Just got done watching a documentary about Batkid, the 5-year-old boy with leukemia who went through an epic day in San Francisco in November of 2013 as part of his Make-a-wish Foundation "wish." Great account of the events, and a reminder, as they repeat in the movie, of how batkid saved us adults by giving us hope in our lives for a better world in the face of all the angst and evil we see in the world today, like ISIS, terrorism, bullying, diseases, droughts, petty differences, etc., etc. It's so liberating sometimes to watch something that inspires the condition of the human race and make me feel good about being a human being. I could see some of the negative comments about the Batkid Day (saved San Francisco in a fictional arc from the Riddler, the Penguin) as "the City spent $105,000 for one kid's make-a-wish" and that "this whole thing was way too elaborate for one kid, what about all the kids out there who are suffering?" But sometimes the human race needs role models (our sports stars like Charles Barkley don't want to assume the role, so somebody has to do it) to inspire others. How many people saw or read about Batkid and started volunteering more in their local communities? How many more people started understanding what leukemia was? How many people looked into themselves and understood what it is that drives us, the desire to do good and make the world a better place, because of symbolic gestures like Batkid Day? I, for one, have always questioned whether my volunteer contributions actually do anything, whether they are just empty gestures that make me feel good about myself and having no net gain for society, whereas I would be better off just sending money instead. Well, I think Batkid Day is an example where the act itself might not in itself be that helpful to the individual child undergoing treatment (5-year-old Batkid probably won't even remember all the details of the events of that day), but it's the overall example we set, or the culture that we foster, that can influence other people to do the right things and help out others. I will continue to give my time to worthy endeavors such as those and continue volunteering for causes that I care about, like diseases affecting children.
There are little areas of Los Angeles that go underrated in my opinion even amongst the Angelenos that live here. Long Beach, for example, has a really nice port area with Queen Mary (which is bigger than the Titanic! I found out today) and hosts tons of cruise ships from its marinas, as well as the Aquarium of the Pacific and other parks.
Venice canals- ever hear of those? Wow a really nice little area, right next to Venice beach, with bridges and trails cut near the artificial canals to look like actual Venice, Italy. Helps that the residences along the canals are always very aesthetically pleasing and architecturally sound, and it's so nice ducks and other animals swim down the canals all the time! It must be nice!
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Monday, November 30, 2015
Saturday, November 28, 2015
塞翁が馬 ( Blessing in Disguise)
Both the Chinese and the Japanese have a similar saying (in fact, it's made from the same Kanji, so one of the two cultures took it directly from the other, not sure who) called 塞翁が馬 (Japanese) or 塞翁失馬 (Chinese). Basically, a guy loses his horse, which seemed like bad luck, but then the horse won him a lot of money, which was good luck, but then he used the money to buy an ax and had a bad accident causing him to lose a leg (bad luck), but his handicap caused him not to have to fight in the coming war (good luck), with the ultimate lesson being you don't know what bad occurrence (curse) is actually a blessing in disguise, or what seems like a blessing actually be a curse.
I apply 塞翁が馬 to my life almost all the time, although it might be a little naive.
1.) When I break up with the girl I've been dating, I think, "this is just another life lesson needed to get to the girl of my dreams."
2.) When my fantasy sports teams lose, recently I've been thinking, "better that I can concentrate on more worthy endeavors."
3.) When I lose at dodgeball, I think, "this is a great chance to learn from the losses in pursuit of the bigger goals in dodgeball, a bigger tournament, or to become a better player for myself."
4.) Miss a catch in dodgeball, think, "I'm setting up for the next time this guy throws a ball at me." (and it doesn't even have to be in the same game now that there's video......watch the footage and see what adjustments I should make.
5.) Watch a bad movie and think, "well at least I didn't watch "Gigli."
6.) Donating blood hurts for a couple moments or so, but it might help someone (one pint of blood can apparently help 3 patients!)
7.) Not being blessed with supermodel good looks, athletic hype.....over the course of 28-year life, it trains you to want something despite not having the best gifts.
8.) If I library
"sometimes the correct path is the tortured one."
On the flip side, recognize the negatives:
1.) Luckily my parents are both great cooks and I enjoy great food every time I go home, but that means I haven't had the chance to cook for myself and don't know anything. - Need to work on it.
