Entering into the deer woods this fall, I remembered the teachings of one of my Native elders. He taught that early human observers of the natural world relationships between herbivores and carnivores saw elements in animal interactions that benefitted both. The deer taught the wolf cunning, while the wolf taught the deer speed. The hawks and owls taught the rabbit total stillness while the rabbit, in its motionlessness, taught the raptors excellent eyesight. The speedy gazelle herds taught the lion stealth, while the lion taught the gazelles alert observation.
Without human influence, nature balanced out the local populations of herbivores and carnivores by increasing the abundance of herbivores when the population of carnivores was low. That abundance caused an increase in the meat eaters until the plant eaters’ numbers declined. This high and low cycle is still seen today in the wild. Still, one might see the deer, rabbit, and gazelle as “victims.” The violence of their individual deaths would make it easy to do so in modern terms. But everyone has to eat. Originally, “prey” was a concept of gathering food for sustenance needed to live, grow, and reproduce. All participants in the web of life take nourishment from something outside themselves in a continuous cycle of birth and death.
The Latin language added some additional meaning to “praeda,” the root word for prey. In addition to “game hunted,” they added booty of war and plunder of conquest. This was a time when advanced civilizations were warring with each other, not for food, but for riches to benefit the victors. Middle English (1300s) wrote it as “preie” and added something more to the idea of an animal hunted or captured for food. That era added the “capture of souls” to its meaning. This was a spiritual dimension to prey as in Satan devouring souls.
Somewhere along the evolution of the meaning and implications of what we mean by predator and prey, the idea of exchange was dropped off. Old hunter societies had ceremonies to express gratitude for the give-away of animal and plant life so that the people could live. Many communities still practice this ethic. However, dominant social use implies the predator takes with nothing given in exchange. The predator extracts from the victim. Yes, “prey” has become “victim” where something is stripped away with nothing in exchange.
The modern era has brought us new kinds of predation. The concept of “sport” has been added to the foodgathering aspect of hunting. That is exemplified by two commercial organizations promoting the shooting “sports.” “Meat-eaters” and “Bone-Collectors” are two very commercialized organizations. One promotes hunting for food, complete with recipes, while the other is about trophy antlers and horns hanging on the wall. One for sustenance and one for competition and ego.
Predatory lending is known to damage people, but it is allowed in modern times. These unethical companies impose unfair, deceptive, and abusive loan terms on borrowers who are manipulated into loans they can’t afford. Being trapped in a cycle of debt often leads to damaged credit and loss of assets like a home, automobile, and perhaps bankruptcy. These predators victimize people who don’t know about or are unable to participate in normal banking practices with reputable organizations. These profiteers often drain their victims’ “sustenance” to the point of dire poverty and homelessness.
Homelessness is often precipitated when a renter can not make their monthly payment. Large institutional investment companies have bought many low-rent houses. As predators, they have implemented a digital process to issue eviction notices the day after a missed payment. There is no one for the renter to negotiate with. These companies know demand is high for this type of housing, so losing a renter is no problem for the profit margin. With the eviction, the tenant loses any cash held by the landlord and sometimes is further indebted with legal fees.
These “dis-credited” and homeless people are further victimized by another predatory growth industry we hear little about. These are referred to as “extended stay hotels.” Many of these hotels are for legitimate business, travel, and student use. However, there is a darker and very profitable side to this housing model, which I think should be called “predatory housing.” This rental option is the last chance to stay housed for evicted families and individuals. The quarters are often cramped, unmaintained, and more expensive than the previous mortgage or rent payments for these working poor renters. This is a distinctly different experience for the unsuccessful in a capitalist society than for the businessperson or traveler who benefits from capitalism.
I am not anti-capitalism. However, I am aware of “predatory capitalism” when a dynamic system is corrupted by greed and gluttony, producing winners and losers. This becomes something way beyond gathering nutrients from the wilds, farm fields, and grocery stores to live, grow, and reproduce. Predatory capitalism is a legally entrenched system allowing the biggest winners to predate on those with fewer resources. It is literally taking away what some need to thrive, only to stack it on top of an already unbelievably huge pile of modern-day legal war booty. It is a war and an assault on basic humanity and decency.
There are those winners who say that if the “others” would only work harder, make better choices, belong to the right groups, they too could reap rewards. This false belief is often directed at single moms, people of color, immigrants, veterans, and the chronically poor. Blaming these individuals for a predatory system that benefits the few at the expense of many is a grave error and a self-serving oversight. It is equivalent to blaming the rabbit for staying quiet. It is the deer’s fault for not running fast enough. It surely is the fault of the gazelle for living in lion country.
Natural systems contain the mechanisms for self-regulation and balance. Human systems do not automatically balance. Legal attempts at balance are slow and stymied, while extra-legal attempts like sabotage, rebellion, and war are typically long, bloody, and full of revenge. Personal morals and civil ethics directed at humanity, decency, and civil society are much better ways to balance the inequities of any kind. I hope modern-day predators haven’t devoured our nation’s soul.
