a funny thought struck me when i was at yet another one of my endless dinner/events the other night.
in the world, especially at 'work@social' events, i noticed that people introduce themselves by title and where they work at, more than anything else. it is as if that carries more weight than who you actually are. there's more to me than just which company i'm with or who i married/ am dating you know.
and the sad truth is, that IS the way of life. it's like, the more glamorous a company you're with, the more weight you carry. people automatically associate where you work with how important you are. for example. i'm from;
louis vuitton - "oh, glamorous! very very important"
ricoh - "oh printer, office appliances; kinda important...."
ESPN - "VIP. what else?"
coach - "handbags! yeah"
jimmy choo - "definitely important"
mercedes, BMW, vovlvo - "VIP. must stick with them the entire night"
some book company - "not important. bye"
some local, home-grown business- "not important. see you around"
media - "very important. make sure your sentences are all carefully constructed. publicity!"
hsbc - "oooh a bank. yes, important. sponsors!"
cartier - "diamonds! goodies"
and the list goes on.... it's worse if said person comes with a title. in fact, you won't even be there if you're not attached to someplace/ someone deemed important.
haha. i know i know, it's all work and fun. but seriously, as people went around introducing themselves and mingling, i wondered, is that all?
September 20, 2008
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Hi Grace,
I just finished reading The Last Empress which you had mentioned. Today's post fits so well with it! So much of the book was different people all strugling for positions/power/titles. And the empress, Tzu Hsi, seems to have spent most of her life struggling to make her sons into emperors, with both the title and the power. It seemed such a sad life in the book to be constantly using people and jockeying for position just in order to attain or to maintain a position. Yet, as you show in today's post, we often do exactly the same thing in our own smaller circles.
Something to ponder.
Thanks for recommending the book. It opened my eyes in many ways.
My father recommended a couple of books that may help me understand some of how the missionaries may have contributed to China's troubles during that period.
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