German anarchists break into high-end restaurants, steal the food on the buffet tables, and then give it away to the poor. The police call it "thieving, plain and simple."
In my opinion it is theft, but it is hardly the standard story. There is a huge political message. While I myself am by no means an egalitarian, I appreciate the message. Of course, if I was a restauranteur I'd be very unhappy at the theft.... Hopefully this gang is not targeting hard-working entrepenuers.
In a society as tightly regulated as ours, it is refreshing to see the rules be broken for something other than evidence of petty greed or an emotional outburst. The boldness of the attacks, combined with their silliness (the thieves wear superheroe uniforms) make them difficult to get angry about. I feel strangely conflicted about it: on one hand I know that stealing is wrong, and that people were harmed. And yet on the other hand I admire the immediacy of the action to "right the wrongs". No, it doesn't generalize terribly well into the political realm (pass laws forbidding high-end food?) but it works as socially aware performance art. Yes, it's written in someone elses blood, but it's not enough blood to get worried.
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