Makes Me Sick

How many times have you witnessed someone taking advantage of a tragedy or death simply to make a profit? I know that I have. After 9/11, Americans came together to heal and take care of one another. We also brought out our US flags and other patriotic items. Somewhere in the United States, despite the pain that we were all feeling, there was a sick-minded person saying to himself, "It's terrible that 3,000 people died and I'm going to take pride in my country along with every other American. Thank God I own a flag production company. Cha-ching!". I remember all of the commercials on television advertising flags and other patriotic items. This was one of the many disgusting things that I remember about 9/11. However, I remember standing in line to donate blood and seeing the faces of all the potential blood donors willing to endure a needle prick and the feeling of lightheadedness so that others could get the blood that they needed. Many of us got turned away, but it was the willingness to act that gave me hope about people in this country. I also remember dropping out of college only to drive straight down to the recruitment office to sign up for the military. I felt that I needed to do something for my country and going to college wasn't the way to do it. That fell through because of what the recruiter told me about a number of things, but I was proud of myself for wanting to make that choice. I look back now and realize how glad I am that I didn't enlist. There were and are plenty of Americans like me who realize that tragedy calls for people to step up and sacrifice. Which brings me to my main argument.
I happened to be watching a video clip of George Carlin last week and I wanted to find a shirt on Ebay with a quote of his on it. I distinctly remember how many George Carlin items were listed on Ebay at the time...74 total items. Many of you know that The Great Mr. Carlin passed away yesterday and I just happened to take a curious look at Ebay once again. Not to my surprise there were and are now 524 George Carlin items for sale and that doesn't include the hundreds that were purchased with the "Buy It Now" feature. They even have "Remember George Carlin" black ribbons to place on your car or fridge selling for $7 each. Can you see where I'm going with this? People saw an opportunity to make a quick buck and they jumped on it. Is that how we honor a comedic legend like Mr. Carlin? By financially profitting on his death? The people choosing to do this should be ashamed of their actions. I'm all for private businesses and people trying to be successful in life. However, as with situations like this, I oppose certain actions based on something called MORALS. I used to buy tickets to concerts and sell them to other people for a profit. I made a lot of money doing this. However, I came face to face with a man who changed my way of thinking. His name was Chris and he was a happy, upbeat drummer from a great sounding band. We decided to meet up at Starbucks and have a cup of coffee and exchange my two tickets to see The Police for $800 in cash. The two tickets only cost me $385. After sitting down with him and talking about music for roughly an hour we proceeded with the transaction. I gave him the two tickets and he handed over the 40 $20 bills. I shook his hand and he left with the look of pure gratification on his face. He was going to take his son to see the band that he grew up loving and to show his son his inspiration for making and loving music. You can imagine how bad I felt as we both drove home. I soon realized that he could have done all of this for $415 less. I still feel guilty to this day and it was because of him that I have made the decision to never do that purely for financial gain. I have sold tickets to shows that I have been unable to attend for slightly more than what I paid for them (due to calculated interest accrued on my credit card), but that has only happened a few times. Most of the time I sell them for what I paid or much less than what I paid. I have taken more losses than gains and I'm fine with that.
This is why I refuse to work for any business that revolves around sales. Sure, I work at Safeway, but with Safeway it's different. How? Safeway sells food, which is a staple item necessary for living. I am opposed to businesses and people who prey on others for a profit. I know that nearly all of it is legal, but I have a MORAL problem with it. If I can purchase a pair of jeans made by hardworking Americans and not from overworked Chinese/Central American slave labor...I'll do it and I have no problem paying a few dollars more for those jeans. I understand that this is hard for a lot of people to do because of financial problems. I don't hold people who struggle accountable for their actions because if I had to decide whether to pay more for clothes out of pride or feed my family I'd choose the latter and not the former. However, I do blame those who can afford to choose the former over the latter and decide not to.
Most people will step on others, will manipulate information, take advantage of others, and stab someone in the back just to make an extra dollar. I can't embrace or respect that sort of business ethic. I also can't respect people who make a profit off of a tragedy or someone's death, like Mr. George Carlin. There comes a point where "supply and demand" shouldn't matter. They call it a matter of economics, but I call it a matter of moral obligation and respect. Rest in peace Mr. Carlin. I hope you, Richard Pryor, and Bill Hicks are making God smile.