python code just "stops" when attempting and insert

I have a sequence of code that iterates over a collection of data, writing 
subsections into different oracle tables.
For some reason, the process is now intermittently locking up when it 
attempts to insert a new record.

pseudo code for the issue is:

try:
  insert into the table with data;
  record the returned id;
except:
  query the table for the matching data;
  record the returned id;

The exception would be thrown if the record already exists, due to Oracle 
unique indices.

Even when running the python code (2.7) via a debug session in eclipse, 
the process will just hang and cannot be interrupted to examine the 
failure, only terminated.

The process has previously worked fine against the original Oracle 12 
database, but this problem seems to have arisen against a cloned VM.


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