Real Life Beats Shakespeare's Tragic Irony

"The key to a happier world is the growth of compassion. We do not need to become religious, nor do we need to believe in an ideology. All that is necessary is for each of us to develop our good human qualities."--The Dalai Lama

How appropriate I came across this quote as I recently read a story about a little girl in China being hit by two trucks and having no less than 18 people heartlessly passing by her before a scrap peddler lady pulled her off the street.

This tragic story demonstrates the ills of humans on so many levels.
1) How are you going to pass a completely helpless human being, without a soul in sight to help her, and pretend like you didn't even see them? She's paralyzed, lying in the middle of the street. She...was...fucking...run...over. By a truck. A two year old. What if it was your kid? Would you pay attention then?
2) How are you going to sit behind your computer, like the asshole coward you are, and post shit things like this woman only saved the child because she wanted to gain financially from doing it? WOW, masters of cynicism, where are you? You guys have got the act down, perfect 10. Don't hide like a coward behind a computer screen posting disgusting comments like that. Not only would you never, NEVER have the balls to commit a courageous act like that, you probably don't have balls, period. They probably were cut off and shoved into your mouth and that's why you're so bitter.
3) When did it become human nature to do a cost-benefit analysis before helping someone desperately in need?

Some arguments have been brought in that I think are just bullshit.
1) Lack of a "good samaritan" law that protects rescuers, because in China there have been incidents where people passing by tried to help old ladies who had fallen and then later got sued because the victim accused them of causing the injury. Because of these incidents people in China are hesitant to help others in need for fear they might get their asses sued.
2) This utilitarian culture that has been pervasive in China since the onset of economic reforms. Values that teach people to pursue pure material gain and take on a utilitarian mindset. Everything is cost-benefit. There is no such thing as altruism. In fact, it's considered a sign of weakness.
I don't deny the two are complicating factors. But when it comes down to it, I can't imagine any mentality as an alternative to instinctively wanting to help a person you see who desperately, unequivocally, absolutely needs your help. If they don't get your help, they will die. If that's not enough for you to intervene, then what is? Don't give bullshit reasons. Either do the right thing, or don't. This is a basic decision that should appeal to your conscience if you are HUMAN. Not if you are Chinese or American. If. you. are. human.

Wow, shit. New low. My faith in humankind to do the most basic, decent thing like save a badly injured, helpless 2 year old toddler can't even be satisfied. Each time I think I discover the rock bottom of the dark side of humankind, nope. It has this ever-expanding quality, like the universe. Just...shit.

Yup.

The Incredible Shrinking Middle Class and Lost Gen-Ys

 

I saw these pictures on my FB newsfeed by two different friends.
 
I finished reading Robert Reich's Aftershock. The main issue he addresses in this book has been on my mind lately, as I watch what's been happening politically and economically in this country. It's a good read that provides an overlooked perspective on why the American economy sucks right now. I'm going to do the book a disservice by giving this overly simple summary, but basically the gist of the argument is that this economic mess was not created by Americans living beyond their means because they had unbridled access to credit (this part I might partially have to disagree with), but because of the widening socioeconomic inequality that has been going on in this country for the past few decades. For the average American worker, wages have increased little, even flatlining, while productivity in the workplace has increased due largely to improvements in technology. Increased productivity benefits CEOs and the companies they run, but not necessarily American workers for the reason stated above. In order to fulfill higher costs of living and counter stagnant wages, Americans spend more time working. Unchanging wages+higher costs of living=Americans saving less to buy a middle class lifestyle. Credit plays a role in this by making things seem more affordable and by creating an illusion of wealth. In 2008 when housing prices began to first level out, then decline, many Americans came to realize they were screwed because families had refinanced their homes in order to gain access to more credit. So now not only did they have mortgage debt, they had consumer debt. And for many people, the most valuable asset--their house--was now worth much, much less. But this entire dynamic is a symptom of the true root of our economic problems, and not the cause. The cause is a set of policies that have come to favor the rich while ignoring, even putting the middle and lower classes, at an economic disadvantage.

