ho hum, another day in the wasteland
I am grumpy today. I knew coming back from vacation would be hard, but I had no idea just how hard it would be.
I just went downstairs to check my mail and my coworkers 3 year old son was on the computer playing a game. I said hello to him and he ignored me. Just before I left the room, his father asked him, "Junior, did you say hi to Wendy?" His son ignored him too. His father pressed him, "Junior, say hello to Wendy." Irritated, the 3 year old yelled "Hello Wendy!" without removing his eyes from the monitor.
I'm returning to work today after spending some marvelous time in Central America. The whole trip was my first taste of culture shock, an experience that has reaffirmed my negative view of the culture in the United States. The incident downstairs just now, being ignored by a computer zombified 3 year old was just one of the triggers for my feelings of disgust I've been feeling today.
I spent 9 days living in a small costal village in Costa Rica, amongst children so poor they don't have indoor plumbing or shoes on their feet. They don't have cell phones or computers. They don't even receive education after the 6th grade. They run happily down the village’s dirt roads, stomping on rocks barefoot. Not a single person, child or adult begged for money the entire time I was there. As soon as I arrived in Costa Rica, I noticed that the kids there snacked on fresh fruit. Sometimes the fruit was cut up and placed into plastic baggies, but nowhere in sight was a bag of barbequed Cheetos or cookies or fast food.
It's not easy to return to the States where most kids living in poverty have cell phones and iPods and are still asking me for money on a daily basis. Remember that 80s anthem in which Whitney Houston sang, "I believe the children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way." You know, I should have known back in the day that she was a crackhead. Our kids are just products of the disturbing consumer culture we live in. Reminder America: Consume, consume, consume and then throw it all away. It’s okay, we’ll make more. Happy Fucking New Year!*
*Forgive the depressing nature of this post. More tales from Costa Rica are on the way, and I promise they are going to be uplifting and hopeful.
I just went downstairs to check my mail and my coworkers 3 year old son was on the computer playing a game. I said hello to him and he ignored me. Just before I left the room, his father asked him, "Junior, did you say hi to Wendy?" His son ignored him too. His father pressed him, "Junior, say hello to Wendy." Irritated, the 3 year old yelled "Hello Wendy!" without removing his eyes from the monitor.
I'm returning to work today after spending some marvelous time in Central America. The whole trip was my first taste of culture shock, an experience that has reaffirmed my negative view of the culture in the United States. The incident downstairs just now, being ignored by a computer zombified 3 year old was just one of the triggers for my feelings of disgust I've been feeling today.
I spent 9 days living in a small costal village in Costa Rica, amongst children so poor they don't have indoor plumbing or shoes on their feet. They don't have cell phones or computers. They don't even receive education after the 6th grade. They run happily down the village’s dirt roads, stomping on rocks barefoot. Not a single person, child or adult begged for money the entire time I was there. As soon as I arrived in Costa Rica, I noticed that the kids there snacked on fresh fruit. Sometimes the fruit was cut up and placed into plastic baggies, but nowhere in sight was a bag of barbequed Cheetos or cookies or fast food.
It's not easy to return to the States where most kids living in poverty have cell phones and iPods and are still asking me for money on a daily basis. Remember that 80s anthem in which Whitney Houston sang, "I believe the children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way." You know, I should have known back in the day that she was a crackhead. Our kids are just products of the disturbing consumer culture we live in. Reminder America: Consume, consume, consume and then throw it all away. It’s okay, we’ll make more. Happy Fucking New Year!*
*Forgive the depressing nature of this post. More tales from Costa Rica are on the way, and I promise they are going to be uplifting and hopeful.
posted by Freewendy @ 2:18 PM
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