Signs of Decay, Fears of Decline. Part Five Victor Davis Hanson
https://victorhanson.com/signs-of-decay-fears-of-decline-part-five/
Theft, of course, characterized failed societies. In the last four years America has become a nation of thieves. No need to chart the spiraling crime rate. More interesting is the reaction to it and the effects on the dying citizens who play by the rules. Here are the symptoms of a thieving America.
a. Store closures. At some point shoplifting and smash-and-grab are so frequent, so brazen, so exempt from any consequences, that stores simply shut down and moved out.
Have you noticed what they post on their plywood windows or locked doors or release to the press? There is usually zero mention of vandals and thieves. Instead, the bureaucratese informs us that “Unfortunately changed conditions necessitate the closure of our downtown location. We appreciate the patronage of our customers and look forward to continuing to serve you in our other locations.” = “We were robbed blind here. The police hardly care. The city far less. So we are out of this godforsaken place.”
b. Prison shelves. Have you been in a big-city California Walgreens, CVS, or Rite Aid? Everything seems locked up.
What are not under lock are often items no one wants, and they are arranged on sparse shelves. Some stores try glass barriers, others use wire caging as if they are prison infirmaries. Three or four years ago, the only locked-away items were expensive razorblades or electronics or allergy medicines that I suppose have a few off-use meth-lab ingredients.
Now? Shampoo is locked up. Vitamins too. Reading glasses as well.
I am confused why these stores still have security cameras? Do they still work or are they there for show and minimum deterrence? After all, what would one do anyway if a thief was caught on camera? Call the police who would never arrest the culprit anyway?
When I go to the local Home Depot, any appliance, machine, or tool must be inspected very carefully. The daily thieves, which I think are half the population, go to Home Depot to find a part for their broken blowers, lawn mowers, chain saws, or refrigerators. They tear parts off the floor models and prance out, without the thief buzzer going on since there are no bar codes or other safety imprints on individual parts. It is so bad the clerks often say when you check out, “Did you check all the parts to make sure they’re still there??”
Almost every box is retaped, suggesting inspectors found the machine stripped of key parts or it is a return that is has been rehabbed.
c. Subsidizing thieves. Besides closed stores and little access to shelves, thieves drive prices up as Marquess-of-Queensbury-rules citizens pay for what the underprivileged simply swipe. Last year I bought a lot of Romex 12-2 and 14-2 copper electrical wire. Yes, at the Home Depot it was all caged with strict protocols of removal (When you wanted a roll, the attendant escorted you to the cashier. Once there you had to either buy it immediately and leave or have them put it behind the counter until you did).
No matter, Romex was still stolen daily. I asked a clerk why what once was $35 a roll was last year $175 a roll. She gave me no line about scarce copper, supply interruptions, Biden’s 8-percent annual inflation. Instead, she sighed, “I guess because they steal so much, we have to charge more for what is left.”
This imploding society always sides with the contrarian defined as anyone who does not obey the law, has a criminal record, or claims he is a victim of some sort of oppression. The problem is that the supposedly victimized outnumber the victimizers, and the result is the citizen who is lawful and dutiful cannot find a store in this neighborhood, can’t get a product off the shelf without a long wait, or cannot afford the item he wants.
Our failed state leaders shrug since they have utter contempt for the citizens who play by the rules and will always make the allowances for those who are destroying society on the principle there are always more who will work to sustain it than there are those who are parasitical upon the civilization.
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