On April 7, 29-year-old Chamel Abdulkarim posted videos of himself setting the Kimberly-Clark paper facility in Ontario, California, on fire. In the videos, Abdulkarim complains about the low wages he and other workers have to live off of.
“You know, if you’re not going to pay us enough to f*cking live, or afford to live,” Abdulkarim says as he holds a lighter to a bag of toilet paper, “At least pay us not to do this sh*t.” He says this as the bag of paper immediately engulfs in flames. Another angle he films shows a wider shot of multiple fires he started in different places in the warehouse. “All you had to do was pay us enough to live,” Abdulkarim repeats, as the flames and smoke billow to the ceiling. “There goes your inventory.”
Those flames eventually burned through the entire 1.2 million-square-foot warehouse, causing the roof to collapse. Although no one was injured, about 20 employees had to evacuate the center. Because of the publicity, Abdulkarim was quickly identified, and a warrant was issued for his arrest. He was taken into custody the same day and now faces up to 20 years in prison.
Abdulkarim’s videos quickly went viral on social media, and many were shocked by the aftermath. Reactions across different platforms ranged from condemning him for his crime to applauding his actions. The arsonist was criticized for posing a public safety risk, while others paid closer attention to the message in the videos.
Although the way Abdulkarim delivered his message could be criticized, the point itself remains compelling. Many people agree with his sentiment that corporations do not pay their employees “enough to live,” meaning wages are insufficient compared to the current cost of living.
Quasim Rashid, a human rights lawyer, says that Abdulkarim’s complaints are “grounded in a documented, quantifiable, economic reality that billion-dollar corporations and their political allies have worked very hard to keep you from seeing clearly.” In his research, Rashid found that Abdulkarim was a contract worker (not a direct employee of Kimberly-Clark), thus making only around $18 an hour, or $36,000 a year, rather than $23-24 an hour, or about $47,000 a year. In Ontario, California, a single person’s expenses average about $67,200 a year.
The question, then, is not whether the company is capable of paying its workers more. Rashid also found that Kimberly-Clark makes about $2.55 billion in net profit annually, with roughly 38,000 workers. Even if the company paid each worker $20,000 more per year, it would cost $750 million annually, leaving approximately $2 billion in annual profit. These statistics explain the outrage felt by workers like Abdulkarim.
Prosecutors say that Abdulkarim texted a co-worker after the crime, comparing himself to Luigi Mangione, a cult-like figure known for the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione was celebrated as a hero by some because of his message and manifesto about corporate greed in the American healthcare system. His actions garnered significant attention from working-class civilians who felt similarly taken advantage of by health insurance companies.
In a video posted by The Humanist Report, Mike Figueredo features a compilation of reactions to the warehouse fire from Americans who believe that actions like these are effective and could lead to real change. They reason that tangible monetary value is being destroyed. One TikToker in the video, using the username @thegordonnigel, sums it up: “They can’t ignore millions of dollars of products going up in flames.”
Figueredo states that the No Kings protests have resulted in no policy changes. Why? Because they are easier to ignore and perhaps not as effective as they once were. Although such actions are radical and dangerous, some Americans believe the country has reached a point where political action may have to escalate to these levels before any meaningful change occurs.