OPINION / VIEWPOINT
LA train thefts: The US is degenerating into a Third World country
Published: Jan 17, 2022 09:34 PM
An aerial image from January 16, 2022 shows law enforcement officers as they keep watch (R) over railroad workers repairing a section of Union Pacific train tracks after a train derailed from the tracks, which are littered with thousands of opened boxes and packages stolen from cargo shipping containers targeted by thieves as the trains stop in downtown Los Angeles, California on January 16, 2022. AFP

An aerial image from January 16, 2022 shows law enforcement officers as they keep watch (R) over railroad workers repairing a section of Union Pacific train tracks after a train derailed from the tracks, which are littered with thousands of opened boxes and packages stolen from cargo shipping containers targeted by thieves as the trains stop in downtown Los Angeles, California on January 16, 2022. AFP


An old, dusty freight train strewn with graffiti slowly crosses the frame. The camera pans down, and all you can see is trash. Cardboard boxes and shredded packages are scattered all over the place. A video of the scene recently went viral on social media. You might think this happened in some poor developing country. But, no, it actually took place in Los Angeles County, one of the most developed areas of the US.

According to CNN, this shocking scene is the aftermath of "a dramatic spike in railroad theft" in Los Angeles. These thieves looted packages from freight trains, leaving thousands of gutted boxes discarded on the railway.

Los Angeles, needless to say, is one of the biggest metropolises in the world. But even a place so developed has to deal with issues like this. This is quite embarrassing. However, what is even more embarrassing is that what happened in Los Angeles is actually a thumbnail sketch of the problems that exist throughout American society.

The incident proves there's a crisis facing the US government's governance. Railroad company Union Pacific, one of the victims of the chaos, is urging Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón to reconsider his special directive in December 2020 that some specific misdemeanor charges could be dismissed. The directive was intended to combat social ills that come from misdemeanor convictions, as CNN reported.

But in my opinion, this is clearly an excuse. The most likely scenario is that Los Angeles does not have enough resources to maintain law and order, so local authorities have to give up the attention on misdemeanor cases to focus on other more important issues. 

This is the same logic behind the US' policy to manage the COVID-19 epidemic: the country has to adopt a looser strategy in the face of medical resources scarcity.

This type of indulgence in misdemeanors is quite dangerous. It has inevitably led to the increase of such cases, some of them with the potential to escalate into more serious crimes. In the long run, this undermines the US legal system, resulting in instability of society and a loss of people's confidence in the society. 

Moreover, what happened in Los Angeles reflects the employment crisis in the US, especially for people of ethnic minorities.

As we all know, poverty is the root cause of many crimes. There is a large gap between rich and poor in the US. As the epidemic gets worse, the gap is widening. It's unlikely there will be a drop in the crime rate unless the issue of poverty is addressed.

Traditional industries like manufacturing are pretty much dead in the US. For many Americans, if they want to earn high salaries, they need to work in high-tech or finance sectors. But these spheres all require a good education, so undereducated people will likely still be paid less.

Los Angeles County has a large Hispanic population, it can be said that many people there are either working with a low wage or are even unemployed. Some of these poor people could threaten social stability, especially when the cost of committing a crime becomes lower and the lure of possible material gains from crime becomes greater.

Nevertheless, the systematic problems in the US are difficult to deal with, especially with the bipartisan struggles in which both parties constantly pass the buck to one another. This has made it almost impossible for US society to reach an agreement on anything. Biden's failed Build Back Better plan is just one example.

In many ways, the US is degenerating into a Third World country, and is even worse off than many developing countries in some respects. This is clearly exemplified in Washington's horrible response to the COVID-19 epidemic. What is even more frightening is that many countries look up to the US and see it as a beacon, given its dominant position in the world. Thus, the US has actually set a very bad example for the world by mishandling its own issues. The beacon of the US is fading, and it is only a matter of time before it completely goes out.

The author is a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn