Greed

I guess by now you heard of the Ohio guy whose work “buddies” won $99 million and refused to share it with him because he was too sick to make the payment. There were 23 employees in the pool, a total of $4.304,343 each. Minus the sick guy, their winnings would be $4.500,000. Even though each one of these greed heads would have $4.3 million they would screw their co-worker for the sake of $195,000! Before you might dismiss this as typical of the USA, something even worse occurred in Canada about 20 years ago. A man in Quebec and his daughter won $7 million. Yet the daughter forgot to put her dollar in that week and Dear Old Dad denied her a share of the winnings. Hey, your own daughter, mon ostie calisse de tabarnac!

The excuse given to such a CEO or Ayn Randish-level of selfishness is a literal interpretation of the situation. You can just hear them whining, “but you didn't pay that week!” Such people have no ethics, only a legalistic conception of reality. Very much like our legal system, in fact, which works “to the letter of the law”, and in most cases, morality and intent be damned. Such literal-mindedness is a form of insanity. But we see this insanity all the time with judges who treat civil disobedience cases like common crimes and refuse to allow the ethical reasons behind these actions to be voiced. (The late Merv Wilkinson, was arrested for CD at Clayoquot Sound in 1995 and the judge called him “unrepentant”. Now just what in hell was Merv to repent? Sick SOBs on the benches) But when those at the top are crazy and greedy, who can blame those at the bottom – like our imbecile lottery winners – for imitating them?

One thing should be understood about greed – it isn't really about money. $4 million and you are set up for life, who really needs more? And if you had $100 million you could live like a potentate. Why want ever more money, when in the real world of goods and services you have more than you could ever want? I suspect the greedy are weak, insecure people who need to bolster themselves with the symbols of power and “making it” that money can buy. But money can't buy you love, and even less can it buy you respect, which is what these poor fools really want. A million dollar house makes you look like a somebody, and a five million dollar house even more of a somebody, or so their thinking goes. Don't all those vinyl-sided, four car garage, 4000 square foot, cul-de-sac, (1) McMansions that seemingly every “middle-class” person” desires just scream, “I have arrived, I am somebody!” Even though that “somebody” is kitchy, tacky, shallow and weak, and with a little luck will die at an early age of arteriosclerosis. Of course the problem arises that in an entire suburb of these bulimic monstrosities it is hard to play that game for long, but they can always beat on the poor, I suppose.

1. Which in French means “arse end of a bag” which says it all.