Stupid Is As Stupid Does

Dear Forest,

Once again I find your mother’s wisdom applicable to our present day situation. I watched with horror this week the mob rule of London. Thousands had taken to the streets in a destructive rant that lay waste to entire neighborhoods. Commentaries from the thugs tried to place blame on government or “the rich” but I just couldn’t help thinking about their stupidity.

Here they are in a culture that will provide food, clothing and housing whether they labor or not and yet they feel deprived.  It then occurred to me it had nothing to do with their supposed poverty. Notice most of the looting took place at consumer electronic shops not grocery stores. Book stores were untouched.This brings me back to thinking about your mother’s wisdom as expressed in “stupid is as stupid does”. What we are witnessing is a culture of the stupid. Stupid people tend to make poor judgments. There’s a ton of literature on this in the field of Behavioral Economics (Thaler, Richard H. and Hersh M. Shefrin (1981). An Economic Theory of Self-Control, Journal of Political Economy.)   Research shows lack of self control and discipline may be a major factor in crime. Irrational behavior and poor choices cause poverty.  In fact, contrary to the common claim, we find that crime contributes to poverty, not the other way around.

Can it happen here? It can and it has. We have seen these mobs recently on the streets of Philadelphia and Milwaukee, the state capitals of Wisconsin (government union members) and New Jersey (teachers' union) and in the train stations of San Francisco. These aren't protests, they are mob rule by hooligans. They demonstrate the lack of culture, the group think of these individuals. A clear demonstration of individual stupidity. 

Hoping this finds you in good health and spirits.

Your friend,

Gene