2.) I haven't ever had any major injuries or sicknesses- great for now, but will I be able to cope with it when it inevitably does hit?
3.) Working at a law firm at a job that pays pretty well feels good and comfortable, but will it translate to success in other endeavors? I feel like somewhat of a caged tiger, getting kind of rusty in other skills working at my current job.
Bottom line is, luck, much like the world, works in mysterious ways. It's better not to complain about bad luck, or bask in the glow of good luck (most people don't do that, actually, they just
Do the best of it and roll with the punches....hopefully those punches will roll back at some point.
I apply 塞翁が馬 to my life almost all the time, although it might be a little naive.
1.) When I break up with the girl I've been dating, I think, "this is just another life lesson needed to get to the girl of my dreams."
2.) When my fantasy sports teams lose, recently I've been thinking, "better that I can concentrate on more worthy endeavors."
3.) When I lose at dodgeball, I think, "this is a great chance to learn from the losses in pursuit of the bigger goals in dodgeball, a bigger tournament, or to become a better player for myself."
4.) Miss a catch in dodgeball, think, "I'm setting up for the next time this guy throws a ball at me." (and it doesn't even have to be in the same game now that there's video......watch the footage and see what adjustments I should make.
5.) Watch a bad movie and think, "well at least I didn't watch "Gigli."
6.) Donating blood hurts for a couple moments or so, but it might help someone (one pint of blood can apparently help 3 patients!)
7.) Not being blessed with supermodel good looks, athletic hype.....over the course of 28-year life, it trains you to want something despite not having the best gifts.
8.) If I library
"sometimes the correct path is the tortured one."
On the flip side, recognize the negatives:
1.) Luckily my parents are both great cooks and I enjoy great food every time I go home, but that means I haven't had the chance to cook for myself and don't know anything. - Need to work on it.
2.) I haven't ever had any major injuries or sicknesses- great for now, but will I be able to cope with it when it inevitably does hit?
3.) Working at a law firm at a job that pays pretty well feels good and comfortable, but will it translate to success in other endeavors? I feel like somewhat of a caged tiger, getting kind of rusty in other skills working at my current job.
Bottom line is, luck, much like the world, works in mysterious ways. It's better not to complain about bad luck, or bask in the glow of good luck (most people don't do that, actually, they just
Do the best of it and roll with the punches....hopefully those punches will roll back at some point.
Friday, November 27, 2015
Instant Replay (インスタントリプレイ)
I love studying tape of sports games, and recently I've started watching my own games of dodgeball to go over any flaws in my game, and I've come to realize that dodgeball is one of the best sports to look at on instant replay. There's so many balls moving around that it's impossible to know exactly what happened during any given game without seeing the instant replay. Plenty of times I'm in a haze about how a game that I participated in turned out until after it's all over and I check the video. "Oh that's who got me out!" or "Oh that's how we won!" is often heard. It must be how athletes feel during their video sessions: during the actual game I am totally focused on the task at hand and what I need to be doing, I don't care about what happened already, only what I can do moving forward to get our team the W, which is the way it should be.
The other great thing about replay is watching my own body, playing style, and everything about me. It's very narcissistic to watch myself and cheer when I do something good and make excuses when I do something that hurts my own team, but it definitely gets me excited to see how other people see me.
Body mechanics.... super important to see how I'm getting my feet set, where my eyes are looking, how my timing is, if I'm missing something off the court. Often times I rewind a particular play 3, 4, 5 times to get a better feel for it and different conditions happening, with dodgeball there's so many different things to look at at different times that it's impossible to get a 100% clear picture of what happened the first time watching, much less live as the game is happening.
Oh and finding out who cheated and was supposed to be out. Obviously doesn't change the result of the game if someone cheated to find out about it after, but the human curiousity/ desire for fairness kicks in and I NEED to know.
Also, suits (not the TV show!)......I might lose my man card for saying this, but what's the big deal with suits? They all kind of look the same to me. I can't really tell the difference between a $100 suit and a $1000 suit, except maybe the name brand, but I'm not exactly an expert on what's better, a Michael Kors suit or Armani. Or Calvin Klein? They're like watches to me, they perform the same function of telling the time. Other questions I have about modern men's formal fashion that I'm too embarrassed to admit not knowing and asking others:
Linen suit? Sharkskin suit? Plaid?
