or not I'll be ok with you robbing me and what my reaction might be? This man who tried to rob me said that because I didn't have a stance in my profile, I should be a victim and just take his actions as he pleases. I shouldn't retaliate because I have no stance on picking my pockets.

How does this make any sense?

Why would I allow anyone to steal from me, and why would I have a stance posted on my chest stating whether or not I'll be ok with you robbing me? And why should anyone get upset if you're caught stealing? You are not the victim here, I am."

Mikhail took a breath from his rant.

"Has anyone else been in the same situation? What is the right course of action here?"

Hi MikhailKomarov.

My honest response is that I wear a small tag on my suit to make my position clear to avoid disputes or confusion over actions or reactions such as you have experienced. If not made clear this conversations / retaliations can be protracted and sometimes dangerous if one might take a real offence - I choose to make my position clear therefore freeing my time up to get on with the good stuff in this world of ours. This is a life a crime after all....

HighPitchEric sees MikhailKomarov, his knuckles still bloodied from delivering a beatdown to an unsuspecting sap, and listens to his point.  His bottom lip hangs low as he reaches into his sweatpants and scratches the rash that has spread across his inner thigh due to chaffing.  His high-pitched voice startles those passing by as he speaks....

I THINK THE REASON YOU FEEL THE NEED TO MAKE THIS POINT IS BECAUSE OF THE SENSE OF ENTITLEMENT MANY OF THE NEWER GENERATION OF MOBSTERS HAVE FOR SOME STRANGE REASON.  TAKE A LOOK AT SOME OF THE RECENT STREET DISCUSSIONS.  THEY NEED EVERYTHING SPELLED OUT FOR THEM, HAND-HELD THROUGH THINGS THAT SHOULD BE COMMON SENSE, OR LEARNED THROUGH THE SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS.

IT ISN'T IMPERATIVE FOR SOMEBODY TO PRE-WARN A THIEF THAT YOU WILL MUG THEM IF THEY TRY TO LIFT YOUR WALLET.  NOT EVERYTHING IN THIS WORLD IS GOING TO BE SPELLED OUT. 

ON THE FLIP SIDE, I WOULD TAKE ISSUE IF SOMEBODY ADVERTISED THAT THEY WERE FRIENDLY TO PICKPOCKETING, AND THEN MUGGED.  I WOULD EXPECT THAT SOMEBODY WOULD NEED TO ANSWER FOR THAT.  ARE YOU PROUD OF ME MOMMY?

HighPitchEric respectfully turns his buttocks away from MikhailKomarov as to not offend him with his gas.

Well Having heard the points raised by Komarov, I would like to chip in my two cents. Whether advertised or not, the act of pickpocketing is naturally looked upon as a crime, hence the culprit should be dealth with. But it all depends on two things:

1. The state of mind of the victim whether to react if caught or to be  friendly and take it with a pinch of salt or 

2. The culprit should ask for permission first before venturing on the act, unless he's 100 percent sure of his stealth and hope he gets away unnoticed.

After leaving a discussion just blocks away, Axel made it a point to tuck into a clothing shop first thing to get himself a new outfit. He realised through attending the street rally, that he indeed did impress upon others with his appearance, so some new cloth would be aces. Sure, he was focused on more than image, yet how could one not feel snazzy togged to the bricks?

As Axel wrestled with his new and very much uncomfortable neck tie, he heard a mechanical rumbling of some sort. It sounded close, and curious to know what it was, Axel made his way on foot in that direction. The streets hummed with activity as usual. People moving in and out of shops, down sidewalks and the like. It was a normal day, if not for the noise, which he was still searching for.

Giving up, the newly fashioned pip figured he'd continue back to his car when he noticed another crowd gathering. He'd missed the opening of the speech, yet caught on quickly to the topic being presented, and then the question. Whilst playing with the sleeves of his new jacket, Axel joined the discussion with his input, his thoughts.

"Grifters complaining about being grifted? Sounds like another grift!"

Axel pulled at his collar. The new suit was tight and restricting. He'd never worn anything like this, what the movers and shakers wore, what the self impressed money makers flaunted. 'Why the fuck does this neck tie make me feel like I'm wearing a goddamn dog's collar?' He thought, then stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and continued.

