Looting: Just Another Stage of Grief (Boson Anarchist Collective) 1 June 2020

Boson's Deserted Streets After Curfew and Before Riotous Looting

What some people don't understand is that looting is one of the recognized stages of grief. Grief is the natural result when a victim is impacted, either directly or indirectly, by loss and/or grievous injustice.

Of course when it comes to grief, not everyone goes through exactly the same stages in exactly the same order; everyone grieves differently. But in general the stages are:

• Denial
• Mayhem
• Looting
• Flight
• Inventory
• Acceptance

When an infuriating injustice happens, at first the onlooker has trouble believing what she or he's seeing, or hearing about. This is the denial stage. For some people this stage can last a long time—even up to 3 or 4 seconds.

The next common stage is mayhem. The person, often a young man (or male) needs to get out into the street, join up with like-minded citizens, and blow off some steam. Running is good; throwing objects can also be good. If he sees someone who looks different, and weaker than himself, this would be a God-given opportunity to whup some ass, which can be an exciting group activity. Nothing extinguishes anguish quite like an adrenaline rush. And you know the person getting whupped deserves it, because: weak. If weak living targets are unavailable, inanimate targets may be substituted. Plate glass works; so do flammable objects.

The next stage is looting. Young men and women both can experience this stage. Nothing soothes the pain of injustice like free booty. The more valuable the booty, the more soothing it is.

The next stage is flight. This is where the victim escapes with his or her booty. Being fleet of foot is a definite advantage during this stage. You almost never see people in wheel chairs fleeing with booty.
Assuming that flight was successful, the next stage is inventory. The victim lays out the booty in the peace and quiet of his or her abode and takes a grateful moment to appreciate it. God wants us to appreciate our blessings. Sometimes the person does a rough calculation of the retail value of the booty. Sometimes the inventory moment is shared with those near and dear.

The last stage is acceptance. Not every victim manages to arrive at this stage. Those who do, come to terms with their losses (and gains), and have a chance to consider what they might have done better, such as getting in earlier before all the top-value booty disappeared. Life is full of cost/benefit calculations, and grief is no exception. With acceptance comes the determination to evolve forward.