Does a certain color make one look more professional than others? Solid black? Grey? Brown? White suit is for pimps?
What shoes go well with what colors? I used to always think black shoes were the way to go for formal wear, but now recently there's the advent of the brown shoes? Is that a thing?
Button the top button? Or button two buttons?
Has the bow tie replaced the normal tie? Or is the Phillip Rivers bolo tie also becoming a thing now?
Is the napkin tucked neatly into the left pocket of the suit necessary?
Do I HAVE to get a tailored suit if I think I fit pretty well into a normal size suit?
I'm a big fan of the black-tie formal wear with the bow tie, standard dress code for performing at my violin concerts. Can I just wear those all the time?
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
The other great thing about replay is watching my own body, playing style, and everything about me. It's very narcissistic to watch myself and cheer when I do something good and make excuses when I do something that hurts my own team, but it definitely gets me excited to see how other people see me.
Body mechanics.... super important to see how I'm getting my feet set, where my eyes are looking, how my timing is, if I'm missing something off the court. Often times I rewind a particular play 3, 4, 5 times to get a better feel for it and different conditions happening, with dodgeball there's so many different things to look at at different times that it's impossible to get a 100% clear picture of what happened the first time watching, much less live as the game is happening.
Oh and finding out who cheated and was supposed to be out. Obviously doesn't change the result of the game if someone cheated to find out about it after, but the human curiousity/ desire for fairness kicks in and I NEED to know.
Also, suits (not the TV show!)......I might lose my man card for saying this, but what's the big deal with suits? They all kind of look the same to me. I can't really tell the difference between a $100 suit and a $1000 suit, except maybe the name brand, but I'm not exactly an expert on what's better, a Michael Kors suit or Armani. Or Calvin Klein? They're like watches to me, they perform the same function of telling the time. Other questions I have about modern men's formal fashion that I'm too embarrassed to admit not knowing and asking others:
Linen suit? Sharkskin suit? Plaid?
Does a certain color make one look more professional than others? Solid black? Grey? Brown? White suit is for pimps?
What shoes go well with what colors? I used to always think black shoes were the way to go for formal wear, but now recently there's the advent of the brown shoes? Is that a thing?
Button the top button? Or button two buttons?
Has the bow tie replaced the normal tie? Or is the Phillip Rivers bolo tie also becoming a thing now?
Is the napkin tucked neatly into the left pocket of the suit necessary?
Do I HAVE to get a tailored suit if I think I fit pretty well into a normal size suit?
I'm a big fan of the black-tie formal wear with the bow tie, standard dress code for performing at my violin concerts. Can I just wear those all the time?
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Sunday, November 22, 2015
故郷 (Home town)
I feel like I literally wax nostalgic about my hometown every 3rd blog post, but I do want to recognize suburban Chicagoland, 故郷 ( furusato) since it just got a foot of snow in late-November..... with a top 10 (or 8? Maybe?) list of most nostalgic things I feel about my hometown (Darien, IL- small surburb outside of Chicago).
1.) Walking to school- probably the only exercise I got as a kid, walking the mile or so to and from school made me recognize the value of seeing the sights and sound of nature, taking a minute and thinking about life, planning the next move (like chess), and also the value of a school bus/ car to transport oneself to school- saves a lot of time.
2.) spending the summer at the local swimming pool- really the only hangout and option for any kid in our neighborhood, it would become the neighborhood watering hole and recreation center during the summer months, and it was much needed.
3.) Riding bikes around - Like a less violent version of Sons of Anarchy, the neighborhood bike gang had unity, solidarity, and common purpose- to waste as much time as possible riding through the same streets we'd always ridden in.
4.) Imagining secret passageways, underground tunnels, hidden gardens, etc., I had a wild imagination as a kid from reading a lot of books, and I always romanticized about our neighborhood, partly due to knowing the neighborhood so well down to which kid lived in which house, what time certain cars would pull in, etc.
5.) Trick-or-treating: my first trick-or-treat was the best, as it allowed me to go around the neighborhood and go to each house, so who was in it, what kind of candy they would give out, what kind of doorbell they had, etc., etc. I've always been a big fan of trick-or-treating since, and it always seemed like that first version of the neighborhood was the best.
