Ghoulish Capitalism

Capitalism, by definition, is the practice of seeing an opportunity, taking advantage of it and then exploiting it for profit. It is the foundation of American economics and the cornerstone of families like the Rockefellers and the DuPonts; first or second generation immigrants, who come from humble beginnings to rise to the top of the American dream. We admire these people for their ability to see an empty space in the demand and come up with a supply. Kudos to them, I say, and I’m certainly not naïve enough to think that they built their businesses without stepping on any toes. However, I think that sometimes the capitalistic infrastructure permits weasels into the hen house.

Fred McChesney is one such weasel. From the Associated Press: “Within hours of the [Virginia Tech] rampage, the Phoenix man began buying dozens of domain names (CampusKillings.com, VirginiaTechMurders.com, SlaughterInVirginia.com) in the hopes of selling them later to the highest bidder.” Even URLs using victims’ names have been purchased by strangers for sale later (at a huge profit), possibly to family members wanting to create an online memorial for their lost loved ones. Can you imagine, as a parent of a murdered child, having to pay to use the name you gave that child in order to create an online homage?

McChesney (and others) claim that it is capitalism, pure and simple. They believe that they are pursuing a victimless endeavor by exploiting victims. McChesney says "What I'm doing is the equivalent of rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, period.” Maybe I’m stupid. Maybe I’m just blinded by the sheer thoughtless audacity of this practice, but I don’t understand what the hell that means. It would seem, in an effort to be clever, he is justifying his actions by cloaking a non sequitur as a rational explanation.

I was talking about this with a friend today, who seemed baffled by my outrage. He likened these actions to a funeral director trying to sell caskets, but again, I didn’t see the parallel. There is a definite need for funeral directors, and fortunately for them, they are in a business that has an endless, guaranteed clientele. Perfect capitalism. But I failed to see how McChesney and his ilk even remotely compare to legitimate funereal businesses. At the very best, these URL sellers are ghouls, victimizing not only the dead, but the living as well.

As I mentioned earlier, I’m sure the Rockefellers and the DuPonts stepped on some toes to build their empires, but part and parcel of the “American Dream” is hard work. In retrospect, the openings they saw seem like gaping holes to us, but there is no doubt in my mind that they attained their goals (and fortunes) by recognizing opportunity and then working hard to make their dreams a reality. McChesney, however, can make no such claim. I can imagine him gleefully snapping up domain names as the tragedy unfolded, slavering over his keyboard with dollar signs in his eyes, utterly unfazed by the senseless carnage from which he hopes to profit. There is no empathy for the victims, only greed, easy money at the expense of another, with no effort whatsoever.

Loyal readers of this blog know that I do not discuss my personal religious beliefs, but in this case, I will make an exception. I hope there is an awful, agonizing, endless hell for people like Fred McChesney. Maybe, before he gets on the elevator going down, he can explain to St. Peter the whole “Titanic deck chairs” thing.

Read the AP story here.