Okay, so I have in my possession an umbrella that I did not pay for. About a year ago, I was on the subway, sitting across the car from this woman and her two hyperactive children. When she got up to transfer at Jay St., she left her umbrella behind, underneath her seat. I spotted it, grabbed the umbrella and tried calling out to her - but it was too late. The doors closed. And I was now the owner of a very nice "Misty Harbor" umbrella, which I have used every time it's rained since.
It's raining today. So I brought the umbrella.
When I got into the office this morning, I noticed something that I've never seen before - a small name tag on the handle, giving the name and address of the woman whose umbrella it is. Should I return it? Surely she's bought another umbrella in the past year, but if she cared enough about the umbrella to nametag it, maybe she'd REALLY appreciate it being brought back. And then I could be one of those "New Yorkers are friendly" anecdotes.
But for chrissakes, it's an umbrella not a wedding ring. What should I do?
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
Ethical Dilemma
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3 comments:
Sorry to argue for deparapluification, but I think the decisive fact here is:
"...if she cared enough about the umbrella to nametag it, maybe she'd REALLY appreciate it being brought back." (Lawrence 3)
Go for it, ya nice dude! After all, a mouse would give it back.
Well, first of all, you should totally give it back, because that's a ridiculously nice thing to do, and she'll probably make love to you or something.
But, you should also contact The Ethicist. You just missed him on All Things Considered this past weekend, but he should be on again on December 12. Or, write Randy Cohen at the New York Times.
Maybe he'll make love to you?
Won't someone make love to Stefan?
I'll make love to Stefan if he keeps the umbrella for himself.
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