6.) Random ponds/ lakes- nothing beats bodies of water in one's neighborhood that serve no tangible purpose other than for decor, or for ducks, geese, and all nature of birds to gather around during the fall/spring. Also made for fascinating romanticizing (see 4 above) as to what was in the lake, whereas I have the largest body of water in the world (Pacific Ocean) a mile away from my house and basically ignore it.
7.) Going through a thunderstorm- nothing like a Chicago weather change where it could be nice and sunny one minute and then start thundering and downpour the next. I definitely got trapped in the rain more than a few times, which is a feeling that's hard to replicate in Southern California but makes me want to just soak and sing in the rain when it does downpour. (土砂降り= doshaburi = downpour in English).
8.) Two words: Snow football. Chicago kids are probably loving the foot of snow at this second because of the ability to ski down small hills (even a sled or a cardboard box will do) and play snow football with soft landings (falling in the snow is not hard, even fun!) and impromptu snowball fights. Damn it, why can't I go back there now! If you've never made a snow angel in the season's first snow, or built a snowman (yukidaruma = 雪だるま), you haven't lived.
Fantasize on, Robert Yan
1.) Walking to school- probably the only exercise I got as a kid, walking the mile or so to and from school made me recognize the value of seeing the sights and sound of nature, taking a minute and thinking about life, planning the next move (like chess), and also the value of a school bus/ car to transport oneself to school- saves a lot of time.
2.) spending the summer at the local swimming pool- really the only hangout and option for any kid in our neighborhood, it would become the neighborhood watering hole and recreation center during the summer months, and it was much needed.
3.) Riding bikes around - Like a less violent version of Sons of Anarchy, the neighborhood bike gang had unity, solidarity, and common purpose- to waste as much time as possible riding through the same streets we'd always ridden in.
4.) Imagining secret passageways, underground tunnels, hidden gardens, etc., I had a wild imagination as a kid from reading a lot of books, and I always romanticized about our neighborhood, partly due to knowing the neighborhood so well down to which kid lived in which house, what time certain cars would pull in, etc.
5.) Trick-or-treating: my first trick-or-treat was the best, as it allowed me to go around the neighborhood and go to each house, so who was in it, what kind of candy they would give out, what kind of doorbell they had, etc., etc. I've always been a big fan of trick-or-treating since, and it always seemed like that first version of the neighborhood was the best.
6.) Random ponds/ lakes- nothing beats bodies of water in one's neighborhood that serve no tangible purpose other than for decor, or for ducks, geese, and all nature of birds to gather around during the fall/spring. Also made for fascinating romanticizing (see 4 above) as to what was in the lake, whereas I have the largest body of water in the world (Pacific Ocean) a mile away from my house and basically ignore it.
7.) Going through a thunderstorm- nothing like a Chicago weather change where it could be nice and sunny one minute and then start thundering and downpour the next. I definitely got trapped in the rain more than a few times, which is a feeling that's hard to replicate in Southern California but makes me want to just soak and sing in the rain when it does downpour. (土砂降り= doshaburi = downpour in English).
8.) Two words: Snow football. Chicago kids are probably loving the foot of snow at this second because of the ability to ski down small hills (even a sled or a cardboard box will do) and play snow football with soft landings (falling in the snow is not hard, even fun!) and impromptu snowball fights. Damn it, why can't I go back there now! If you've never made a snow angel in the season's first snow, or built a snowman (yukidaruma = 雪だるま), you haven't lived.
Fantasize on, Robert Yan
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Terrorist Strike (Tero 攻撃)
Unfortunately for what is becoming a disheartening frequent occurrence, terror struck again on Friday the 13th (11/13/15) in France, where terrorist attacks throughout Paris left more than 150 people dead. It was just a senseless loss of innocent human beings carried about apparently by ISIS, a terrorist organization whose purpose seems to be exactly that, of killing innocent human beings, no matter how many of its own members it loses. These terrorist attacks (Tero Kougeki in Japanese) are becoming a big problem for myself and others around the world and sometimes I really need to break out of own little naive bubble (full of lefthanded throwing of dodgeballs, fantasy baseball, Japanese dramas, and spelling bees) to see the bigger picture of the biggest problem the world and humankind faces today.
