What is to blame for/the cause of the recent spate of robberies and looting and ransacking of businesses in America?

[WalterSlovotsky]

People can't afford gas, baby formula, medication or other essentials. Republicans are voting down the lowering of said necessities.

Steal something expensive, sell it on the black market, now you can afford those things.

This is not hard dude.

So you support criminality, because you can blame Republicans for things you don't understand. Gotcha.

I got your input. It has been noted. Thank you for your beyond stupid argument that is still just you bashing the GOP because you have no other solutions.

Keep talking if you like. You have my blessing to continue to say stupid shit. I gave you a chance and gave you the benefit of the doubt. Unsurprisingly, and not for the first time in your life, you were a let down.

The economy has never been worse than it is right now, under Biden. That is the number one issue coming up for the elections in 2024, along with immigration, border security, abortion rights and the environment.

So YOUR President and his policies of supporting and funding every other nation in the world except for America is making it difficult for people to buy food or baby formula or gas. Even though gas was $2.25 under Trump, and never went higher than $2.61.

We weren't sending tens of thousands of cans and pallets of our baby formula during a shortage crisis to other nations. No, that was Democrats.

But, under YOUR President, now cops aren't even arresting people for theft, so there is no deterrent to crime. Teachers are getting shot by six year olds in school, and Baltimore can't produce a single high school student out of dozens of schools that even meets the minimum mathematics understanding requirement.

And this is all the fault of Republicans, and the policies you refused to mention a single one of.

But, go ahead, champ. You're doing great!

 

[supermist]

So you support criminality, because you can blame Republicans for things you don't understand. Gotcha.

I got your input. It has been noted. Thank you for your beyond stupid argument that is still just you bashing the GOP because you have no other solutions.

Keep talking if you like. You have my blessing to continue to say stupid shit.

I don't support it. Point out where I did.

And with that, you've demonstrated that you don't understand cause and effect. Supporting those bills are a solution and Republicans are not supporting them.

As I continue to state, you're not a reasonable or intelligent person, therefore a reasonable or intelligent discussion with you simply isn't going to be possible.

 

[Xzi]

I do not agree with a syllable that you just said, but I appreciate your input and appreciate your ability to discuss things you disagree with others about without resorting to personal attacks.

Disagree all you like, the stats don't lie. Crime is highest in the most impoverished nations. We're a rich nation, but we're still forcing poverty on a whole lot of people all the same, and these are the results. More and more people are waking up to the fact that this is how the cops and the wealthy view us.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

Disagree all you like, the stats don't lie. Crime is highest in the most impoverished nations. We're a rich nation, but we're still forcing poverty on a whole lot of people all the same, and these are the results. More and more people are waking up to the fact that this is how the cops and the wealthy view us.

We are not impoverished by any means. We are stupid with our money.

We spend trillions on our military so we can swing our dicks. 99% of that money should go to education and food security.

We HAVE the money. We're just not using it properly.

 

[supermist]

We spend trillions on our military so we can swing our dicks. 99% of that money should go to education and food security.

Now this I can agree with. That and defunding police. The SWAT tanks aren't necessary.

 

[deinonychus71]

While I agree that poverty as a whole tends to lead to more crime, I think trying to put all the blame on one single thing (or party) is rather simplistic.

As far as I'm aware you don't need to be a republican CEO to get outrageously rich while (because that's what matters) not allowing your base workers at your company to benefit from it.
They're all left (and rather far-left) in Hollywood yet for months they wouldn't bulge when workers asked for fair pay. And that's far from an isolated case.
They'll push forward diversity because that's free to them, it gets them good PR. And I'm not saying that it's bad, but if they really cared, they'd do something about incomes too. They'd make it so the highest income in a company cannot be x% more than the lowest. I wonder how many of these people would remain on the left if democrats actually tried to pass that.

