NOTE: Our News and Views stories are contributed by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editor. 

There are two kinds of people; the givers and the takers. The givers are engaging and delightful and they bring happiness wherever they go. The takers bring happiness whenever they go.

The takers are occasionally endearing but never appreciated. Take for instance Hooky in the memorable movie Zulu.  A ne’er do well; a genuine copper-bottomed shirker who was always on the make.

Then there was Jack Dawkins better known as the Artful Dodger in Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Another likeable rogue was Private Walker, the loveable London Spiv in Dad’s Army which enjoyed a viewers peak of 18 million.

Rogues by nature are opportunist and parasitical. With weasel words, they trap the unwary. You can be forgiven for thinking immediately of politicians and journalists.

We have all seen them; the conmen who infest urbanisations wearing bogus uniforms and flashing cards; claiming to be official maintenance men. Those who fiddle with the accounts and a legion of cowboys who take advantage of the trust held in them.

Beyond the comprehension of most, some see trust as a human failing that invites taking advantage of; it is their coinage.  

You see a trusting elderly person; they see an easy victim. You see a purse on the floor; your first thought is to feel sorry for the person who dropped it; to think of ways by which you can get it back to her. The rogue sees it as a gift from heaven.

What is interesting is it isn’t the need or the amount involved which motivates them. The rogue’s satisfaction is derived from putting one over on another person.

I have seen a man whose wealth is boundless shamelessly con another man out of less than €100. It is the way they are wired.

As with most other addictions, they cannot help themselves. In a twisted way, it convinces them that they are superior. I am sure that the impresarios who steal from great writers, songwriters and composers feel superior.

We can understand someone in fear of losing their home or kids turning to desperate measures. They are the amateurs who get caught. The professionals are always one step ahead of the law; from which they derive an extra frisson.

Many are politicians and mainstream journalists. Others set up bogus businesses; especially in the property ‘game.’ The media catches up with them and the parade of the gullible comes to a stop.

I once met and kept the company of Costa del sol’s toni Muldoon who boasted that he was the undisputed champion of timeshare conmen on the Mediterranean Rivieras.

He owned yachts, and fabulous villas and went everywhere in a Rolls-Royce. A master of chutzpah, he simultaneously ran a business that offered a legal service for the victims his other company swindled.

Yet, Muldoon was just another working class – or should I say shirking class urchin from postwar London who even as a rich man lived in a tracksuit and whose appearance attracted only contempt from passersby.

Any good news? Finally nailed, he was handed down a seven-year sentence – and died a miserable death in a prison cell.

Some of the biggest rogues don’t need the money; they are programmed to kill the trust in others. It is their modus operando. This is when I am uncertain who to feel sorry for. Is it the person who lost a few euros or the person who sold his soul and reputation to steal them?

Pity perhaps is a more appropriate word than sympathy. They need help. They may find it in a church; or the afterlife.  Perhaps Freud or some other psychoanalyst can figure it out. Then there is always karma. PLEASE SHARE OUR STORIES.

THE LEAVING OF LIVERPOOL  ex-Liverpool seaman Michael Walsh. Bestseller: 70 stories and over 100 pictures. A first-hand account of the British ships, seafarers, adventures and misadventures (1955 – 1975). A tribute to the ships and seamen of the then-largest merchant marine in history. LINK TO BOOK → LULU.COM    AMAZON.CO.UK