Burn, Chicago, Burn!
They tore up in Chicago, y’all — for realz!
I just rolled through Chicago visiting my bestie. They live in Magnificent Mile, a part of the city that’s pretty exclusive. There’s a park right across the street my friend house and a really pretty fresh looking historic building. There was homeless people camped out in the park, but the people bringing they dogs to run off leash (against the law) ain’t seem to mind. They got they own code going so nobody is calling the cops on nobody.
I went out to find some oat milk figuring that would be simple in a neighborhood where you can buy a Aston Martin. I noticed a lot of shit was boarded up. I figure COVID out a lot o’ mo’ fo’s out of business but this was spooky AF. Magnificent Mile is like Chicago Park Avenue with Prada and Louis Vuitton and all that kinda shit that impress some people but I think is a sad sign of values turned upside-down. Anyway, all that shit was boarded up and looked like out of business.
Turned out they’d showed they asses in Chicago and looted the mess out this nice little quiet enclave of wealth. A woman walks up to me in the street and was like “Did they get Chanel?” looking like she just walked out of war-torn Beirut. I’m thinking “How the fuck do I look like I know?” I sure as fuck don’t shop at Chanel and would be hard pressed to believe I look like somebody who does. I was featuring my grey plaid kilt and a v-neck black t, but even my fashionable ass don’t scream Chanel.
So, here’s the problem. People mad as hell and wanna act out, so they run up and down Mag Mile smashing windows and snatching $100,000 necklaces out displays. I don’t think they really trying to make a statement, but I’ll give bitches the benefit of the doubt. To be honest, fuck Chanel. Chanel is part of a system that mobilizes people in the West to buy shit made by exploited people (in and from impoverished countries) in the mass accumulation of wealth on a planet of dwindling resources. Chanel is the friggin’ devil as far as I’m concerned.
The trouble is, looting Chanel sends a message that the people doing the looting think the answer is having that shit. That’s messed up. If people really wanted to send a powerful message, they would show up in Magnificent Mile with giant posters of the exploited workers who make all the high-end shit rich people buy to feel luxurious. Show them the life-threatening conditions people work in. Show them the impact on the planet and countless species on earth providing the stripped resources and fuel usage to produce them. Instead of engaging in violence, hold up the mirror that shows people what real violence looks like.
Y’all know what I’m talking about.
