Plagerism

I was chatting with a close friend the other day and I happened to mention that we've not had a plagiarism scandal in a while...and now we do.
Here's the thing, why do it? You ARE going to get caught, it's just a matter of time. You might think that there are soooo many readers out there that no one is going to notice- that's your second mistake, your first once was copying and pasting your name on a body of work that belongs to someone else. You've not only damaged your reputation but in all likelihood your future career as an author. So even if you do happen to write a novel of your own volition, chances are people will not want to take a chance on reading it, why? Simply stated, it's because of your prior history of stealing the works of others. Plagiarism also hurts the writing community, the entire writing community. Its created fear, anger, resentment and most of all distrust. It has now reinforced the notion that fledgling authors are not to be trusted. Plagiarism is making seasoned authors have second thoughts or all together making them feel reluctant to take new authors on and mentor them. All of this hurts us readers. If you as a reader comes across a book that looks like plagiarism, it's your social obligation to stand up and say something. Authors work hard at their craft and for their hard work to be stolen with the click of a mouse, well it's not acceptable! The simple truth is that it's Stealing! It's stealing the income of another individual. We all know how we wouldn't like it if we had someone trying to steal or income, so why would you support someone who is stealing the money from an author? Pirating sites do this too! Please think about where you buy your e-books from! Buy only from reputable sites.