We seem to be a society favoring patterns of divergence, and by that I mean not only has our political system come under stress from two increasingly divided ideological camps that have less and less to agree on, our society is splitting off into two groups of haves and have-nots. We resemble an hourglass--the rich people at the top are becoming richer, the poor people at the bottom becoming poorer, and the middle class moving into one of these two categories. Unfortunately, moving downward seems to be a more likely scenario.

The American dream is a joke. I'm very disturbed to see how increasingly difficult it has become for people to make a decent living in this country. We work longer hours, but more and more people hate their jobs. It's almost an anomaly nowadays to find someone who can tolerate their job, let alone like it. We are an anti-middle class country. Look at all this backlash against the public sector and unions. Unions are organizations that are supposed to provide protection to the average working man, yet we allow politicians to dismantle them. Private sector employees shouldn't be looking at the public sector and complaining that people in this sector have overly robust benefits. The private sector should be demanding these types of benefits. We can't have what they have, so they shouldn't have it? Politicians are trying to eliminate social programs where the middle class are the largest group of recipients and prolonging regressive tax policies, like the estate tax, which benefit wealthy Americans. (Reich) Big companies like Procter and Gamble are beginning to develop products and marketing strategies aimed at the upper class because it realizes the middle class--traditionally the most voracious consumers of their products--cannot afford to spend anymore. I'm not lying. This was published in a Wall Street Journal special report, which I didn't read because I would have had to pay for it.

Doesn't this make you shake your head? I think it's wrong to think that as long as you're doing ok then you shouldn't be discontent. It's very dangerous to live in an inequitable society. Countries with high levels of inequality are often the most unstable and violent. This is not about altruism. Even thinking about it in the most self-interested terms, you can't enjoy your own wealth when you're constantly fearful about the angry poor. They will break down your doors, revolt, and cause massive instability. So even if you don't care about the have-nots--maybe you even feel they deserve to be where they are--be discontent. Be discontent that you live in a society where the poor are severely disenfranchised and downtrodden, and the rich live unflinchingly, unsympathetically, in their own little champagne and yacht-filled bubble. If you are the only one well off, then what does it matter? 

It's tough to be optimistic, living in a society like this. I try to tell myself it's not hard to be happy, but I guess you can only be happy if your own situation is good and you ignore much of whatever else is going on around you. I'm worried for my generation. We're lost on so many levels, and I think in the long run this economic downturn is going to hit us most adversely. When the debt piles up to a point where we can't not pay it back anymore. When we won't be able to access the sad safety net we call Social Security because we spent our tax dollars paying for the Baby Boomer generation to use it and have nothing left for ourselves. When living with our parents is no longer an option and we're dissatisfied with where we are in life, thinking we would be much bigger than what we've become.

I don't really know what the fix-all to all this is. There probably isn't one. But I can't stop thinking about it.

It Could Happen

Brian:  scenario

obama gets nothing done

dismal unemployment until re-election

republican takes both office, house, and senate

dooms day scenario where everyone just gets poorer besides the republicans

likely?

Conflict

Have you ever been to an animal shelter? If you have any place in your heart for dogs (and even cats), it's a jarring experience. The smell, the pairs of eyes behind wired pens--pleading, imploring, hostile, hurt, desperate, confused--the whines, the barks. I almost wish they would be euthanized soon so they don't have to go through crests and troughs of hope when a human walks by, thinking this might be the one to save them, that they might be adopted and be able to leave this hellhole, only to be disappointed because they are deemed too big, too furry, too ugly, too old, too whatever else that makes them unattractive, to be adopted.

I hate that place. I only went there a few times with my mom in the hopes that we might be able to rescue one. Nina might not have died so much in vain if the reason was to save another canine's life.

Ugh. Now I'm disgusted with what I'm doing. I'm looking through listings of purebred miniature pinschers because my dad can't find a pet at the shelter that satisfies all his requirements. I don't understand his fixation on finding a doppelganger Nina. Does he really like min pins? Or he really liked Nina and misses her so much he's pinning his fondness for her on one who can replace her and fill the missing pet gap? There are so many poor strays at the shelter who are going to be euthanized in days' time and we're looking for purebred min pins online that cost hundreds of dollars.