Unfortunately, with Sept. 11, 2001 being the beginning of my teenage years (I was 14 then) my adolescence to early adulthood has been shaped by an era of terrorist attacks, random violence, and senseless killings (not to say there weren't any terrorist attacks before, but 9-11 seems unfortunately like the gateway of all these events. The problem is that these aren't nations that represent a group of people who more or less have to act accountably for its own citizens or act somewhat rationally, to think like humans. This organization, for as much as it preaches that it should the world power and that it is helping the world in some screwed-up thinking, does not think rationally. I think most human beings agree in principle to be somewhat decent to each other, to attack only if one has been attacked by others, to resort to violence only in extreme measures and then only in a war scenario of soldier against soldier, to adhere to basic war principles like fighting face to face. This organization strikes at innocent people who just happen to be going to a music concert or a sports stadium or a Cambodian restaurant after a long work week or who happen to live in a country that ISIS doesn't deem to be one of its allies and thus needs to be taken down. I have a vague understanding that some of the terrorists believe that if they die for their cause they will be rewarded with 76 virgins, but that kind of thinking just seems wrongheaded and totally irrational. Even if one were to be a devout follower of a religion like that since birth inasmuch as to be brainwashed, it seems that at some point human instinct, compassion, morality, and some sort of ethical values would kick in to say, "that's not OK to kill all these people even if my religion dictates it, even if other people tell me I have to do that." It's just inconceivable to me that so many people as to make an organization would be so wrong-headed to justify these actions. (this may be me being naive and not believing there's true evil in the world or that human beings are born with an innate ability to feel compassion, to want to feel what it's like in other people's shoes, to forgive even if they believe they have been wronged so horribly as to realize that what matters is how you deal with what's already happened, how you move forward.
I don't normally pray very much, and I don't know how effective it is given that I don't believe in a specific religion or adhere to anything, but I will go to bed tonight and on subsequent nights hoping that whatever I can do to sacrifice in my own life can be used to correct the wrongness of what these terrorist individuals' beliefs. Even if one of them who have been tasked with these horrible deeds can somehow see the evils of their ways and refuse to carry out their task, it will have been worth it for me to lose something I value a lot ( like my fantasy baseball team, for instance). In all seriousness, I really hope somehow I can influence the world we live in for the good in any way I can.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Fantasy Baseball Goes Horribly Wrong! (大失敗 )
I've had a horrible fantasy baseball season this past season. It was a daishippai (大失敗 ) (miserable fail)That is all.
Seriously, almost everything that could go wrong went wrong.
I traded the best pitcher in the game (Clayton Kershaw) for an injury-prone center fielder (Carloz Gomez) at the beginning of the season.
Stephen Strasburg was hurt for me the whole season, or pitched horribly when he wasn't hurt, until I traded him for Johnny Cueto who sucked as soon as I got him and Strasburg did great down the stretch in August and September in crucial fantasy playoff weeks racking up multiple double-digit strikeout games.
Everybody laughed at me in my fantasy baseball league.
The myth I tried to perpetuate that "I was special" was dispelled. (btw, did you know that "dispel" is spelled that way and not "dispell?" A horribly ironic word for kids to spell wrong in a spelling bee, IMO, which has actually happened in spelling bee history. Truly 大失敗.
My only really good hitter all year was Buster Posey.....until I traded him.
I traded Manny Machado even after 2 months in which he was showing signs of a true breakout season......and he subsequently kept going off for a 34 homer, 20 steal season.
May that never happen again to me in fantasy baseball.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Seriously, almost everything that could go wrong went wrong.
I traded the best pitcher in the game (Clayton Kershaw) for an injury-prone center fielder (Carloz Gomez) at the beginning of the season.
Stephen Strasburg was hurt for me the whole season, or pitched horribly when he wasn't hurt, until I traded him for Johnny Cueto who sucked as soon as I got him and Strasburg did great down the stretch in August and September in crucial fantasy playoff weeks racking up multiple double-digit strikeout games.
Everybody laughed at me in my fantasy baseball league.
