Allen H. Johnson starts with a dangerous false premise in his mea culpa that somehow his having DVDs stolen from his car inside his own garage in the middle of the night is his own fault (column, Feb. 6). That false premise is that if "people take each other's stuff, they hurt one another."

Reality is that some people do those things. Most of us do not. There was a dropped wallet and money returned at the Food Lion last week, and a handful of cash returned from a skirt bought at a thrift store. That kind of behavior is the societal expectation, and we all should be able to leave our houses unlocked and our possessions unsecured except by the honor that each of us has for the other. That is a civilization that works.

The costs of security make civilization not work as well, and everybody suffers. Those who steal should be in jail. Unfortunately, those who steal are not all in jail, and we do have to take security precautions, just like we do for terrorists. But, Allen, leaving your car unlocked did not create a jerk. He or she did that.

John R. Dykers Jr.
Siler City