"I don't understand why people run around shouting about how they react to other people who try to chisel them. Swindler's will swindle, no matter what is shouted before or after the deed is done. So, I have to agree. Best to smack 'em around a little and if they complain about getting caught, keep on beating 'em till they stop."

Axel gives a casual salute in Bonkers direction after hearing his response.

Personally ive never quite understood the kerfuffle over Pick Pocketting. I genuinely have no clue why some people make a huge issue out of it. Yes i get that someone has dipped your pockets and yes they may do you for 5k but so what? For me if this is an act of just reaching into ones pockets to gain better skills in that department, they can do it all they like. 

If its of a more sinister actions, like checking if someones bgs are lazy and dont do the proper job of protecting you, then i do have a problem with that. Thats when the action of PP'ing becomes an issue, in my mind.

As for stance, personally i have mine for all to see; "PP at your own Peril" and this isn't because i oppose the action. Honestly i couldn't give two scouse fucks if you PP me.  It is because i thoroughly enjoy mugging. Its more of a disclaimer than it is a stance, if im honest. This way i dont have to deal with petty of people running to their upper structure to complain about me beating them to a pulp. And that goes for Crew leaders too. 

I mean to even call yourself a victim of being pp'd is senseless really, there are far worse crimes that you can be a victim of and is ive pointed out, there is plenty of opportunity to redeem redemption against someone who dips your pockets. If Someone is really perplexed about being PP'd mug their arses, thats what i will always tell my Crew. Dont worry about it, just do it, if you want too. If someone is big enough to PP you, then they have to be big enough to take the reaction in return. It has always and will always be my stance on the subject. 

There is no necessity to put anything on your suit, like there is no necessity to complain about being PP'd because its something that will always happen and we have the option to knock fuck out of someone that does it.

One of my biggest pet hates involves Pickpocketing, you hear people moan and whinge about it all the time, whether or not you have a status set people will pick pocket anyway.

However when they do and then get mugged in return they generally don't like it, and this is where the problems start with the whole "he never had any tags blah blah blah", fact is no one likes to have money stolen off of them, if you did then there is something wrong with you to be honest, so regardless of whatever tags you may or may not have the chances are the person you have just robbed is going to be slightly pissed and if they just happened to see your ass expect to receive a beat down and money stolen from you.

Simply put if you are going to pick someones pockets expect to be beaten and robbed yourself if caught and no matter what they have or haven't got tagged do not cry and whinge after the fact, if you are going to do that then steer clear of other peoples pockets.

Vincenzo takes a moment to consider how he would feel if he caught someone with their hand, uninvited, in his own personal space.

This life of crime is a prosperous one. Does a made guy, let alone a boss really care much about the spare change in their back pocket?

Perhaps this is the origin of the confusion. A young hoodlum may think that the money means nothing to this big shot, whilst he might find it, or the skills he gains acquiring it useful. This can make some people miss the fact that the issues at stake here usually have nothing to do with the money.

 We are all stand up guys otherwise we wouldn’t be here. What kind of a message does it send if we allow someone to put their hands in a place we had considered private without there being any repercussions.

Of course, if somebody advertises that they have no problem with pick pocketing then it is not an issue. As I said, it is not about the money, it’s a question of principle. If you take something from a mafioso without asking, you can’t complain if the consequences end up being worse than you had imagined.

Smooth Jim shakes his head slowly.

A lot of people had to die for this money, it's a dirty job but one that has to be done. A man has to make a living after all.

If people want to practice the arts of pickpocketing that's fine with me. Just be aware that I'm just a lonesome stranger like the most of us, also trying hard to get around these days. For your experience I'd like you to try and steal from me, but for my wallet I'd like you to stay as far away as you can. If you pay me back the damage, I guess it's fine with me. Now excuse me, there's work to be done.

Jim walks away into the darkness as he cleans up his gun for his next target.

John was passing by and figured he would go ahead and add his two cents to the conversation. Reaching the front of the crowd he spoke up. 

"I personally don't have an issue with people pick pocketing me and I put a small tag on my suit to let them know that. However, I always assume that if someone doesn't have a tag there is at least a chance I will get mugged if I go through with trying to reach into their pockets."

"Fact is that we live in a society that has violent consequences - if someone can't handle those potential consequences then they shouldn't take the risk of doing the crime."

