Do You See What I See: Prevention versus Recovery

Me, “Wait, you were pumping gas at 5:30 am and someone opened the door and stole your iPad off the passenger seat?”

James, “Yes, and I’m in small remote town.

David, “The security cameras that caught it, right? The police can see who did it.”

James, “Not really, the image on the camera wasn’t good. Whoever did it avoided the camera.”

Me, “You mean someone was watching you, waited until you started pumping gas and stole you iPad?”

James, “Yes and the door was left open so I wouldn’t hear it close

Me, “What? That means that person has done this before, Creepy, someone was watching you, at 5:30 am and stole your iPad while you were pumping gas. I have no words.”

Lori, “Do the police think you will get your Pad back?

We got the same facts but our reactions were very different,  I focused on prevention and my peers, David and Lori were focused on forensics and recovery. It’s a great reminder, we can all see and hear the same thing and have an entirely different perspective. Often we spend time debating what we say are the “facts” when it’s not the facts that are in dispute, it is our point of views. While we often say from my point of view, how often do we stop to acknowledge the ferocity of another’s point of view, given the same set of facts? There is no easy answer for this one. It’s just a reminder for me, in various situations, everyone has the same facts the reaction is just different. While my modus operandi is to repeat the facts, it is not the facts that are in dispute.

As the conversation about the iPad heist continued,  I repeated the facts expecting my peers to share my sense of creepiness. Lori and David stayed focus on recovery,  Lori asked if the find my iPad app was used to locate the stolen property. This week is just an observation and a reminder, people can see or hear the same event and have differing point views. And with that, I’ll just relax and enjoy my view.