Back in the 1970's, a famous experiment was conducted in which a large number of rats were placed in a big "rat house" and allowed to over-populate. The results were quite startling. What was found was that aggression levels and general anti-social behaviors became the norm. Where at first the occupants assisted each other to survive and performed acts that benefited the colony, when the population reached high levels, it became every rat for themselves. Then the colony collapsed and they all died. How do this apply to Humans? We are starting to see behavior like the results from this famous experiment in places with large human populations. With the expected rise of the world population to well over 8 billion in the next decade, this could be a bad sign.
We are seeing more instances of the general public performing outstanding cases of neglect and abuse. Whether this is a new thing or a result of increased media coverage is still unknown. On June 19th, a woman passed out and died in a King's County hospital waiting room, in full view of the hospital staff. Video caught her convulsing on the floor for at least 45 minutes before anyone stopped to help her. This story is simply one of many. Add to this the stories of pregnant women being killed for their babies, and other assorted vileness. It makes you wonder if any is connected or related to the rats in the collapsed colony. Are we all just rats in a large colony that is beginning to show signs of over-crowding?
The experiment's results are waiting to be seen...
1 comment:
And some of us can't find themselves even now...
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