When I first saw this picture on todays front page of the London Times, I thought it people running away in panic from a potential terrorist bomb. But it turned out to be people stampeding into a store in London that was offering cut price fashion. It occurred to me how similar these images are to people rushing to get food and water in lands devastated by natural disasters or wars. Sorry, I am wrong. Those people are normally far more dignified than this.
It is such a strong reminder of what the psychology of absolute consumerism can do to people, snatching away all their dignity and self worth. What kind of self worth are you left with if you have to panic and stampede to just be able to wear fashion accessories cheaper.
It also reminds me of the vast differences between the haves and the have nots of this world. While millions of women and children wait patiently for hours, or travel for hours to get a bucket of water, others will scramble, que and fight over fashion accessories. It’s just so not a fair world.
And what about the resources that go into creating this artificial panic demand ?
Time to reflect upon this,
Check out : http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/fashion/article1620800.ece
shekhar
Shekhar Kapur,
In response to your post on Consumerism, Affluence, Poverty and Deprivation I want to post a part from my article which examines the impact of Speed, Overstimulation, Consumerism and Industrialization on our Minds and Environment. Please read.
*The link between Mind and Social / Environmental-Issues.*
The fast-paced, consumerist lifestyle of Industrial Society is causing exponential rise in psychological problems besides destroying the environment. All issues are interlinked. Our Minds cannot be peaceful when attention-spans are down to nanoseconds, microseconds and milliseconds. Our Minds cannot be peaceful if we destroy Nature.
*Industrial Society Destroys Mind and Environment.*
Subject : In a fast society slow emotions become extinct.
Subject : A thinking mind cannot feel.
Subject : Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys the planet.
Subject : Environment can never be saved as long as cities exist.
Emotion is what we experience during gaps in our thinking.
If there are no gaps there is no emotion.
Today people are thinking all the time and are mistaking thought (words/ language) for emotion.
When society switches-over from physical work (agriculture) to mental work (scientific/ industrial/ financial/ fast visuals/ fast words ) the speed of thinking keeps on accelerating and the gaps between thinking go on decreasing.
There comes a time when there are almost no gaps.
People become incapable of experiencing/ tolerating gaps.
Emotion ends.
Man becomes machine.
A society that speeds up mentally experiences every mental slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A ( travelling )society that speeds up physically experiences every physical slowing-down as Depression / Anxiety.
A society that entertains itself daily experiences every non-entertaining moment as Depression / Anxiety.
Fast visuals/ words make slow emotions extinct.
Scientific/ Industrial/ Financial thinking destroys emotional circuits.
A fast (large) society cannot feel pain / remorse / empathy.
A fast (large) society will always be cruel to Animals/ Trees/ Air/ Water/ Land and to Itself.
To read the complete article please follow either of these links :
http://www.planetsave.com/ps_mambo/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&Itemid=75&func=view&id=68&catid=6
http://www.ephilosopher.com/bb-topic-244.html
sushil_yadav
Dear Shekhar,
They say a picture is worth a thousand words. How true! What an amazing photograph! And how ironic is the world we live in! True, this just ain’t a fair world. Not only is it not fair, it’s an insane, irrational & absolutely chaotic world.
Interesting article by Sushil Yadav.
Cheers!
Navin
…one word comes to mind
sick
Unbelievable. I cant take this. I will assume its just fantastic photography and media menace thereon.
no, pankaj – no photographic trick here. it was widely reported all over the TV too. shekhar
No trick ok….(I didnt mean that)….but may be the photograph is implying more than it shd. If we look closely 4 people have fallen (at the entrance of the store i assume) and people from behind are only trying to help (that is also a guess though)….even the story doesn’t mention anyone getting seriously hurt except for a set of doors. Cheap prices are expected to bring in large crowds. Nothing unusual…. But if u meant u saw video images on TV and it was a really wild crowd on the streets of london, then of course, i am completely wrong here and it is highly deplorable. But your observations hold good anyway…and sorry for unnecessarily taking this off the topic and missing the important point u were making. It really is a very unfair and cruel world. Completely agree with u there.
This picture says – consumerism is undignified!
Shekhar ,
Is there really , a need to romanticise such a silly event and cloak it in pinko terms – there is no picture that is complete – for example how can you be sure , none of those that tripped and fell over are charitable and dont contribute to alleviating world poverty ?
The simple truth is this :
1) There are so many human problems , not poverty alone , the primal one being the Human condition itself !
2) Life is Fair , afterall if we take Karma and Dharma into account – A life on earth is not the best of bargains ! – the mortal world is a world of fairness – and thats why we have heaven and hell in the same planet ! and those souls that deserve a kind of life , do geet it by a Materially in-explicable yet In-exorable Law of the Universe !
The day Shekhar Kapur’s collective Karma tilts one way or the other , Shekhar Kapur would have already made a contract with his future destiny !
3) The Human condition , itself , is associated with the four ills – Vedic Universal view takes this into account – the fact that Birth , death , Old age and Afflictions are associated with the Human condition – irrespective of richness , or poverty does not seem to strike anyone’s minds !!
Shekhar , we can start by appreciating thse above facts and not try to create a Utopia on this earth – it never was workable , it never will be , since this planet is not the place for it , nor the human life the ideal condition to start with !!
A 5th std girl from faridabad committed suicide last week so that her parents don’t need to spend money on her books. Tell me neeta…Is life dignified? How does a 12 yr old get such horrible thoughts and the drive to kill herself. We know about this incident because she committed suicide. Imagine millions of others living with such feelings all through their life.
http://www.ibnlive.com/news/india/04_2007/deprived-of-books-girl-ends-life-38134.html
No point in lecturing socialism unless we have a solution to disparity by birth. That is where this cruelty of life stems from. And until then, a consumerist society is our best bet though i agree its not that dignified.
I enjoy criticism more than praise because it makes me think. Sometimes i assume its the same with everyone else.
that last comment was awful…come on man!
What are you talking about?
Shekharkapur is well known name in indian film industry.
After reading this blog i agree with the sentences that:It is such a strong reminder of what the psychology of absolute consumerism can do to people, snatching away all their dignity and self worth. What kind of self worth are you left with if you have to panic and stampede to just be able to wear fashion accessories cheaper.