Invest It Wisely

Maximizing your EV in life

Weekend Reading: Posterity Edition

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Negative posterity

I recently heard about Alexandra Wallace, the girl who made a video about different ways that Asian people annoy her, and who is now leaving the university supposedly due to death threats but also probably due to the stigma of being seen in a bad way.

Now, I watched the video for myself and although there are parts in there that are offensive, such as when she makes fun of the way that Asians speak, I didn’t think it was that bad. She wasn’t calling for them to be rounded up or shot or anything like that. However, she also complained about people calling home due to the tsunami which was not cool and she probably shouldn’t have complained about that at all.

So, what do you think about this girl and her opinions? When I studied at the library, I was also annoyed by those chatters regardless of their race so I can see where she’s coming from, but posting a video on YouTube and singling out Asians? She made a big mistake there. Of course, everyone is prejudiced to some degree and I’m sure plenty of people judged this girl based on her hair color and cleavage.

What I find really interesting about this is the fact that so many people know about this story now, and that her video can be preserved even if she took down her own copy. We live in an age of nearly infinite storage and limitless bandwidth, and it is really changing the notion of privacy, memory, and how we should approach life. If you say something offensive in person, you can always apologize, but with Google Cache, Internet Archive, etc… if you say something offensive on the net, you can count on it sticking around for a while and spreading further than you intended.

Japan

The events happening in Japan have deeply moved me in two directions; in horror at how thousands of lives have been swept away and families shattered, but also in wonder at the courageousness and strength of the Japanese, and at their resolve to help each other instead of looting and grabbing everything in sight. Maybe when you live in such high density with others it pays to be polite with your neighbours, but whatever the reasons are, it’s something to see.

I wrote a post this week about helping Japan that has more information about how you can donate toward the earthquake & tsunami relief efforts; I hope you’ll consider it!

Weekend Reading


Looking Beyond The Japanese Nuclear Crisis: Uranium Stocks Outlook (Beating The Index)

Investing
  • Lazy Investing is Great – But Don’t Be Too Lazy! (Andrew Hallam)
  • Will I Have to Eat My Words? (Andrew Hallam)
Japan
Miscellaneous
Personal Finance
Videos

Thanks for stopping by and for the great comments, everyone; have a great weekend!

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Comments

  1. Thanks for the mention.

    I too am just blown away by the horror and heroism in Japan right now. My heart goes out the the survivors and the suffering.

    • I guess events like this remind us how fragile life is on this earth, and even a rich nation like Japan can be hit hard.

  2. Thanks for the link, Kevin. I’m impressed by the dedication of those plant personnel, who are most likely receiving eventually lethal doses of radiation as they work to contain the disaster. Perhaps not surprising in a culture where the concept of duty and responsibility to the group is so important. Our hearts go out to the victims and survivors of this disaster.

    • Definitely. What is most stirring is that they see it as a sense of duty and they are willing to do this even at the cost of themselves. If they are doing it out of the freedom of their hearts then that is really something.

    • Anything can help. I understand that there are some people that look at the crimes that Japan has done in the past, such as WW2 and their unwillingness to apologize publicly over certain acts, and they see this as a sort of “karma” but the way I see it you can’t blame some people for the actions of others, even if they are both called “Japanese”. Innocent people died and that is something to be sad for, regardless of what the country has done in the past.

  4. Thanks for the link to my disposable income article!

    I did not see the video from the prejudice girl on asians, but I can’t understand why someone would post something like that for the world to see. Don’t they know that people might be upset by it? If she was not willing to take the heat for her actions, she probably shouldn’t have posted her opinions on it. Simple as that.

    • If it was a few weeks ago the reaction probably would have been different, but she just comes across as unbelievably crass to post this now.

    • I don’t think it will grow to the scale of a Chernobyl-type disaster though some harm was done for sure. The country will get over this just like they got over the Kobe earthquake and other disasters that have befallen them in the past.

  6. It is amazing to see the calm in the face of such devastation. When you compare that to the response during Katrina, with looting and lawlessness, it is even more moving!

    Thanks for including me!

    • It’s interesting to see how cultures around the world react differently to different events. Definitely helps clear up some of that home cultural bias! That is why I think everyone should spend at least a bit of time overseas, and not just in Punta Cana.

  7. Wow, 2nd time tonight I went to visit a blog and found a link to my site. Trackbacks don’t work on my site. Thank you so much, I really appreciate the mention. And that is such a sad story. So distressing.

  8. Thanks for the link and thanks for sharing the video about the Plant workers.

    When I was watching that video I teared up a little, I am so moved by the heroism and sense of honor and duty that the workers have. They say that the highest form of altruism is that of altruistic actions done without acknowledgment.

    I hope that we do find out their names soon and the world can join in thanking them for their sense of duty and commitment, sacrificing their well-being for Japan.

    As for Alexandra Wallace… I was so shocked when I saw that video. I think she was trying to be funny, but I think some of her comments were completely inappropriate (I agree with you). There was a really neat come back you tube video that I liked, he “replied” to her you tube video in a very dignified and sweet way.

    Here’s the link: http://bit.ly/eUvEnT

  9. I too have been frustrated by people being inappropriately loud in different places. However, I haven’t noticed any one group of people being continuous offenders.

    Regardless of her thoughts, she was a complete idiot to put that video on YouTube. She has no common sense whatsoever.

    Thanks for the link!!!

    • She definitely was, and probably realizes that now but it’s a little bit too late to take it back. :S

      I like the response video that Y&T posted up above.

  10. She should NOT have mentioned the tsunami, that’s a disgrace. The ching chong is offensive, but Rush Limbaugh was a lot worse. Her worse decision is to post it on youtube, what a dummy.

    • Yep because after that there wasn’t really any way to take it back. I kind of feel bad for her because she did something stupid but was probably not intending to be malicious. This is a pretty hard way to learn the lesson… I mean, there’s probably few of us who can say we never did anything dumb when we were younger. That’s what got me to thinking about how the Internet is really changing things with its always-connected and always-persisted information. Maybe it will lead to a more polite society, or maybe it will lead to a more paranoid society. Who knows…

      • Yeah.. she’s screwed! She must change her name or else society might shun her 🙁

        I feel bad for her too, I don’t think she meant to be malicious either. I think she wanted some traffic for her youtube, and boy did she get that!

  12. Thank you for the mention! I’m glad you’re giving so much attention to Japan, not just through my post but through your own post, your special mention of it again here, and all the other writers who have posted about it. I hope Japan is not forgotten in the coming weeks as the news turns to other events ….

    • Thanks for stopping by! What I love about the Internet is how we can coordinate on a many-to-many basis… it’s so much more efficient in many ways. The reach is truly global helping us to connect with those far away from us in distance and space, and helping us realize that we all share a lot in common.

  13. There is a lot to admire about the Japanese culture. You might now that I have Japanese relatives so this hit especially close. My granddaughter lives there with her Japanese mother and my aunt (by marriage) is from Seibu.

    Thanks for including my post in the round-up.

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