Sigh.

Oslo, Norway

Norway suspect described as right-wing Christian; death toll hits 91 - latimes.com

Even post-modern societies are not safe nowadays.

Blame the gun, or blame the individual? Norway has pretty regulated, though not restrictive, gun control laws. Maybe nothing would have stopped this right-wing nut from committing such atrocious crimes, even without a gun. Either way what a sad, sad story. My thoughts are with you, Norway.

Food, Friends, and Famine

My friend Jessica bought me enough tea to last a year. So happy.


We also had the most delicious Farmer's market dinner tonight at Auntie Em's in Eagle Rock where Jess used to work. Everything was so fresh and beautiful. Paired all dishes with a bottle of cabernet sauvignon and it was the perfect meal with lovely company. Speaking of which, I feel absolutely guilty about my friendship with Jess...in the sense that it's so unbalanced. She puts in so much more than I do. Take tonight's meal for example. I know she's been planning it for weeks because she asked me a long while ago if I would be free tonight. And then I went on Auntie Em's website to read more about the Farmer's market dinner and I saw that it was 45 dollars a person. Oh my goodness. Not that I put a price tag on friendship, but I just feel bad when people spend so much money on me. The fact that it's to celebrate a birthday doesn't alleviate that. And then I made the stupidest mistake today by saying her birthday was in October...when it's really in SEPTEMBER. I wanted to crawl under the table and hide when I did that.
I need to be a better friend.

Peach+heirloom tomato+burrata cheese salad. I love tomatoes, so this was a no-brainer for me. Love!

Yummy, yummy, yummy cheeses. I LOVE CHEESE. Especially goat cheese. Those square blocks on the far left were my favorite. It was a classic blue log goat cheese from Wisconsin. I ate it and went to goat cheese heaven.

Peach and pluot shortcakes with creme anglaise and fresh vanilla bean whipped cream.

Miscellaneous stuff that's been on my mind:
I didn't know there was such a thing as a pluot until tonight. They're not very sweet by themselves, if you're into that. I prefer a nice juicy peach or apricot.

Google Labs is being slowly shut down so Google can focus more on a few projects (ahem, Google+) and make them better as opposed to staying in an experimental stage where they are throwing everything at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Famine in Somalia. There's a severe, severe food shortage crisis that's been ongoing in Somalia. It was really bad in 1992 and 1993. The US began sending aid then, but cut it off after the Black Hawk incident. I wonder if it's because of natural conditions like drought, and hence less food production, that are contributing to the food crisis, or if the distribution is characterized by gross injustice. I post all these pictures of the food I ate tonight, so full in my belly I was going to burst, and then I think about this. There's a lot of self-contempt involved in my thinking process, but I'll have to save that for another post. Sigh.

Is Michele Bachmann's husband gay?

I should go to sleep. Every night this past week I've been telling myself to sleep by 1 AM but of course, I fail. Then I don't wake up until 10 the next morning and the vicious cycle continues...

Well That's Not Good

I was walking along in Little Tokyo today when I came across a man who offered to give me a poem in exchange for some lunch money. For a dollar, my day managed to go from a-ok to plain depressing.

No Soul

This life is so pathetic
Tragic existence
Necessary persistence of fate
And waiting for our own soul to transcend
whatever was never known.
We grow into the realm of truth
awaiting the youth of our infamy
For what is poetic infamy
is what is no match for reality
and still I see no future for the soul.

--Kenneth Towler

It also made me wonder what an intellectual like him was doing depending on the assistance of others. Whatever the reason, his personal journey must have been fraught with hardship and pain. The tragic point about education is that the more you know, the more you see for yourself what is wrong with the world. The suffering--other people's as well as your own--becomes even more distinguished and poignant.

I would put this in another post, but out of convenience I'm just going to discuss it here. I had a scary and vivid dream about being involved in an explosion. Not that I know what that feeling of sheer terror is like, nor would I ever hope to know, but I felt like my body was numb and my face had fallen off. I know the imagery is disturbing, but that's the only term I could actually use to describe the entire dream.