As far as Republicans vs. Democrats go sure, Democrats win on that front but Americans tend to ignore that Democrats would still be considered on the right side of the political spectrum in Europe. They don't really seem in a hurry to push for universal healthcare, for better & more fair labor laws and minimum wages and PTO, for free education.
Heck, Even Starbuck has started asking for tips so they hopefully don't have to pay fair wage. Tipping. A scam hiding in plain sight, yet I don't think that comes from republicans either.
They're BETTER, sure, but sometimes tells me they're not unhappy with the status quo. It benefits both republicans and democrats to keep blaming each other for all the problems of the world so that people don't look at the real causes of poverty.

Now to try to answer the question, if there was one thing to blame, I would say it's the American mentality to be wildly against government intervention in general. Again that's compared to my experience living in both Europe and America.
It is because of that mentality that labor laws are so poor in the US.
It is because of that mentality that basic needs such as internet is outrageously expensive in the US.
It is because of that mentality that there are for profit prisons, and worse, that for profit healthcare is the norm.
It is because of that mentality that a lot of people (mostly on the right yes) do not understand that equality of chances (not outcome) is desirable in a society, and that yes it costs money to achieve that.
It is because of that mentality that the infrastructure is shit.
A weak government in a capitalist country means that capitalism goes unhinged, and it doesn't benefit most people.

 

[Xzi]

We are not impoverished by any means. We are stupid with our money.

We spend trillions on our military so we can swing our dicks. 99% of that money should go to education and food security.

We HAVE the money. We're just not using it properly.

I don't really care if the funding comes out of the over-bloated military budget, corporate welfare, higher taxes on the rich, or all three. It's obvious all of that money would be better spent on other things. Instead we've got Republicans scheming to end social security, the last effective social safety net still in operation, because they have no interest in improving the lives of average Americans.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

I attribute a major part of the RECENT massive increase in robberies and looting to the lack of any repercussions for a lot of criminals, depending on where you live.

With no lawful deterrent, and no MORAL deterrent, there is nothing to stop this from being the Wild West, obviously, for a lot of liberals and leftists, morality doesn't factor into it at all. If you can justify your crimes by saying, "Oh, the mean Repubwicans aren't giving me enough free shit, so I guess I have to TAKE it", then you have no moral code whatsoever. You'd be the first ones to call the cops you want defunded, if someone robbed YOU. Very flexible, your morality.

Poverty is not an excuse to rob a jewelry store or steal a purse from Target.

Poverty is not an excuse to break the law.

We are a nation of law and order, but we stopped punishing people for breaking the law.

I think that jail or prison isn't always the right answer, either. I support public caning and stockades. DEAD ASS SERIOUS.

You have a choice; steal an iPhone 15 and get caught, and you can choose a year in jail, or fifty claps on the back and ass with a bamboo cane, in public. Or several hours a day in a stockade, also in public.

Public shaming is one thing we haven't tried. I think it would be a great idea. Much cheaper than prison. A much better visual deterrent, too.

 

[Ligeia]

Hasn't robbery been made legal in some states like California or something ?

 

[supermist]

Oh I'm shocked the guy is literally suggesting what third world counties do.

 

[Veho]

What is to blame for/the cause of the recent spate of robberies and looting and ransacking of businesses in America?

Media lying to get views, mostly. And politicians fishing for votes by calling for harsher penalties for petty crimes, perpetuating the idea.

https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2021-12-15/organized-retail-theft-crime-rate
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2021/12/shoplifting-holiday-theft-panic/621108/
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/01/18/business/retail-shoplifting-shrink-walgreens/index.html

1) Store chains are blaming lower profits on "theft" when they can't figure out the reason;
2) The vast majority of losses to actual theft happen at other points in the supply chain, not in the store.

Is shoplifting on the rise? Maybe slightly. Is it "exploding" like the click/ragebait claims? No.

 

[Xzi]

I attribute a major part of the RECENT massive increase in robberies and looting to the lack of any repercussions for a lot of criminals, depending on where you live.

That has to start from the top down. The rich and powerful get away with criminal activity in broad daylight all the damn time, and their crimes tend to affect a whole lot more people too. Without an equitable justice system, people have little incentive to follow laws designed specifically to make the rich richer and the poor poorer.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

https://vidmaxviral.com/video/22110...re-during-a-night-of-insane-looting-in-philly

Everybody must eat.

