Greed, glorious greed

ON Oct 15, my husband returned from a Deepavali lunch with disgust written all over his face.

The lunch was a fiasco. There were many uninvited guests who came, ate, and packed food to take away. There was a shortage of food when the invited guests turned up, much to the chagrin of the host. And there was also a lot of food wasted by those who took too much onto their plates.

I think this is a common scenario at most buffets. People have the notion that they must get their money’s worth, so they gorge themselves with food. I am always bewildered by such a crass display of greed.

Greed was dramatised earlier in the month, too, as Sunday Star highlighted on Oct 1. A fridge outside a cake shop in Butterworth, Penang, kept the poor and needy fed. However, greedy people, like vultures, began to clear all the food from it. Even locking the fridge did not deter the pilferers. Finally, they smashed the glass door and emptied the fridge. Greed has smothered the spirit of love and generosity that had fuelled this well-meaning project.

This form of greed often rears its ugly head whenever disasters occur. Unscrupulous people seize opportunities to loot shops and supermarkets. Have they no sense of ethics or have their consciences been seared with a hot iron?

We must take our hats off to the Japanese with their culture of discipline and dignity. During the 2011 meltdown of the nuclear plant in Fukushima, the reaction of citizens in the stricken city won the praise and the admiration of people around the world. They lined up to receive relief. They showed love and compassion to one another. In their moment of adversity they displayed courage and resilience. There was no looting of shops or supermarkets at all.

How people react to a major crisis or calamity testifies to their character and moral fibre. And how they behave at a buffet says much, too!

Loke Siew Hing Island Park, Penang