There are a lot of ways that people try to «justify» theft, and most of them don’t make sense. Especially if it’s interpersonal. If your friend took $20 out of your wallet without telling you, you might forgive them if they had a good reason, but it was still wrong to do so in the first place. Maybe you feel like there’s an imbalance between the two parties that justifies it, but that’s a tricky path to walk down. Even more so if it’s within the context of your own family. 

What would you do if your parents tried to steal money from you? Is it justified because they’ve spent so much money on raising you, or should it still be treated like theft? Those are the questions that came up in this story, when a young woman came into some money via a graduation gift. Gifts are generally accepted as transfers of property. There are no takesies-backsies, and you generally get to do with that gift what you please. But when she tried to make use of it, her parents had already taken it.