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Maybe you've heard the saying before, 'Idle hands are the devil's plaything.' Or something like that. Grew up down south, buckle of the Bible Belt, where if you listen to the wrong (right?) people, there were few things that WEREN'T the devil's plaything. This one stuck in memory though, because it actually makes sense.
Maybe you grew up with one of those hippie uncles, the one your parents would always talk about in hushed tones when they thought you weren't around, though really they wanted you to only think you weren't supposed to hear because they actually wanted you to learn that living THAT way was unacceptable.
That was a mouthful. Keyboardful. Whatever.
Anyway, maybe you had an uncle like that. Maybe he hit the eggnog pretty solidly one Thanksgiving and starting rambling about how he'd managed to avoid being pinned down and controlled by The Man unlike all the other sheeple in his family. Maybe you cried yourself to sleep after learning your parents could have screamfights with their brother just like you and your brothers and sisters did.
Maybe that was just me. But I digress. Point is, maybe there's a bit to what he had to say. And maybe he was also proof that the old adage we started with had some truth to it as well.
People with jobs, especially in a time of crisis, are too busy doing said jobs, too busy providing for themselves and/or their loved ones to stir up much trouble. Now, should these selfsame people be lacking in employment, well then.
Hadn't been paying much attention before, too focused on my own personal issues and problems. But it's getting to the point where it's starting to seep through my self-absorbed fog. People milling about the streets, the apartment complexes, shuffling, varying levels of furtiveness. The increase in both number and intensity of the glances at my wallet and my person when I'm able to buy my choice of the week's groceries.
Maybe it's just in my head. I mean, I mention it tonight because they mentioned it tonight on the news. Unemployment still sky-high, desperation reaching similar levels. Unemployment centers overwhelmed. Government programs unable to keep up. Situation unlikely to improve. People unable to make payments.
So many "un-"s.
As we get more and more removed from the attacks themselves and things enter a new sort of consistency, the sense of community and fear of a greater evil both dissipate. In its stead comes a more personal fear, the individual's self-preserving fear. At least, that's what I assume. Fortunately, this is merely an academic study for me. I'm one of the lucky ones.
Relatively speaking.
Still, it's nearing the point where I have to shoulder my way through the downtown streets, watch my step for loungers on the sidewalk, and feel a growing need to keep assuring myself my wallet's still in my pocket.
In potentially related news, curfew starts tomorrow. Don't forget, yeah?
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