“If you give to a thief, he cannot steal from you, and he is then no longer a thief.” — William Saroyan
(Okay, what’s this semantics B.S.? Besides, you don’t know someone is a thief until they try to rob you. And, once you know that you can willingly give what you want to him, but that doesn’t change what he is. And, if you give to a thief before you know he’s a thief he’ll likely rob you anyway. And, if you give all to him – either way – you’re left with nothing. This seems like a namby-pamby kind of quote, to me. Be well and do good, friends.) — YUR
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Happy birthday to Paul Stanley of KISS, and to Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park!
Unclerave's Wordy Weblog 
Today I don’t think a thief will stop stealing from you if you first hand over what they want to steal because thieves have a complex cognitive toolbox, with highly developed and automatic skills, very similar to that of a chess player or game star tennis. There, this thought does not work. Cheers
I agree, Mac. I think Saroyan must’ve viewed the world through rose colored glasses! — YUR
To get that phrase, it must have been as you say.