Dear bike thief,
I know you don’t care that you totally stunned my little innocent 6-year-old boy Monday morning by stealing his bike. But that doesn’t mean I won’t take the opportunity to address you.
It takes real nerve to jump into someone’s front garden with bolt cutters and take a kid’s bike. As you peddle for cash this week trying to sell to the highest bidder or are just taking it for a joy ride just remember how sad you really are. One can only hope that karma will catch up with you.
I have warned my kids that there are bad people out in this world and to always lock their bikes, which as you can see in the photo my son always did. He knew that people like you existed but like most young children he never thought you would actually come for his precious bike. You were an abstract. But with your low act, the theft of a beloved bike, something taken from him personally, that’s a reality for this little boy now.
Only a few months ago we took off the training wheels. So the bike you took from him symbolized a major accomplishment. A new high in a little boy’s world. Now, it symbolizes something else: a new low, learning that the world can be a cold, heartless place, that no one, even a little boy, is ever really safe from it.
For the first time he understands the harsh realities of growing up in a city — that people like you are out there waiting to take something from him. It will take time for him to feel safe again in our neighborhood.
I could see the pain in his face. He is confused and sad. He is frightened to think that a bad person was on our property. While he peacefully slept last night, you took his prized possession.
Sadly, you aren’t likely to be prosecuted if you are caught, because our soft-on-crime district attorney is more concerned about you, a thief, than she is about how secure the good people may feel in this city.
My son will get a new bike. I will get a stronger lock and also will set up a security camera, so if you come around again, we will see who you are. I’ll give your picture to the police, and poster it around the neighborhood, so everyone knows who and what you are. Maybe, just maybe, you have a sense of shame or even pride that might put you back on track, even if the authorities are unwilling to do that. Because what you really stole wasn’t just a bike. It was a little boy’s innocence.
