Of Cannibals and CEOs and the 99.999%

When the neighbors learned of this, they burned the cannibals' house down. 

I wonder whether the police will press charges against the neighbors. 

But the reason I'm writing about cannibals is that reading about them made me think about what neighbors put up with from the psychopaths who run America's biggest corporations.  Some call these CEOs psychopaths, some call them narcissists. Either way, these CEOs have become dangers to the average American. They hire lobbyists who lobby for policies that kill people-- de-regulation of safety regulations, de-regulation of worker protections, de-regulation of ecological protections. 

The finance and banking CEOs push for laws and de-regulations that ruin people's lives. They fight for policies that keep millions from having health insurance. There's an estimate that at least 30-40,000 die every year from lack of health insurance. 

cannibalism, from wikipedia

So let's see-- two people killed by cannibals and the neighbors burned down the house. Why did they burn it down? I'll bet it was because they were fed empanadas with human in them. That is horrific. 

But the neighbors of our nation's top CEOs buy products that have the blood of humans on them. 

What's the difference? What aren't the people of America so up in arms about corporate heads? 

That's the question, isn't it?

I'm not saying that neighbors should go out and burn their houses down. No. 

Another thought. Back in the 1770's farmers, tradesmen, when they learned of a leader who betrayed them would tar and feather them-- literally. 

We can't do that any more, literally. But there ought to be ways to legally to it to them, with shaming and litigation and legal charges against them. I am NOT calling for any kind of violence, but I am calling for outrage. I am calling for we the people to take back the reins of justice so justice is imparted to the new royals-- the heads of transnational corporations who have become above the law. The law must descend upon them with a biblical vengeance. 

A side note. As an afterthought, based on the book, Of Cannibals and Kings, anthropologist Marvin Harris described, according to Wikipedia,

Cannibals and Kings  discusses the development of  pork  as a  taboo  food in ancient  Israelite  society. Harris argues that while cattle, sheep and many other domesticated animals consume grass, pigs in a  desert  environment are poor grazers  and must compete with humans for grain. that pigs produce no utility aside from meat, compared with cattle and goats, which provide milk, transport, and labor. This led to pigs being reviled, and he argues this gave rise to the pig as a taboo food in the  Old Testament  and goes on to briefly discuss the other listed taboos. Harris notes that pigs were also taboo in  Ancient Egypt  and continue to be forbidden by Islam, suggesting that environmental rather than cultural factors are responsible for putting this food animal off limits.

This makes me think of CEOs too. Unlike workers and researchers and programmers and most employees, CEOs of major corporations, by sucking the resources out of the companies, through the re-purchasing of stock shares, so they can maximize their stock option income payments, keep the US from growing and developing. They keep companies from hiring MORE workings and becoming stronger.  Yes. They are like pigs in many ways. 

We need to build on this meme-- that CEOs taking huge paychecks are pigs, are psychopaths, are traitors to America, loyal to transnational, soulless nations. This is a very aggressive label to put on these people. They deserve it. If they call of their dogs-- their lobbyists, if they stop trying to corrupt congress, maybe the names will no longer be deserved. But for now, it's best that we, the 99.999% know who our real enemies are. They are no better than cannibals, and actually, just as bad or worse.