An interesting recent phenomenon which has been all over social media began around Labor Day after the restaurant chain Popeye's introduced a new chicken sandwich. It became hugely popular; and the company sold out completely of its stock in chicken within a matter of weeks. What's happened since has been complete chaos. In Houston, a group of people stormed a restaurant, one brandishing a gun, when notified of that the chicken sandwich was sold out.
"He could have shot someone behind a chicken sandwich," a neighbor told KTRK, "Somebody could have lost their life because they ran out of chicken sandwiches."
Popeye's brought back the sandwich this week; and the same long lines and associated violence came back. Unlike the Houston incident, somebody actually was murdered in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside the DC Beltway. WRC reported that a 28 year-old man was stabbed to death after an argument broke out over someone's place in line. The suspect is still at large.
“Knowing these details and knowing what happened here and knowing that a life was taken, it is hard to put into words; I can’t find the right words, to describe what this man did to this innocent victim,” police spokeswoman Jennifer Donelan said.
Readers in the Washington, D.C. Metro Area can call the Prince George's County Sheriff at 301-780-8600 if they have any information. Talk about a completely stupid act. When they catch this dirtbag, he'll be eating those notoriously delectable cuisines offered by the Maryland Correctional System for the foreseeable future. One would think that such a senseless act would cause people to pause and think, but apparently not. Social Media is showing footage of another fight in Maryland and another in San Antonio just in the last few days.
And in the time-honored tradition of American Trash Culture, some aren't letting a good crisis go to waste. One employee at a Los Angeles Popeye's was beaten today by his co-workers after getting caught selling the sandwiches on the side for a profit. And, sure enough, the shyster lawyers are getting into the act. One Craig Barr of Chattanooga is suing Popeye's claiming that he was traumatized by the restaurant chain's earlier chicken shortage.
"It's totally deceptive. Who runs out of chicken? It's a big fiasco. Someone has to stand up to big corporate," Barr squawked to the MSM, "Everyone is captivated by these sandwiches. They've got everyone gassed up on them."
Barr is an example of a type that contrasts with the others in that what he's doing is at least comprehensible. He's motivated by greed and opportunism. But these others? What motivates them? They don't gain anything by any of this. What's their goal? To sit in jail and brag to the other inmates that they ate at Popeye's?
I don't believe that there is an actual goal to any of this violence. The people who stand in line for hours are just out to be where everyone else is. The violent ones are the ones who are just mad and looking for a crowd to go lash out on. Sort of like the mass-shooters on a smaller scale or like Antifa on a larger one. Popeye's has issued a statement to the effect that while they condemn the violence, there's really not much they can do about people's behavior. Actually, I have to agree with a big corporation for a change. It's really up to communities to sort this out. In Los Angeles this week, the drive-thru lane at the Popeye's on LaBrea and Jefferson nearly caused a traffic jam; but police came and directed traffic. Plus their presence probably discouraged any violence, so things went smoothly there.
Earlier generations of politicians used to say that "you can't legislate against stupidity." But during outbreaks of it, communities can and should at least protect the rest of us from the consequences of it. Better still, just ignore the long lines, make some Popeye's chicken at home, and invite your friends.
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