brain food
I found this from randomkoreanguy’s blog. I don’t have the resources or, perhaps more accurately, the time to invest into verifying the numbers that make up the ratios this ditty is based on. But considering that Stanford professor Phillip Harter forwarded it to his contacts (no, he did not write this), I’ll let the reputation of the institution he’s associated with (or, simply put, he teaches at Stanford and therefore, he must be smart) precede my questions about this claim’s veracity.
“If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south, 8 Africans;
52 would be female, 48 would be male;
70 would be nonwhite, 30 would be white;
70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian;
89 would be heterosexual, 11 would be homonsexual.
Six people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth . . . and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing;
70 would be unable to read;
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
One would be near death; One would be near birth.
One (yes, only one) would have a college education.
(One would own a computer (a year ago no one had a computer).
How could the wealthy 6 live in peace with their neighbors? Surely, they would be driven to arm themselves against the other 94 . . . perhaps even to spend, as Americans do, about twice as much per person on military defense as the total income of two thirds of the villagers. When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.”
Here’s why this struck me dumb:
Just in case: Yes, Walmart, I've read your canned press release and apologies that you sent to Bentcorner et al. As a consumer, thanks for your speedy response. Now if you would just proceed to The Consumerist once more, "perhaps" they reported an issue you would like to take up with them. Remnants of the mess from November, you know. So... I don't need the canned press release. And if you find my e-mail address, that's just freaky. No, that's not an open invitation to find it, either. I call Consumer Rights Act.
“If we could shrink the earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:
57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south, 8 Africans;
52 would be female, 48 would be male;
70 would be nonwhite, 30 would be white;
70 would be non-Christian, 30 would be Christian;
89 would be heterosexual, 11 would be homonsexual.
Six people would possess 59% of the entire world’s wealth . . . and all 6 would be from the United States.
80 would live in substandard housing;
70 would be unable to read;
50 would suffer from malnutrition.
One would be near death; One would be near birth.
One (yes, only one) would have a college education.
(One would own a computer (a year ago no one had a computer).
How could the wealthy 6 live in peace with their neighbors? Surely, they would be driven to arm themselves against the other 94 . . . perhaps even to spend, as Americans do, about twice as much per person on military defense as the total income of two thirds of the villagers. When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent.”
Here’s why this struck me dumb:
- I’m an avid reader of The Consumerist. Just yesterday, they posted an update on Walmart’s über slow response to pull off their shelves a shirt with a Nazi insignia. Called the Totenkopf, specifically the 3rd SS Division Totenkopf, it’s one of the lesser known Nazi symbols but it’s definitely still used by White Supremacists. Since it’s lesser known, you could stand in line with one person wearing the symbol and not know what it stands for. Sorry, but “the past is past” does not excuse the killing of millions of people simply because of a schizophrenic’s pathological hatred against differences in melanin levels and culture. The Totenkopf was specifically designed to represent the skull of a “Jew”. There is no way in hell that symbol is a generic skull and bones design re-mix.Yeah, ok, First Amendment rights. I don’t think this issue is controversial. But I think - and I know - it’s offensive. And I’m not pooh-poohing First Amendment rights. First Amendment rights is a privilege because not everyone can practice what the Amendment protects. And because not everyone in the world is in the U.S.
- From the blogger who first discovered this disturbing Walmart product, I also learned about twin sisters from Bakersfield, CA who are making a music career out of singing songs that have this “Anyone who is not White sucks balls.” My spin on it is satirical in effect, but you should listen to one of their songs and hear it for yourself. And hear about what they did to help selected Katrina victims. Did I listen to one song? Yeah, I did. Am I posting a link? No, I’m not. Google will cater to you and cater to you, it does…
- Finally, read Pat Buchanan’s The Dark Side of Diversity with a critical eye. You know, the one that you honed in high school English. You should because Seung-Hui Cho’s actions fed the flame of immigration issues. Did this article make me angry? Why, yes. Because a stupid guy who’s supposed to know better as a politician oversimplified things regarding immigration yet again. This is happening a lot recently. Some motherfucker’s going to be a smart ass and say “You know, you’re only saying that because he’s White. If he were Asian, you wouldn’t say anything.” Uh… actually, I have no love for Kenneth Eng and that stunt that AAJA pulled during the press coverage of the VA Tech massacre. My wise grandmother shared an insight to my mother, who shared it with me: “It doesn’t matter if the person’s White, Black, Mexican, or Asian. Bad attitudes are bad attitudes no matter what.
”Great job, media, for feeding the flame too!
Just in case: Yes, Walmart, I've read your canned press release and apologies that you sent to Bentcorner et al. As a consumer, thanks for your speedy response. Now if you would just proceed to The Consumerist once more, "perhaps" they reported an issue you would like to take up with them. Remnants of the mess from November, you know. So... I don't need the canned press release. And if you find my e-mail address, that's just freaky. No, that's not an open invitation to find it, either. I call Consumer Rights Act.