The myth I tried to perpetuate that "I was special" was dispelled. (btw, did you know that "dispel" is spelled that way and not "dispell?" A horribly ironic word for kids to spell wrong in a spelling bee, IMO, which has actually happened in spelling bee history. Truly 大失敗.
My only really good hitter all year was Buster Posey.....until I traded him.
I traded Manny Machado even after 2 months in which he was showing signs of a true breakout season......and he subsequently kept going off for a 34 homer, 20 steal season.
May that never happen again to me in fantasy baseball.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Throwing Left handed (左利き)
Recently I've been experimenting with throwing left-handed (**hidarikiki, hidari = left, kiki= effective** in Japanese) instead of my natural right hand. Happily, I can report that so far so good! I'm improving my accuracy from being wildly inaccurate to getting a sense of where the ball is going, I'm getting a little bit of movement on it with spin, and the velocity is almost as good as my right hand throw (I think), as long as I put my body into the throw (the key for anyone who wants to get the full velocity, IMO). I hope to be able to throw with either hand and be ambidextrous (両手利き, ryoutekiki in Japanese) soon.
When I was a kid, I always wanted to be a left-handed pitcher. Maybe it had something to do with Tom Glavine and Randy Johnson being at the height of their prime, maybe the fact that it made me feel special if I could do something only 10% of the population was able to do, maybe it was the fact I wanted to be a baseball player and they said being a left-handed relief pitcher was one way to sneak into the big leagues. (unfortunately you still have to have a 90 MPH fastball with that) Even though I was born right handed and encouraged to be righthanded by my parents (thanks Chinese culture of "correcting" left-handedness), I fought it. I think my sister and probably many others have the same fascination of handedness when they're in their adolescence, part of a struggle to find identity and to be something special I guess ( I wished for superpowers all the time when I was a kid even until age 20 fueled by the TV series Heroes, which coincidentally is back on TV now in the form of Heroes: Reborn!)
Anyway, it's always been a desire of mine to be left-handed, and while writing left-handed hasn't worked out, throwing left-handed might actually work for me thanks to dodgeball. I'm inspired by MLB's only ambidextrous player, Oakland A's relief pitcher Pat Venditte, who can pitch from either hand. Theoretically he can switch to either hand based on the hitter to create lefty-lefty matchups, which is a pretty good advantage for a baseball team (unfortunately Pat didn't have a stellar year in his first season with a 4.40 ERA but I'm rooting for you Pat!) Throwing with either hand doesn't have any discernable advantage in dodgeball (I'm working on a almost-simultaneous left-then-right throw but it's not physically possible to go with both hands at full speed at the same time) except to save my arm during the course of a week, which for me might be huge with 3, 4, sometimes 5 days of dodgeball in a week. I'm already feeling some shoulder pain setting in in my right hand after 3 years of dodgeball, but I have a fresh one on the left!
I guess trying to become ambidextrous is just another skill that I want to pick up, to be good at, to make myself feel better about myself, to have a purpose to strive for, to make me feel special, like that 13-year old kid who wanted desperately to be Batman. I guess I might have to settle for throwing left-handed.
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Monday, November 2, 2015
Why I Don't Give to Homeless People- Not an Act of Benevolence (慈善)
慈善(Jizen) in Japanese (and actually, Chinese) means compassion, charity, or benevolence, which I imagine encompasses giving to the poor, helping the less fortunate, etc. Those are sort of the values we were ingrained of as children, or from religious goods, or just common sense as a human being, to help the common man.
Unfortunately, the world is not as rosy and pure as the concept of "jizen" or compassion is, and believe it or not there are people who pray upon that sense of kindness. Well, people who have drug problems/ money problems/ addiction problems who no pretty much are no longer able to help themselves. I deal with lots of these people every day in downtown Los Angeles (used to be more seedy back in the day, now better from what I understand but still have plenty of wanderers out there). They'll come up with any kind of story, be it needing to take the bus (where are they going, I wonder), being a homeless veteran, or needing to feed hungry children at home. Now, I haven't ruled out the possibility that any of these stories are actually true, but the odds are highly against it, especially when you see the same person on the same street corner the next day and the next day and the next doing the same routine. I've also heard stories about how seemingly homeless people begging for food during the day go home to live in their mansion at night. It's a powerful thing, human compassion, and if channeled correctly can lead to miracles, but giving to homeless people is not that channel.
