Warehouse employee, Chamel Abdulkarim, was arrested on suspicion of arson after a massive fire destroyed a Kimberly-Clark toilet paper distribution center in Ontario, CA, that is operated by NFI Industries. Authorities allege the blaze was intentionally set by Abdulkarimem, and video footage showing someone lighting the fire has since gone viral.
The video doesn’t show the suspect’s face. Only a voice and choice of words that I believe display a sentiment that is resonating with many Americans, and reveal the apparent “why” that’s sparking debates: “all you had to do was pay us enough to live.”
Every day I get on the internet, and the masses remind me that some of you would’ve told the Gestapo exactly where Anne Frank was hiding. You would’ve taken the brick away from Marsha P. Johnson, and you’re the same ones who are more concerned about the looted businesses than the person lying in the street who was unjustly killed by law enforcement. As if politely asking for change is how we’ve historically made strides in this country.
Arson Is a Crime…But So Is Wage Theft
Luckily, no one working at the time of the fire was hurt, and no deaths have been reported. According to the FBI’s Data Explorer, from 2022 to 2024, there were a total of 204,976 arson offenses. Yet the rate of arson offenses has slightly decreased each year. On the other hand, $1.5 billion in stolen wages were recovered for workers from 2021 to 2023 by the U.S. Department of Labor, state agencies, and class action litigation.
98% of low-wage, private-sector, nonunion workers do not file a claim when their wages are stolen, and since federal law does not require employers to provide workers with regular pay stubs, workers may not even know they are experiencing wage theft.
When you combine this with the overwhelming amount of jobs being cut, and the minimum wage still sitting at $7.25 an hour, history shows that this can create the perfect fire. It feels unjust that the frustrations that lead an underpaid worker of NFI Industries to take matters into their own hands are what are condemned by our justice system, and not the corporation that generates $3.7 billion in annual revenue, but pays warehouse employees $19-21 an hour.
History Repeats Itself
I don’t know if I can call this fire a revolutionary act, but I can say that the warehouse has been declared a total loss, along with the inventory it held. Damage estimates range from $156 million to $200 million. I can’t help but compare it to The Boston Tea Party. 340 chests of British East India Company tea were smashed open with axes and dumped into Boston Harbor the night of December 16, 1773.
The damage caused by destroying 340 chests of tea, in today’s money, was worth more than $1.7 million. A very costly blow to the British. But to colonialists, being taxed by a power overseas threatened their independence and right to consent.
Those who seem to understand the motivation, but condemn the act, would be in the same company as founding father, Benjamin Franklin, who sent a letter to Patriot leaders in Boston advising them to repay the East India Company for the destroyed tea.
“I am truly concern’d, as I believe all considerate Men are with you, that there should seem to any a Necessity for carrying Matters to such Extremity, as, in a Dispute about Publick Rights, to destroy private Property.” – Benjamin Franklin
Capitalism is the foundation of this country. Even Franklin seemed more concerned about the destruction of property than about the sentiments of the American people. Capitalism teaches us to keep our heads down, and if you have any sort of resentment towards how things are run in your country, find a “sensible” way to voice your anger.
However, if property or inventory are the only things that seem to matter in a capitalistic system, wouldn’t the destruction of those things be the proper way to let the powers that be know that enough is enough?
