Ice and Vice

After being financially distressed for the better part of two years, I developed the habit of eating ice. I already deal with iron issues, but the main reason I chewed on ice is because I needed a sense of control when things were falling apart around me. Winter Storm Uri was highly distressing, and there was little I could do to handle it, but when I started chewing ice, I felt like I was in control of something. This habit continued while going on my scouting trip to Europe, and I noticed that I was able to consistently get ice in two places: coffee dispensaries and bars, both of which remain socially acceptable addictions.

When the government or the environment is collapsing, there is very little that individuals can do, and we are forced to contend with our own powerlessness. Addiction is, by definition, unhealthy, but the main reason that people develop any addiction is to have a coping strategy against the unbearable. In the United States, there is quite a bit that is currently–or will soon become–unbearable, from the cost of living to the fact that jobs no longer pay enough to save or retire. To cope with the malicious chaos thrown to those with the fewest resources, there will likely be a widespread rise in addictions, and more people will be looking to feed than resist them, especially since the chaos is intentional.

Hopefully, over the next few years, people will develop a deeper understanding of how uncontrollable circumstances lead to coping by any means necessary. Community building is possible, but as we have been programmed to be wildly individualistic, people will first work to see if there is a vice that can eliminate the pain of everything crashing around them. My hope is that people’s vices will be as relatively benign as mine is, but with rising violence there is no guarantee. We will surely deal with a number of different strategies as those who care nothing for humanity are given charge of all of it.