34 posts tagged with "from-Medium"

One: geographical and cultural proximity is decisive to determine how much we feel affected by this kind of tragedies. But, is that right?​

Leave aside your gut feelings, and the fact that you once attended a gig in the Bataclan or that you have strolled so often next to Stade de France: why are we so much more concerned about these deaths, compared to similar unexpected attacks in other parts of the world, in other times? All the immediate expressions of shock, sorrow, rage and perplexity we saw on social media, all the changed avatars, all the people who told us they could not sleep that night — isn’t all that also a sign of ethnocentrism and chauvinism? I am not blaming the French; it’s a European/Western thing. The bombings in Madrid, London, Oslo, created reactions that were far bigger and quicker than similar massacres in Colombia, Mexico, India, countries of Africa. Is that rational? Is it fair?

Someone told me that France is a democratic, developed country that is not at war, and that it’s supposed to be a safe place. It’s a country were you can be very confident you will not die unexpectedly because someone immolates next to you. According to this person, that is what makes this tragedy more relevant, more meaningful. I think that is a factor, certainly. But I’m not referring to the rational analysis of the practical consequences of this attack in the context of geopolitics, or even day-to-day life. I’m talking about feeling worse, or about shouting your anger louder in Twitter.

Durante los últimos años, cada vez que alguien mencionaba una supuesta independencia de Euskadi, o de Cataluña, me rondaba una sensación incómoda. No porque me inquietase la idea en sí (que me inquieta: no creo que dividir España en varios países distintos sea una empresa loable), sino por un motivo aún más simple y primario.

Había algo en el asunto, en la forma de enmarcarlo, que sencillamente, estaba mal. Esa extraña disonancia, que no se iba de mi cabeza, me fastidiaba cada vez que escuchaba a otros razonar sobre esto, y me impedía reflexionar con claridad a mí mismo.

• I’m learning to ignore the shopkeeper when I enter a shop, and to not return their enthusiastic greetings or even look at them — particularly at convenience stores.
• I (almost) don’t care any more about being naked among lots of other men of all ages and shapes in a not-so-spacious public bath.
• I occasionally kill time in a videogame arcade, alone, trying out the craziest music games, with my own earplugs attached to the machine (for instance, while I wait for my laundry to be washed at the local coin laundry, which is also a very Japanese thing to do). The creativity that the Japanese pour into all those wonderful games doesn’t cease to amaze me!

1. HK oozes money​

I have seen more Teslas here in a day than I had seen before in all the other days of my life together.

The only places where I had seen Tesla cars were California and Beijing. According to this extremely accurate and comprehensive survey of mine, 87.2% of all Tesla units sold worldwide are in HK. After Tesla, Lexus and Porsche Cayenne seem to be popular, affordable alternatives. Everything else is either a BMW or an Audi (lame!).

Cars are just one sign of wealth here — apparently, you can’t walk five blocks and not bump into several exclusive clubs (Chinese guilds, international correspondents), five-star hotels, glamorous residential towers, branches of American and European luxury brands, etc.