マスク＝服従？ Mask = Subjugation?

 

『マスクのシンボル』デイビッド・アイク 

 

 "The symbol of a mask" - David Icke

 

これは、YouTube、FaceBook、Twitter、その他すべての主要なSNSプラットフォームで禁止されたビデオ「The Answer」の一部です。

デイビッド・アイクがデジタルフリーダムプラットフォームであるロンドン・リアルのブライアン・ローズと政治的および心理的な観点からマスク着用の意味について説明しています。

マスクを着けないといけないと思わされる場面が多くなった今、この状況が人と社会にもたらす影響について考えたことがあるでしょうか？動画を見て考えてみましょう。

 

This is a clip from the video "The Answer" which was banned on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and all other major social network platforms.

David Icke and Brian Rose from London Real, the digital freedom platform discusses the meaning of wearing a mask from a political and psychological perspective. 

Recently, there are many scenes where people feel like they need to wear a mask, but have you thought about its influence on the people and society?  Watch this video and think for yourself.

 

 

[完全版・Full Version]

Climbing the Himalayas Under the Stars

There are groups of people climb up the Himalaya mountains of 6000 meter (about 2000 ft) range every single night under the stars for about 2 months to get to the border of Nepal. It's summer but the snow is still prevailing on the upper side of the mountains. The environment is so tough that even a professional team of climbers in the latest gears would find it to be a hellish struggle.

These night trekkers are not professional climbers nor do they climb the Himalayas for fun or hobby. There is a reason why they can only trek under the disguise of the dark night: The risk of getting shot by the border patrols always looms on their path and that's a good reason for the night hike.

They don't sport the latest climbing gears that professional climbers ordinarily equip themselves with to climb up the mountains like these.  Each person carries only 2 month worth of dried food and minimal amount of camping gears in their backpack. Melted snow is used for drinking. The risk of starvation becomes a reality if the food supply runs out before they can cross the mountain pass.

Those who attempt the 2 months of deadly trekking continue to flow every year. On the average, 5 people end up losing their lives in a group of 20 people every single time. The situation resembles a Russian roulette.

After crossing the Nepalese border barely escaping the hand of the Death, many of them would end up having their fingers and toes amputated because of severe frostbite. It's beyond imagination of an ordinary person like me in so called developed nations.

Most of the Tibetan people I personally know have crossed the Himalayas from their motherland Tibet under the harsh circumstance like this. They were forced to start the second life as political refugees in unfamiliar Western countries.

Tibet has been under the occupation of the Chinese Communist government since 1949. Tibetan language and culture are completely different from that of the ethnic majority of Han Chinese in China. It's like the difference between French and Russian. Tibet before the occupation was an respectable independent country with its own currency.

Tibet before the occupation

The basic human rights of Tibetans such as the freedom of religion and freedom of speech have been continuously violated since the occupation. As a result, the flow of Tibetans who have been forced to exile in other countries as political refugees never ceases.

Tenzin in his Kala Chakra regalia

My partner, Tenzin from Tibet currently lives in The Netherlands as a political refugee. When he was still living in Tibet, he left his home to become a Tibetan Buddhist monk at the age of 12. Since the exile from Tibet as a result of the severe compromise of freedom of religion, he has been completely cut off from his parents and sisters in Tibet.

Tibetan nomads 

Tenzin is from a nomad family, and they move every season from one place to the other. Some of the places are so remote that there is no phone line so talking to them on the phone is often a rare possibility. Of course there is no cell phone access and let alone the internet connection.

When Tenzin's mother is visiting her relatives in a small village, he can call the cell phone of that relative from time to time. If he's lucky, he can talk to his mother on the phone once a year. Since the phone call is from abroad, the secret police of the Communist government often taps the phone to listen in to their conversation. It is not possible to discuss the political situation for this reason. If they talk about something like that, there's a risk of the secret police knocking on his family's door in the same evening and being taken away for interrogation.

His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV

Most Tibetans are devoted Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama XIV is revered as their leader not only for their religion but also as the leader of the nation. The honorable tradition of the Dalai Lama dates back to the 15^th century. But in the current Tibet, the Tibetans cannot possess the Dalai Lama's photo, who is their spiritual leader, like their Buddha.

The Chinese Communist government treats the Dalai Lama as political offender who promotes the “separatist” idea even to this day.  But he received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989.  For the reason beyond my wildest imagination, the possession of his portrait is considered to be an illegal activity in Tibet and China.  If they find any monastery or household displaying the Dalai Lama's photo, not only the photo will be confiscated but also the owner of the photo will go to jail.  

It's like a Christian guy ends up going to jail for displaying a portrait of Jesus Christ. The era of witch hunting came to my mind when I heard about this. Is it really happening in the 21^st century?  Sadly yes, and this is the reality the Tibetans are facing at this moment, and every moment.

Since the Dalai Lama XIV made his exile into India after crossing the Himalaya risking his life in 1959, the Tibetan situation is far from improved but it has been getting worse continuously.

Currently, the number of Tibetans who commit self-immolation as an act of last desperate protest against the occupation has been increasing rapidly. They pour gasoline all over themselves and set themselves on fire running through public area while shouting slogans for free Tibet and return of the Dalai Lama.

