Word thieves

What is more personal to a person than their words? Personally, I know that I usually spend a lot of time carefully weaving my words into sentences that, hopefully, describe precisely what I want them to say. They become my works of art, however simple or intricate, abstract or specific. They are mine to be proud of. They are mine to be ashamed of. They are mine to shout to the world. They are mine to whisper in someone's ear. They are mine. Period.

To take credit for the labor another put into a piece of writing is equivalent to stealing a painting, and
signing your name to it. You are a low-life thief, and nothing more.

Yet so many seem to think that the crime of stealing one's words is much more trivial than say, that of stealing one's watch, or wallet, or, for that matter, five bucks out of that wallet! Why do people attach such little importance to the intellectual expressions of others? Why is this particular type of stealing ignored? Or, worse yet, how can a person DEFEND this thievery?

It baffles me. Ironically, I am at a loss for words to describe how it makes me feel to know that people feel justified in stealing.

It can't be possible that the thief can feel the same pride in those words as the author does? It can't be possible that the thief can feel the same pride they would feel if they'd taken the high road, and written their own words. Can it?

Please, help me understand, because I honestly do not get it.