As the Chaos Age begins to unfold in earnest I’ve been collecting examples of it.
I like to share them (for laughs and/or insight, or warning) and I like to hear about other instances that qualify. Granted, this is a decidedly subjective standard so when it comes to chronicling manifestations of Chaos my approach is pretty much “I know it when I see it” and it should confound standard expectations or predictions.
I’ve noticed that some examples would fit in the “lol of the day” thread, some would fit in the “WTF? of the day” thread, some in Storming the Gates, some in Resist and Rebel, some in God and Country, and a few fit in several of those at the same time. As such, I figured it might be interesting to collect them as a category unto themselves.
So this thread is intended to be for posting examples of the unexpected and unpredicted and unlikely that can ideally be linked to the way modern civilization functions, it’s size and complexity, the impositions of Order in the context of geopolitics and the Unintended Consequences thereof, and I think you get the idea.
I suppose I could say that what I’m into collecting are mostly examples of Anthropogenic Global Chaos.
But examples regular ol’ Chaos (the mathematical variety) are fine, too. I’m not going to try to impose too much Order on a thread about Chaos because as a longtime student of the Theory I know where that’ll get me…
Anyway, below is an example published yesterday to start off with that is at the same time both a hilarious parody of itself and a horrifying cautionary tale of the price of the end of civility.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/...d-asia-50757383
Pakistan protest: Patients die as lawyers ransack Lahore hospitalThree patients died when hundreds of lawyers attacked a hospital in Lahore during a furious dispute with doctors.
Video showed the lawyers ransacking wards at the cardiac hospital, beating up staff and smashing equipment.
As panic spread, doctors and paramedics hid, leaving patients unattended, including those in a critical state.
…
But the final trigger for the violence appears to have been a video posted on social media by a doctor on Tuesday night in which he poked fun at the lawyers.
I guess the "adulting" trend has yet to reach lawyers (and doctors!) in Pakistan.
According to hospital administrators, more than 200 lawyers wielding sticks stormed Lahore's Punjab Institute of Cardiology (PIC) at midday on Wednesday.
Hospital officials said the lawyers forced their way past security and split into groups, attacking various departments and wards.
Video footage shared on social media showed lawyers - in suits and ties - smashing medical equipment and windows, and beating up staff and officials including Punjab information minister Fayazul Hasan Chauhan who had arrived on the scene to try to restore calm.
So much for the rule of law, eh? If lawyers are tossing it out the window, why the hell should anyone else respect it?
They also stormed the nurses' hostel, breaking furniture and beating some of the staff, an official complaint from the hospital says.
Lawyers also damaged several cars parked outside the hospital and set at least one police van on fire.
Some of the protesters allegedly fired gunshots in the air when riot police intervened.
Fuck the police! We’re ... a mob of armed lawyers?
This story, though tragic, is also a parody of itself. The photos are kind of surreal. It's probably the suits. I wonder who they call when they get arrested? The guy in the cell next to theirs?
^^Super Mario Lawyer there looks almost giddy as he high-steps it outta there. But then rioting is probably quite a rush, I imagine.
Hospital sources said at least three patients - a woman and two men - died because doctors could not attend to them during the violence. It is believed that the woman had been in the intensive care unit.
Fuck EVERYone! We’re lawyers who also happen to be guilty of murder! And as the article mentions, the spark that set this lunacy off was an antisocial-media post that went viral (of course).
But this was interesting/disturbing:
"Pakistanis have been witnesses to violent acts by lawyers for several years now," commented one television anchor on Geo TV on Thursday.
"They have assaulted citizens, attacked policemen, raised their hands on judges and vandalised courts. But yesterday they crossed all limits," she added.
Other commentators said it was a new low for Pakistani society's sinking levels of tolerance which is giving way to mob justice.
I guess the legal “profession” is a little different over yonder, but that comment about intolerance leading to mob justice ought to be food for thought. I sure am glad the U.S. doesn’t have a problem with rising intolerance, which means we’ll never see anything like this happen here… right?
Afrasiab Khattak, a former chairman of the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), tweeted that Pakistan was "caught in a vicious cycle of anarchy and militaristic regimentation".
He added: "Trampling of the constitution, rise of militarisation and lack of tolerance create anarchy, and a typical state response is the deployment of [paramilitary] rangers."
Funny how all that stuff is happening globally at the moment. It’s almost like a set-up for the imposition of Martial Law across the board, which will only grow increasingly likely as examples of environmental and geopolitical Chaos proliferate. So my interest has very practical considerations, e.g., determining when it's time to head for the hills for real, or when to avoid groups of lawyers and such.
I'm looking forward to seeing what y'all find. And I've got a few more examples for adding when time permits.