HOARD, TREND AND GOUGE

Anyone who has watched or read a zombie apocalypse story knows the drill. Crises bring out the best and the worst in human beings. And the scale, unfortunately, seems to tip a bit more to the worst.

The U.S. Attorney General, Bill Barr, sternly announced last evening that Federal law enforcement is going after commercial exploiters of COVID19. Those empty paper-goods aisles in stores are not just a matter of panic buying by consumers. The lack of surgical masks in retail outlets aren't either. In fact, I can infer from his statement that wholesalers of medical supplies have also been withholding stock from hospitals and clinics in hopes of inflating prices.

I had to ask myself: Are media-savvy creeps promoting consumer panic by posting photos and videos of panicked mobs in markets in order to later cash in on their hoarding of supplies?

It is no news flash that we are in a time of fashionably selfish victimhood. This becomes a form of self-imposed survivalism in a person who is constantly self-affirming their entitlement due to subjectively perceived persecution, whether that persecution is real or not. MeToo has actually morphed into  MeFirst. And, for some, Black Lives Matter means My Life Matters Most. LGBTQI means Leave your Group's Brainstorming to The Queens, Idiot.

A society of self-affirming victims is paradoxically a plentiful hunting ground for social predators.

Social predators have most likely been around as long as the first human huckster found he could avoid hunting or gathering for his own food by exploiting the fear of his gullible tribe members. Shamans, medicine men, witches ... they all had this in common. They sold alleviation from fear and desperation, albeit temporary. Their reward was elevation to the peak of the tribal apex, either as chief or as counselor to the chief.

Shamans in many cultures shared the same tentative security as their kingly compadres. When the veil of their con game was lifted, they often met with a swift and unpleasant end at the hands of the tribal mob. But there was always, and is always, a new huckster waiting in the wings. And hucksters evolve by learning from the mistakes of their predecessors.

Mafias, or racketeering gangs, are a sign of that evolution. There is safety in numbers, especially for the most vile hucksters. Violent intimidation of the one by the many is a formula for racketeering success. This process has infected our modern political process. Mobbing in social media and mobbing in the streets by domestic terrorists, like Antifa and Yellow Vests (France), has overshadowed civilized debating and polling. 

So, when the predictability of urban life is shattered by crisis, hoarding and gouging due to the shortages it creates may seem acceptable to those who have subscribed to mob bullying as acceptable behavior. Mob bullying is on the same cycle as victimhood. It justifies the victim's self-assertion of entitlement to do wrong to "survive". 

Other rationalizations come into play. "I'm doing this for my family." This one is a gem. Picture a looter running from a big-box store with a 42-in TV. Are we to believe that such a creature is is motivated by dedication to a family somewhere? Highly unlikely.

The only way to break this cycle of bullying, exploitation and entitlement is to not participate in it. By learning to detach from the cycle through any number of methods, the individual develops an ethical standard which serves better than participating in group madness. Learning to step back, breathe and think before acting is the key. 

Self-preservation based in addiction and greed is worthless. It is simply sustaining misery. Living well, despite adversity, comes with practice. It requires individual development through self-education, healthy lifestyle and daily periods of reflection/meditation. Yes, in other words, living well requires living at peace with oneself first. 

We have just seen a welcome challenge to the World of Things. Changing the poison of COVID19 to medicine means accepting its lessons over succumbing to its trepidation, fostered by those who would gain from amplifying it. The threat of COVID19 has renewed ancient lessons, previously taught by human plagues through the centuries. Taking the lessons or ignoring them is an individual choice.