November 17, 2011
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Occupied Flaws
Yes I know that these protesters are all acting against the uber-capitalism of this world, against the bankers who seem to be making money for themselves even when the corporations are making a loss, needing bail outs from the government which means higher taxes (poor Americans, not used to higher tax!) and more loans putting even more pressure on an already fragile economy, but isn’t it slightly ironic that in this time when the country that brought the world capitalism is heading towards a more socialist phase, one of the most traditionally communist/socialist countries of the world is embracing capitalism with open arms?
And now, all these people who have been protesting about the over-commercialism of the world, are out on the streets, with their iPhones, their Nike shoes and their Starbucks coffees. And they see absolutely no double standards there. They are the very 99% of the world’s people who have been fueling this fire, yet they need a scapegoat, someone to blame. And why not? Our has become a generation of shifting blame. It’s never my fault.
Living in a country where there is so much selfishness, it is a far cry to the world I grew up in, where my parents taught me to share (even though I never liked it, it did become appreciated) and think not just about myself, but other people. In Taiwan, parents take their children to school or kindergarten and expect the teacher to instill all these ideals on them, but the child is influenced more by what he/she sees from the parents. It is not solely the teacher’s responsibility to show the children right from wrong, that falls on the parent.
Parents today seem to have become lazy – they ask the child what sort of punishment would befit the crime. They are not even taking responsibility for the actions of their own child, and that is not here in Asia, but around the world. As a parent myself, it is my job, it is my responsibility, it is my duty to be a good example for my son. If he is going to learn to be compassionate towards other people then it is me who has to instill that in to him. Not a teacher at kindergarten or school later. He is no plaything – he is not a toy. He is my son, and if he is good then he needs to be rewarded, if he is bad then he needs to be punished, and learn that being bad has consequences.
Otherwise he will end up like the Manager of the Beijing Airport project who did not know that helping his friends (whilst at the same time taking kick backs) was illegal. This is embracing capitalism to the max.
But those people in the Occupy movement need to focus their attention on the real matter at hand. Which is the bankers. Yes this is sometimes the message coming out of the camps, but it is not really the sole message, and when you send mixed messages, sooner or later you will alienate the people who initially support you. Banks who offer you an investment deal, then bet money on that very investment deal failing, thus making more money than they would have done had it succeeded, are the ones to blame. The very same banks who pay their execs and managers massive bonuses after failing miserably, those are the ones to blame. And correct me if I am wrong, but are they not exactly the same banks which were bailed out with public money not 2 years ago?
Paid for by public money. Well the public money was borrowed, but someone, some time, has to pay it back. It’s slightly strange too that in an era where the African continent has been discovered for its riches in natural resources, and where all African debt was essentially written off my the colonial superpowers, it is those very superpowers who now find themselves deep in debt. The problem though is that in American politics, those who would have the balls to stand up to all of this would have to put the US in to a major depression before the country could recover. And the world economy relies so much on the US spending money. Especially China.
It’s a huge political nightmare, and it seems to me that no one knows where to begin in resolving all these issues.
But thankfully, that is not my problem.
