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Author:
ycheun2
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Date Posted: 07:05:29 07/05/01 Thu
In reply to:
bamb
's message, "Re: reply" on 20:29:03 07/04/01 Wed
Hi Bamb,
You know, every since you guys posted this posting about the protest, I have been thinking a lot about this. I haven't consciously thought about the society as a whole, but I do know that HK is really a crazy place where money drives people nuts. HK is really a very extreme case in which money determines an individual's value. I am sure that happens in other countries too, but in countries like Western Europe or North America, people seem to have different value system.
Anyhow, I finally came to the conclusion that the protest you did is a great thing in that it wakes up people's conscience. See, I am sure HSBC and other big corporations have all those Ivy League-educated MBA's running their businesses and they have been trained to maximize profit regardless of all social morals. I have experienced this in my own company and let me tell you, the people are SICK! The noises you guys made in the protest may not have a significant impact on the bank's policies but it does make the upper management think about the plight of the poor people. Their policies seem to make the poorer the poorer and the richer the richer.
Also, the problem with the poor people in Hong Kong is the government does not offer any safety net. Capitalism is good in that it tends to make the society as a whole more efficient and wealthier, but it creates a polarity between the rich and the poor and if that polarity exceeds a certain limit, we will tend to see an instability in the society - which we are witnessing now in Hong Kong.
I don't know what I am saying here but it is a good thing to think about. I think the government is BEGINNING to make progress, say, now they are pushing the MPF at least!
btw, when I say people should work harder, I mean...harder in education so they can gain more knowledge and get better jobs. Actually, I mean SMARTER, not HARDER.
btw, all these are just my personal thoughts. I am not here to offend anyone. I like to see you guys point of views so that I can adjust my own.
Love to discuss all these with you.
ycheun2
>hi ycheun2,
>welcome to the message board. hope u are well:)
>
>it seems to me that the problem here is not so much
>about hating the rich or those in power, but, from a
>macroscopic perspective, about the whole structure of
>the capitalist politics and economy (which i am sure u
>know a lot better than i do), and from a microscopic
>perspective, about each individual's greed and craving
>for money and power!
>i guess most (but perhaps not all) ppl, no matter how
>righteous when they are not rich and powerful, will
>turn into 'that' type of personality once they get
>hold of the power! having (or believing that one has)
>the power does make one feel that s/he is SOMEBODY,
>and it is so easy to regard and treat the less
>powerful and the powerless as an object or means to
>certain ends..... viz., the powerless (in the relative
>sense) is no longer seen as a human being, hence the
>powerful feels easier (or perhaps very easy) to
>exploit the poor and powerless without much scrutiny
>from his/her conscience. however, if the powerful
>happens to see these ppl as human beings that they can
>relate to (as opposed to mere objects), if his/her
>psychological make up is still intact, s/he will feel
>guilty about the harm and exploitation s/he's made.
>alas, it's very seldom for this kind of ppl to see
>this....
>anyway, i think i've rambled too much. but the point
>i'm trying to make is that it's not merely a matter of
>hating a certain group of ppl, but rather the mission
>to strive for a more eagalitarian and 'better' world
>in which everyone can share the fruits of mother earth.
>
>>There are lots
>>of rich people out there who got to this stage of
>>prosperity by their EFFORT. They are discipline in
>>what they do, hard-working, etc...to get to their
>>stage. What is wrong with hard-working and discipline
>>then?
>
>hard-working itself has long been regarded as a
>virtue, esp in the chinese tradition, and in itself it
>is not a bad thing (though it depends on to what end
>does one work that hard for, whether the end is worth
>it). nevertheless, working hard doesn't necessarily
>imply success or a better life. cows work very hard
>and what do they get?
>so are a lot of low-income marginalised ppl, many of
>whom work 12 hours or more a day, and only get 2 days
>off per month, and they earn less than $4000/month!
>are those ppl not hard working and making great effort
>and have great self-discipline? to me it's great
>exploitation, but the society as a whole tends to shut
>their ears and close their eyes to scenarios of that
>sort. i was told that there are about 600 thousands
>low-income ppl in hk who work day and night and are
>making less than five thousand bucks.... it is just
>outrageous...
>
>>I think the underpriviledged people should definitely
>>think why they are in this situation BEFORE they start
>>hating other people. They should question why they are
>>where they are and if there are any opportunities to
>>get out of their situation. This is a more productive
>>approach.
>
>please share your idea on a more productive approach
>to get out of their situation etc.
>
>ok, have to go and get some food.
>take care and hope to hear from you.
>bamb
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