Smart City

Getting a good vibe from DC so far. It's "East-Coast-y," with tasteful buildings, sufficiently friendly people, and just enough hustle and bustle for an urban center. I was sitting at a bench on the National Mall today, semi-self consciously looking at my map like the clueless tourist I was, when the man next to me handed me the copy of his map and said it was much better because it contained all the landmarks. We struck up a nice jovial conversation that lasted for a while. He was from Israel on half business, half pleasure in DC, a city he had been to 10 times. No introductions, no pretentiousness, no ulterior motive. Just a nice chat. At times I forgot my current job prospects were not here, but 1.5 hours away by train. If Wilmington turns out to be a mini-DC of sorts, I wouldn't mind at all.

When I've been in my hotel room the channel is set to CNN, because that's what comes on when I first turn on the TV and I just need some background noise so I don't bother channel-surfing. I'm entrenched in the depression and tragedy that is the Japan earthquake/tsunami. Non-stop coverage. How are Japanese people so resilient? As their homes and belongings and loved ones and essentially, lives, are washed away, they queue in line for gas and the convenience store like it's just another really long line that can't be helped. My dad told me way before this happened, that if a huge quake ever hit Japan, you would never see chaos break out, because this society possessed the utmost civility and we would see things unfold in an orderly way. Spot on.

An Insightful Faith-Based Argument, Sendai

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/rabbi-adam-jacobs/a-reasonable-argument-for_b_831185.html

Interesting argument by the rabbi. I usually tune myself out to faith-based arguments since they tend to make me not believe rather than believe, but this piece points to the teetering foundation of faith upon which science is based. We believe in the legitimacy of science not because it is grounded in concrete and naturalistic principles (which in many cases it is not, precisely because there is no foreseeable 'beginning' rooted in testable, prove-able conjectures), but because we believe in the value and superiority of a theoretical framework created by us, man, to explain the world around us. And in doing so, we have taken a leap of faith. Makes you think.

In either case, definitely a more convincing argument than Bill O'Reilly's.


God or not, we are at the mercy of Mother Nature. She may be the most powerful of all. And I'm praying she has mercy on Japan.

Tragedies like this make me wonder why humans bicker and fight with each other and are willing to take each other's lives for petty reasons. Because when a 40-foot tsunami wave washes away your life in a matter of seconds, nothing else fucking matters.

No Words

5. That's the number of articles that come up in a New York Times news search when I type in 'Pakistan'. Pitiful. Embarrassed to admit it myself, I only vaguely remember a flood happening in some part of the world recently. But the floods that have hit Pakistan this time have left 20 million people homeless, 1 in 8 people being impacted. I didn't realize the magnitude of the disaster until I googled it myself. Even then coverage of it on news channels was nothing but sad. Donations have been paltry, not hitting half--actually not even one fourth--of the assistance that was given to Haiti. Are there so many of us now that the easiest thing to do when other fellow humans are suffering is to turn a blind eye? Or not even know that it happened?

Huffington Post blog on the Pakistan floods:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/parvez-ahmed/urgency-and-creativity-ne_b_706620.html

If pictures are worth a thousand words let this be a sobering reminder:
http://niceguycordero.tumblr.com/post/1093467526/karmahasutra-yes-those-babies-are-lying-on

Sadly I think the last time people genuinely felt the most compassion for each other was when we were still living in hunter-gatherer tribes and what was more important were our commonalities with one another, rather than our differences.

The World...where's it going?

Earthquakes.
Sweatshop labor.
Suicides.
War and innocent civilians.
Budget cuts in the UC system...both my undergrad majors are now defunct.
Nietzsche.

Just a few of the things getting me down this week.

Haiti

When nature strikes, it forsakes no one. Hoping for the people of Haiti's survival and revival. I can't help but think, Los Angeles is on a fault line similar to Haiti's. What if something this devastating was to strike our city as well? God forbid.
I am thinking of and praying for you Haiti.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/15/world/americas/15haiti.html?hp

Text 'Haiti' to 90999 to donate $10 for the relief effort.
Or donate here. http://www.yele.org/