The New York Times, which for all its failures of the last few years is still the left’s flagship propaganda organ, wants you to know that shoplifting is just fine, as long as you’re doing it for the correct (i.e., leftist) reasons.
Leftists have been justifying theft for so long, they’ve got it down to a science. We were just treated to the spectacle of leftist voters in Virginia voting to disenfranchise and remove representation from fully fifty percent of the state, all in the name of “fairness” and “accountability.” They justify confiscatory tax rates with that same appeal to “fairness.” And now the Times is justifying shoplifting because, you see, it’s really “microlooting,” which is “an act of political protest.” All you have to do is find some name to rebrand some vice, and hey, presto! Now it’s a virtue.
The New York Times article teaching us all about “microlooting” is called “The Rich Don’t Play by the Rules. So Why Should I?” It appeared in Wednesday’s edition, and is an extended discussion between three wealthy leftists: Jia Tolentino, a 37-year-old writer for the New Yorker who, according to the Daily Mail, “owns a stunning $2.2 million brownstone home in Brooklyn” and yet “proudly admitted to shoplifting because she believes it is not ‘morally wrong’ to steal from corporations”; the Times’ Opinion culture editor, Nadja Spiegelman; and Communist gadfly Hasan Piker, who flaunts his considerable wealth at every opportunity.
Their discussion centered upon “why petty theft might be the new political protest.” Spiegelman announces that she is “proposing a new term: Microlooting. People are taking small things from big corporations and they’re feeling justified. But is it a slippery slope? What’s going on with our moral code?”
Oh, pick me, Times! That’s an easy one. What’s going on with our moral code is that self-satisfied leftists are setting it aside for their own convenience and calling immoral actions by different names in order to pretend they are moral.
The most moral man Hasan Piker knows, Hasan Piker, says this about the prospect of stealing from big corporations: “I think it’s cool. We’ve got to get back to cool crimes like that: bank robberies, stealing priceless artifacts, things of that nature. I feel like that’s way cooler than the 7,000th new cryptocurrency scheme that people are engaging in.”
For her part, the millionaire Tolentino cheerfully admitted to being a petty thief, because, you know, capitalism is bad. Asked if she would steal from Whole Foods, Tolentino answers, “Yes. And I have, under very specific circumstances. I will say, I think that stealing from a big box store — I’ll just state my platform — it’s neither very significant as a moral wrong, nor is it significant in any way as protest or direct action. But I did steal from Whole Foods on several occasions.”
Tolentino went on to tell a story about how she once purloined four lemons from Whole Foods, and explains, “At the time, I was like, I had not been to Whole Foods. I had a bit more consumer discipline about where I was spending my money then, and I already felt like I was in the hole, even by shopping there. And it certainly felt, in a utilitarian sense, I was like, this is not a big deal. Right, guys?”
Of course you’re right, Jia. You’re a leftist, and so you think you have the moral high ground no matter what you do. For Tolentino, Piker, and Spiegelman, petty theft is no big deal because the big corporations have plenty of money, and they should be put out of business and their assets redistributed, anyway. Accordingly, Piker says, “I’m pro stealing from big corporations, because they steal quite a bit more from their own workers.”
Related: Rich Capitalist Targeted in Mamdani’s Tax Day Video Is Actually One of the City’s Heroes
So it’s really all about striking back at the corporations and looking forward to the day when they are no more. These rich leftists approve of shoplifting because it’s a small foretaste of that redistribution. Yet Tolentino is aware that, as a leftist, her “microlooting” doesn’t really move society any closer to the socialist system she thinks she wants. “Microlooting,” she says, “it feels akin to posting about something. As an atomized individual action, it’s useless. It’s much harder to get a job and accept $17.50 an hour and then to organize your colleagues, a process that takes years and is often unsuccessful. The thing about actual collective, direct action — it’s so much harder. And it often doesn’t profit you whatsoever.”
It will profit these leftists even less when their criminal comrades — societal criminals, not petty thieves — come to the luxurious residences of Jia Tolentino and Hasan Piker, and show them that they’re not exempt from the redistribution for which they long. Tolentino, Piker, and the rest will discover, to their shock and dismay, that they were The Rich the whole time.
Editor's Note: Do you enjoy PJ Media's patriotic reporting that takes on the radical left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.
Join PJ Media VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member