Has anybody else noticed how different the response of the people in Northeast ***an has been from many of the residents of New Orleans in the wake of a major natural disaster?
In ***an there has been rioting, no looting or any other uncivil behavior. Even people who have no food do not steal and will walk for hours until they find an open market and then patiently line up to pay for the items they have purchased. This is a far cry from New Orleans where people were breaking into stores and walking away with stolen televisions and jewelry. Instead of spending their time restoring law and order, ***anese police and soldiers have been able to devote all of their efforts towards rescue and relief operations.
There are some minor cultural differences between the ***anese and New Orleansians...
Yes, New Orleans was a Liberal Oasis!
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They talked about that on the news last night. Their society is a lot more homogenous then ours....perhaps that is what leads many here to an "every man for himself mentality".....they have a motto to "come together as one" in times like this.
Still, "every man for himself" shouldn't neccesarily lead to outright law-breaking during a disaster, especially when breaking a law doesn't cure any emergency need....like stealing a tv set
I say you have to look at the culture and, definitely, the sense of entitlement (which is ultimately part of the current culture) of the two groups in question.
What can I do to help??
vs
What can others do to help me?
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--Me last Mohican
--Must be me!!!
--EEEOOOWWW!!!!!
They don't call Tokyo "The Big Easy" for nothing! Oh wait, that is New Orleans that gets that moniker.
There are many differences between oriental culture an our culture. Oriental cultures -- as a result of the continuing influence of Confucianism -- stress the value of the society over that of the individual. We are pretty much the opposite of that here. Both of these systems have their advantages and their disadvantages. Disadvantage of the Confucian culture: read history of blind ***anese adherence to the cult of the Emperor. Disadvantage of indidualist culture: reference comments above about looting in New Orelans.
Now I'm not saying that an emphasis on the individual causes bad behavior like looting during times of crisis. That is a different thing. Just bad actors. Also, not everyone does that when confronted with crisis in the US. Maybe we ought to look at the subcultures that engage in this behavior and blame them rather than everyone.
What can I do to help??
vs
What can others do to help me?
Or... In NO.... What do I want that I can I take from others who aren't watching at the moment? Looters carrying flat panel TV's should have been shot on sight.
Disadvantage of indidualist culture: reference comments above about looting in New Orelans.
Now I'm not saying that an emphasis on the individual causes bad behavior like looting during times of crisis. That is a different thing. Just bad actors. Also, not everyone does that when confronted with crisis in the US. Maybe we ought to look at the subcultures that engage in this behavior and blame them rather than everyone.
It is the subcultures. Individualism doesn't mandate, nor allow, taking whatever you want whenever you want from whomever you want without recompense.
I like Ayn Rand's definitions:
Quote:
Individualism regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Individualism holds that a civilized society, or any form of association, cooperation or peaceful coexistence among men, can be achieved only on the basis of the recognition of individual rights—and that a group, as such, has no rights other than the individual rights of its members.
Quote:
Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at everybody else’s expense.” An individualist is a man who recognizes the inalienable individual rights of man—his own and those of others.
An individualist is a man who says: “I will not run anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule nor be ruled. I will not be a master nor a slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself.”
This is quite different from the New Orleans subculture of "Gimme Some. Now." We took thousands of New Orleans refugees here in Houston. Put them up, fed them... Not so much as a thank you... But, when we said, "it's been almost two years, y'all need to start paying some rent," we were told "if our freebies get cut off, the crime rate is going to go up." That's not Individualism. That's scumbaggery.
Last edited by ipscshooter; 03-15-2011 at 08:55 AM.
I recall in the 1970s there was a major power failure in New York City that went on for several nights and was accompanied by widespread looting. Jesse Jackson said a the time " When people are deprived what do you expect is going to happen when the lights go out?, they are going to take things". What is happening in Northeast ***an now demonstrates that is not always the case. There, even if a family is hungry and it might be somewhat understandable if someone broke into an unoccupied store to obtain food, people instead walk for hours until they find a store that is open where they can legally purchase food. Yet, in the U.S. there are some people who seem to think that in a crisis it is perfectly all right to consider not just food, but also a new flat panel television, a necessity that they can help themselves to when disaster strikes.
This is quite different from the New Orleans subculture of "Gimme Some. Now." We took thousands of New Orleans refugees here in Houston. Put them up, fed them... Not so much as a thank you... But, when we said, "it's been almost two years, y'all need to start paying some rent," we were told "if our freebies get cut off, the crime rate is going to go up." That's not Individualism. That's scumbaggery.
I have to agree with the above. It is the result of the entitlement mentality that is the product of liberalism. I do not believe it is specific to a "sub-culture." Any group of persons raised on liberal welfare policies would react in a similar manner.
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