Jennie snorts, "My favorite thing is that no one knows how I feel about them taking my money. So its a lovely surprise when I beat the shit out of them and rob them blind." she says. "People need to lighten the fuck up, if you're going to do something against me, just because I didn't warn you before hand, doesn't mean you get to get all pissy because I got the better of you." she rolled her eyes, "People. What a bunch of bastards." 

If someone wants to take the risk of diving around in your pockets, they have to be willing to accept whatever consequences come their way. To say you have to take it just because your opinion of it is not evidently displayed, is moronic. In reality, any reaction that is less than turning around and shooting the guy in the head, should leave them feeling they got off lightly.

The hand holding and general cutesy shit that people seem to come to expect around here is ridiculous. This world we are in does not allow for you to walk around all happy go lucky without a care in the world. It's tough, mean, and their are consequences for your actions. Deal with it.

Having a stance is pointless, while it may deter some people, others will most likely go out of their way to annoy you if your stance is something along the lines of "Not Pick Pocket friendly". I know that is the case for me, at least.

So, as you seem to be pointing out yourself, it really is pointless having any kind of stance because people can and most likely will choose to ignore it anyway. While it can be looked upon as something that's considered disrespectful, we all know it's not. The only real issues that stem around it are those which Space-Pole has highlighted. Other than that I'm not sure why people have such a big issue with it, it makes no sense to me.

I mean granted, I'll mug people if I see them snooping but unless there are more sinister reasons behind it then I couldn't really give a fuck, which is why I choose not to have a stance tagged to my shiny bold suit.

I see both sides of the argument. I see that while clearly stating where you stand on the matter should avoid problems completely and also see why people may not want to or see the point of announcing where they stand for various reasons. I feel as though it shouldn't matter whether you choose to clearly state how you feel about having your pocket picked or not. I know people who make it known that they prefer people stay out of their pockets, and some of those same people get their pockets picked regularly. Therefore I feel as though it doesn't really matter since not everyone will respect your stance in the first place and those that don't who are seen usually get mugged anyway.

On the point of disputes, I don't feel like there should be any. Pickpocketing like most things we do in this life is a gamble. If you chose to do it you have a chance that the person doesn't see you and you can get away with it, or maybe the person really doesn't care and again you get away with it. But if you DO get caught then you're at the person's mercy. And there should be no dispute after because if you decided that you wanted to take the risks to put your hand in someone else's pockets then be responsible enough to to deal with the fallout, Just as we do when we commit crimes or take other risks.

Isabella, practically naked after setting off the smoke detectors again in her trailer trying to cook, awaits the fire to tell her she can enter her home. While she awaits, she spots a crowd addressing  a question posed by MikhailKomarov
A stranger offers his suit jacket and as hot as I  was I graciously accepted.
 
"Thank you Sir"
 
"MikhailKomarov, thank you for bring this topic to our streets of this country."  When I on the beat working my ass off I respect the wishes of others. For the most part my wishes are respected. After all respect is of vital importance to many if not all. But every now and then some sly mobster will abuse their ability to violate my wishes. Do I get mad? No. Do I find it it to be disrespectful? Yes. If they do not run and hide, I catch their ass and beat them to a pulp. Otherwise,  may they choke on the pennies they got.
 
Isabella is told she can enter her dwelling and advised to take cooking lessons.

The streets are pumping with such good topics lately. 

You know stating your stance on pick pocketing wil not deter everyone. Some people still like the rush of picking your pocket even when you ask them not to do so. It seems absured to me as well to walk around informing everyone who looks at me that I don't want their hands in my pockets; this should be a no brainer. 

I had allowed many to understand my stance with the picking of pockets because I was quite nervous for those who liked to do the classic bodyguard checking. So if I could inform others that I would mug them if I saw them it would keep people at bay. Soon others began to realize my eyesight was not the greatest and took pleasure in raiding my holders for money. I decided I would find myself more active in businesses and streets so I could familiarize myself with more people. Eventually people just altogether stopped and I felt very respected!

People often feel violated when you pick their pockets. Sure say it's only $5,000. When we look at the time based off petty crimes it takes to make that it could be at least 15 minutes of another persons life we are essentially stealing from. Sure this is kind of a stretch but the point of stealing time is actually quite valid. When I choose to invest my time somewhere I don't want it robbed of me but so many don't see it the same way others do and feel that their need for picking is more important. 

I guess this is just my two cents but I hope it helps.