First of all, don't homeless people have "homeless shelters" to go to? I know for a fact they have soup kitchens, so the whole "I need to buy food" rhetoric is false.....the soup kitchens probably don't taste good, sure, but there's an age old proverb in almost every culture that says "Beggars can't be choosers."
I do feel bad for the mentally ill who are unable to help themselves and have no one to rely on, but unfortunately those people are screwed over by the people who are pretending to be helpless when in fact they are just trying to get money for their next score (of drugs). It's sad because it's a perfect example of a good thing being manipulated by human nature into a weakness.
My "learn from this story" was being stopped at a gas station once and approached by a couple who said their car broke down and they needed some gas. Must have been feeling really generous, gullibe, or irrational, or a combo of all of those, but decided to help, they asked for $20 dollars (TWENTY DOLLARS!!!! A dead giveaway) and I said I'd put $3 for their gas. No sooner had I told the cashier to put in $3, lo and behold, the couple started their engine and bolted out of the gas station, making sure to tell me to "Go eat do-do" before leaving the premises. And thus after traumatizing experience, I no longer give to people who ask me on the street.
It's like a key or earplugs that one needs to switch on to defend against these attacks on human compassion, it's so much better to donate to a charity one trusts or has seen the results of the money than to just hand it to a stranger. Which is unfortunate because I still think homeless guys standing on corners and people giving them money....I mean, those homeless guys wouldn't be there if people didn't give money, right? It seems like a direct contribution to the illegal drug market, in my opinion. Give them an apple or orange or something, a really desperately hungry person would take that (I've been there on my vacations! Lol)
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Unfortunately, the world is not as rosy and pure as the concept of "jizen" or compassion is, and believe it or not there are people who pray upon that sense of kindness. Well, people who have drug problems/ money problems/ addiction problems who no pretty much are no longer able to help themselves. I deal with lots of these people every day in downtown Los Angeles (used to be more seedy back in the day, now better from what I understand but still have plenty of wanderers out there). They'll come up with any kind of story, be it needing to take the bus (where are they going, I wonder), being a homeless veteran, or needing to feed hungry children at home. Now, I haven't ruled out the possibility that any of these stories are actually true, but the odds are highly against it, especially when you see the same person on the same street corner the next day and the next day and the next doing the same routine. I've also heard stories about how seemingly homeless people begging for food during the day go home to live in their mansion at night. It's a powerful thing, human compassion, and if channeled correctly can lead to miracles, but giving to homeless people is not that channel.
First of all, don't homeless people have "homeless shelters" to go to? I know for a fact they have soup kitchens, so the whole "I need to buy food" rhetoric is false.....the soup kitchens probably don't taste good, sure, but there's an age old proverb in almost every culture that says "Beggars can't be choosers."
I do feel bad for the mentally ill who are unable to help themselves and have no one to rely on, but unfortunately those people are screwed over by the people who are pretending to be helpless when in fact they are just trying to get money for their next score (of drugs). It's sad because it's a perfect example of a good thing being manipulated by human nature into a weakness.
My "learn from this story" was being stopped at a gas station once and approached by a couple who said their car broke down and they needed some gas. Must have been feeling really generous, gullibe, or irrational, or a combo of all of those, but decided to help, they asked for $20 dollars (TWENTY DOLLARS!!!! A dead giveaway) and I said I'd put $3 for their gas. No sooner had I told the cashier to put in $3, lo and behold, the couple started their engine and bolted out of the gas station, making sure to tell me to "Go eat do-do" before leaving the premises. And thus after traumatizing experience, I no longer give to people who ask me on the street.
It's like a key or earplugs that one needs to switch on to defend against these attacks on human compassion, it's so much better to donate to a charity one trusts or has seen the results of the money than to just hand it to a stranger. Which is unfortunate because I still think homeless guys standing on corners and people giving them money....I mean, those homeless guys wouldn't be there if people didn't give money, right? It seems like a direct contribution to the illegal drug market, in my opinion. Give them an apple or orange or something, a really desperately hungry person would take that (I've been there on my vacations! Lol)
Fantasize on,
Robert Yan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)