An Ink Pen

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bmullins

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This is something we had a discussion about in a class recently that I thought I would like to see others thoughts on.

So the situation:

You borrow someones ink pen and you write something with it. Both you and the person whom you borrowed it from have forgotten you even have it, and as you are leaving you put it in your pocket. This is a habit you have always had of putting your pen in your front pocket when you are done with it.

You get home a few hours later and are cleaning your pockets out while changing for bed. You realize that you have their ink pen. For a moment your conscience tells you to take it back to them. It’s not a particularly nice inkpen, in fact it’s one of those generic bics you get in a pack of 10.

So what should you do?
 
Why would you not just give it back the next time you see them? If you see them very infrequently, then I would let it drop.
 
I agree with the posters who said you should return it the next time you see the person. If you don’t see the person again, then forget about it. I’m sure they’ll live without their bic pen. I’ve lent pens to students and faculty and borrowed some as well many times, and have no idea how many I’ve inadvertently kept or lost: I think it’s a wash. If it were an expensive-looking pen, that’s another matter.
 
bmullins said:
This is something we had a discussion about in a class recently that I thought I would like to see others thoughts on.

So the situation:

You borrow someones ink pen and you write something with it. Both you and the person whom you borrowed it from have forgotten you even have it, and as you are leaving you put it in your pocket. This is a habit you have always had of putting your pen in your front pocket when you are done with it.

You get home a few hours later and are cleaning your pockets out while changing for bed. You realize that you have their ink pen. For a moment your conscience tells you to take it back to them. It’s not a particularly nice inkpen, in fact it’s one of those generic bics you get in a pack of 10.

So what should you do?
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Well, you certainly shouldn’t drive 6 miles to return it. 🙂
 
I work in a pen heavy industry. Pens are vital to our operation. Without a pen one can find themselves in all sorts of unsavoury situations. It can mean the difference between writing something and trying to remember something. Pens are our friends.

If I borrow someone’s pen, and take it home, I give it back next time I see them. I have lent many a pen in my career, and some have come back to me, others have not. I recall, sometimes with great sadness, sometimes with great frustration, that someone has not returned my pen. I would never inflict such emotional turmoil on another living soul. For shame. Verily, I return the pen to the owner. As for my own pens, I inscribe my name upon them.
 
I don’t want to spend even 1 minute in purgatory for stealing a pen. Not returning something you borrowed is theft.
 
bmullins said:
This is something we had a discussion about in a class recently that I thought I would like to see others thoughts on.

So the situation:

You borrow someones ink pen and you write something with it. Both you and the person whom you borrowed it from have forgotten you even have it, and as you are leaving you put it in your pocket. This is a habit you have always had of putting your pen in your front pocket when you are done with it.

You get home a few hours later and are cleaning your pockets out while changing for bed. You realize that you have their ink pen. For a moment your conscience tells you to take it back to them. It’s not a particularly nice inkpen, in fact it’s one of those generic bics you get in a pack of 10.

So what should you do?
Click to expand...
I voted other take it back to them the next time you see them. If you go to school with this person or work with this person the next day you just say hey I forgot to give you this pin back yesterday here it is.

I don’t think its worth the effort to take time out of your day to give it back to him right away. Just wait till the next time you see him.

its a pen it can wait 🙂
 
If you have their phone number or their e-mail address, you could let them know that you still have the pen, and will return it the next time you see them. At my workplace, there is a supply of inexpensive pens that are pretty much considered “community pens.” They get put down by one person and picked up by another all the time, and usually everyone has a pen at their disposal. If someone finds themselves without a pen, they just ask someone else for a pen, or go into the supply closet. With me, the work pens frequently end up in my pocket and inadvertently get taken home. Occasionally they get left at home. When I’m doing my weekly housecleaning, I gather the work pens and bring them back on the next day I’m scheduled to work and add them to the supply in the closet. Driving six miles to return a cheap work pen, while certainly commendable, strikes me as a tad scrupulous, but then again, my system of returning the borrowed pens might strike someone else as lax.
 
Soooooo falls under the category of no big deal. I’d stick it back in my purse and if I remembered to return it the next time I saw the pen owner, great. If not, I would not lose sleep over it or worry about purgatory. It’s a cheap, disposable item… just a smidgen above a pencil.

I think if I were to get in my car and DRIVE it back (someone threw out 6 miles so we’ll go with that) back to the owner, that would be a colossal waste of gas $$ and an example of very poor stewardship.
 
Incomplete said:
Why would the fact that it’s cheap make any difference?
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I would imagine that it’s something on the order of determining the gravity of the situation (a single Bic which was sold in a package of 10 for $1.79 vs. a Cross fountain pen which can actually be worth enough that people repair rather than replace, I’ve seen $100 and up for a single pen).

The cheap pen I think should be returned as soon as possible (so one doesn’t forget again) but not at a cost greater than the value of the item itself (thus driving would be right out, but if it happened to belong to a neighbor who lives two doors down walking over to return it would be appropriate).
 
Incomplete said:
Why would the fact that it’s cheap make any difference?
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The truth is that people in general don’t expect you to return it. Remember that the definition of theft involves taking something without permission, so if the owner doesn’t really mind if you never give it back, then you can make a case that, by definition, it isn’t theft. No criminal court in the US would actually convict someone of Petty Theft in this case - I believe that it falls under the legal principle of “de minimis non curat lex”.
 
x1980x said:
The truth is that people in general don’t expect you to return it. Remember that the definition of theft involves taking something without permission, so if the owner doesn’t really mind if you never give it back, then you can make a case that, by definition, it isn’t theft. .
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Exactly. Sort of like when my neighbor asks if he can borrow a cup of sugar. We have a friendly sort of relationship, and while the term “borrow” generally means it will be returned, I’m not expecting him to bring back a cup of sugar. However, if he borrowed my lawn mower, that would be a different story.

Common sense people. 🤷
 
x1980x said:
The truth is that people in general don’t expect you to return it. Remember that the definition of theft involves taking something without permission, so if the owner doesn’t really mind if you never give it back, then you can make a case that, by definition, it isn’t theft. No criminal court in the US would actually convict someone of Petty Theft in this case - I believe that it falls under the legal principle of “de minimis non curat lex”.
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Sure, but by the OP’s first statement, it was pretty clear that the owner wasn’t even aware it was gone. That’s why I asked why it mattered if it was cheap or not.
 
Melissa said:
I would imagine that it’s something on the order of determining the gravity of the situation (a single Bic which was sold in a package of 10 for $1.79 vs. a Cross fountain pen which can actually be worth enough that people repair rather than replace, I’ve seen $100 and up for a single pen).

The cheap pen I think should be returned as soon as possible (so one doesn’t forget again) but not at a cost greater than the value of the item itself (thus driving would be right out, but if it happened to belong to a neighbor who lives two doors down walking over to return it would be appropriate).
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I think this is a pretty good rule of thumb. There’s a big difference between a pen that says “Compliments of Frank’s Towing” vs. “Cross” or “Parker” in terms of what to do when. For that matter, a phone call to the pen owner might result in a “You keep it” reply if it was a cheap giveaway.
 
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