What do you think of Colton Harris-Moore?

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Habeed

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http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1946950,00.html
http://abcnews.go.com/US/teen-bandit-colton-harris-moore-called-modern-day/story?id=8653404

Basically, this kid grew up living in a trailer in the woods and learned to survive on his own. For whatever reason, he has a nasty habit of stealing...first by breaking into houses and taking what he needed, now more brazen grand theft for fun.

Among other things, the kid wants to fly. Somehow he was able to figure out how to fly a plane without any actual lessons - maybe a little time on a computer simulator, that's it. He's managed to steal 3 planes and make a survivable landing every time.

He was able to break out of jail, and has been on the run ever since. They say that now that there is a manhunt out for him, he stole an assault rifle out of police car and is now "armed and dangerous".

I'm of mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, the cops gotta do what they gotta do. Airplanes are pretty damn expensive pieces of property, and cost a fortune to repair. He's committed some serious grand thefts of just to go on joyrides. On the other hand, his crime spree is pretty freaking impressive. He's been surviving on the run without real resources for years, and in the article they talk about how he stole a plane and flew it 200 miles before making a rough landing, with no formal lessons. It just seems a shame how this is inevitably going to end : the cops/society will hunt him down like a dog and either kill him or lock him in a cage for decades.

I'm curious how the THR members feel about this kid. On the one hand, this guy has accomplished some impressive feats of survival and individualism. On the other, he's stolen a lot of stuff from people who worked hand to earn it. I've noticed that a lot of the posters here tend to be law and order republicans who also admire self reliance and ingenuity.

Oh, and he now evidently has a gun : what is the usual police issue carbine? And do you think he should have stolen it to maximize his chances of surviving on the run? The problem is that if Colton actually fires on the police with the weapon, he reduces his chance of ever being released from prison to basically zero. Furthermore, it elevates the severity of the crimes he commits during his life on the run.
 
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That doesn't sound like self-reliance to me. Sounds like mindless theft and vandalism. I think you're right that this will escalate until he is brought in (or brought down) at gunpoint. Hope he has enough sense to turn himself in before it costs him his life, or a bystander's.
 
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