Liquor.

Look how happy everyone is. I am certain that their bottle of booze is going to fill their child's belly tonight.

Because, everybody must eat.

I post this to show proof for my argument. It's for clout. It's for attention. It's because of this fucking stupid generation being raised by TikTok.

 

[Veho]

Can you say "anecdotal evidence"?

Also, that's just Philadelphia, they will riot at the drop of a hat.

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-52-philadelphia-eagles-fans-destroy-the-city-38844328.html

Clearly sports cause violence and looting and should be banned.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

Can you say "anecdotal evidence"?

Also, that's just Philadelphia, they will riot at the drop of a hat.

https://au.sports.yahoo.com/super-bowl-52-philadelphia-eagles-fans-destroy-the-city-38844328.html

Clearly sports cause violence and looting and should be banned.

Sports fans aren't ransacking jewelry stores in broad daylight. ALL sports fans are stupid anyway; no one ever accused them of being intelligent. You're comparing raisins to apples.

 

[Veho]

Sports fans aren't ransacking jewelry stores in broad daylight.

Aren't they?

 

[Xzi]

I post this to show proof for my argument. It's for clout. It's for attention. It's because of this fucking stupid generation being raised by TikTok.

A single anecdote is not proof of anything, and you also seem to be unaware of the high price certain brands of liquor can fetch. Capitalism was never meant to seep into every facet of society, but it has, and thus it's skewed the way we value everything, including people.

You want people to stop stealing purses and jewelry, you either stop overvaluing those objects, or start valuing labor more. As-is, it's either one day of theft or three plus years of work to make the same amount of scratch, and I think we all know which one billionaires would choose if they were put in that same situation as a hypothetical.

 

[wartutor]

I keep hearing its the Republicans fault or it democrats fault...if people had half a fucking brain they would realize neither one has your best interests on top. If they did they would be taking the hard working tax payers money and putting it towards factories and business that are bought and owned by the workers/tax payers that makes everyone an equal amount of money and put these Chinese companies and billion dollar company out of business but the entire government works for them and not the masses. They line their bank accounts and the bank accounts of their rich friends. Keep recycling your money into each others hands. And now spending your kids and grandkids money. Need to do away with them all and start over.

 

[WalterSlovotsky]

Aren't they?

A single anecdote is not proof of anything, and you also seem to be unaware of the high price certain brands of liquor can fetch. Capitalism was never meant to seep into every facet of society, but it has, and thus it's skewed the way we value everything, including people.

You want people to stop stealing purses and jewelry, you either stop overvaluing those objects, or start valuing labor more. As-is, it's either one day of theft or three plus years of work to make the same amount of scratch, and I think we all know which one billionaires would choose if they were put in that same situation as a hypothetical.

Dude, I am in support of COMPULSORY service in America for all Americans starting when they graduate high school, or when they turn 18.

Either you join the military, you join a trade school (completely funded for you), or you volunteer for two full years with something that has environmental impact or serves the homeless (also completely funded for you). Compulsory.

MANY other nations have some sort of compulsory service that contributes to the well-being and the culture of the nation. It is one facet of many societies that brings everyone together, to help and serve others, and it's instilled as part of the national character.

So, make it mandatory. And it kills me to say that, being a Libertarian. SOMETHING has to change, though. I think that if we can't convince people using morality or ethics or culture to be better people, we have to start somewhere.

A couple of generations of Americans compelled to serve their fellow man would do wonders for our society, our culture, our national identity, our economy, and most other facets of American life. At the least, it would produce millions of people with military experience, training in a trade, or a heart that has given to others and understands what true suffering is like.

We have options.

 

[Xzi]

Bro actually believes that fashion products are worth the price listed on their tags. Moreover you want us to empathize with corporations as though they're people. Sorry not sorry, but that's just braindead on both counts. You're not looking for solutions, only harsher penalties on populations that already deal with abusive and murderous police.