No One Stole My Suitcase
I traveled to Vigo, Spain this week on a tiny plane. When I got to baggage claim everyone was gone. My bag was all alone on the baggage claim belt, waiting for me unbothered. It is an attractive bag that looks expensive and it brought to mind a familiar question- why had no one tried to steal my bag? I see three possible motives for resisting the urge and I think each motive says a lot about humankind.
My first theory is optimisitic. No one stole my bag because people feel connected to their fellow travelers. We got off the plane and everyone knew how tiring it is to wait for the items you need to function (clothes, toothbrush, razor) to arrive. To stand at the conveyor belt and hope that no one messes up, and that you can put your pajamas on that night when you sleep.
My second theory is laziness and lack of desperation. The people on my flight were only interested in finding their own suitcase. They wanted to go home or start vacation. They did not want a second suitcase when they already had one to lug out of the airport. And since everyone had a suitcase, no one felt a driving need to steal an extra one. This theory reminds me of a similar natural experiment in my college years. I regularly left my laptop unattended in the library for short times. Everyone working there had a laptop since we were all full time undergrads and that mutual abundance decreased any urges to steal.
My final theory is fear. The people on my flight internalized the airport's reputation for being powerful. The decreased security of that moment in baggage claim did not override their memories of security guards and highly patrolled passages. No one stole my bag because no one was willing to face the consequences of stealing.
Whatever held back theft that day in the airport made it easy for me to enjoy my trip. I left the airport with my clothes, deoderant, and toothbrush securely packed. In reality, I believe the theories interact with each other and that empathy, laziness and fear worked together discouraging many possible robberies the week I went to Vigo.