The number of Tibetans who have perished in this act has reached 100 as of today, December 11, 2012. Many Tibetan Buddhist monks and nuns were among them.  The last Tibetan who did this extreme act of protest on December 9 was a young woman from Amdo in Tibet.  She was only 17 years old.  

The Western mass media such as CNN and BBC have rarely reported this unusual and urgent situation. They do not want to spoil the mood of the Chinese Communist government because of China's strong economy and its emergence as a new superpower.

These acts of protest by self-immolation by the Tibetans show no sign of stopping. The feeling of the Tibetans who entrusted their people's freedom in these extreme acts cannot be measured by someone like myself whose vision of the reality has been blurred by living in a seemingly peaceful environment in Japan & the West comparatively.

Avalokiteshvara, the deity of compassion

All I can do is keep praying for the change in the world while taking the situation personally so that a breakthrough solution will be conceived.  And if you can let this tragic situation be known to as many people as possible even with an amateur quality blog like this one, that would add to the prayer.

As a matter of fact, it won't be shocking to see what's happening in Tibet in other countries in the future. The Freedom of Speech is becoming more narrow compared to 10 years ago.

The current world is such that some teenagers from the U.K. found themselves arrested after posting a “anti-nationalistic” comments about the British army and they ended up being prosecuted. Similar incidents have happened in the U.S. as well.

The Chinese people themselves are the victims of compromised Freedom of Speech by their own government. Facebook is banned in China because it is filled with comments that are not particularly beneficial to the government. You will get no return when you google “the Dalai Lama” in China because the internet is heavily censored.

Once freedom is lost, one can start to understand its value. But most people living in the modern society while making a concerted effort to balance work, family and private life do not even have the time to contemplate on the meaning of freedom.

So, on this occasion, I would love if you seriously ask yourself: "How free am I, really?"  

Gassho.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Resources for more information about Tibet:

Central Tibetan Organization: http://tibet.net/

International Campaign for Tibet: http://www.savetibet.org/

Students for Free Tibet: https://www.studentsforafreetibet.org/ (U.S.)

Free Tibet: http://www.freetibet.org/

Tibet House: http://www.tibethouse.us/

Tibet Online: http://www.tibet.org/siteseeing.html

Tibet Network: http://www.tibetnetwork.org/

News on Tibet by Tibetans: http://www.phayul.com/

Are you good or evil?

I've always wondered if we human beings are innately good or evil. It's an age old question that's been around for as long as us humans have been around.

Answering to this question feels specially relevant in these times. All the bad news from the media about crimes in every corner of the planet often made me jump to the conclusion.

But one “unfortunate” incidence I encountered got my mind cleared on the answer.

It was definitely a blessing in disguise.

＊〜＊〜＊〜＊〜＊

I broke my bone in the left shin falling from the rental schooler while I was on vacation in Goa, India.

I was 23 weeks pregnant.  Fortunately, baby is doing well.

It happened on Halloween (10/31) in the last week of my 4 weeks vacation.

I was even suspicious, wondering if it was the deed of some mischievous spirits, but according to the story of a Westerner who has been living in the village of Agonda for a long time, there has been numerous accidents at the same spot every year and many have lost their lives there. 

A gaping hole of about 3 cm (2 inch) in diameter occupied my knee which looked like a pomegranate was the most powerful impression from the scene of the accident. The middle of the shin was protruding by about 2 cm (1.5 inch). There was no doubt that it was broken.

Fortunately, perhaps because of the shock from the accident, and thanks to goddess, the pain was barely there to be felt.

So many local Indians and tourists from the West came to help while I was waiting for ambulance for 40 minutes and my heart was filled with healing energy from human kindness.

One of them was a Canadian man who took out some homeopathic medicine from his bag to “ease the shock from the accident” and gave it to me. He also took out a piece of paper to write down the name of private hospital nearby.

If I he didn't stop for me, I would not have been able to reach the fully equipped hospital where I was treated.


Three young Tibetans who I just met the day before the accident just happened to pass by the scene. They were so worried and accompanied me to the hospital following the an ambulance. They were on a short vacation but they spent hours just to keep me company.

The government managed hospital that I was first taken to looked like a slightly better version of a first aid room in elementary school and it was obviously ill equipped to treat the injury I sustained. So I asked them to call ambulance from the other private hospital 23 km away following the Canadian man's recommendation.

I arrived there one hour later and was admitted to the hospital.


The shin bone was broken in two places so I was operated to put a metal pin to stabilize the bone at 6 am the next day. They also closed the gaping pomegranate hole in the knee. They couldn't give me general anesthesia because I was pregnant, so they gave me partial anesthesia that numbed only my legs. Of course, there was no pain during the surgery, but a hand drill and hammer appeared during the operation, and the noise and impact that I felt in the left leg reminded me of a car repair. 

While I was staying in the hospital for 7 days after the surgery, I was touched by the sincere kindness of the Indian nurses and staff and it nearly brought tears to my eyes.

A native Goan, Ganesha is a security guard at the hospital. He's a man in his 30's with macho mustache that gave him a rugged look sporting a khaki uniform. He stopped in my hospital room every night while he made the routine round, touching my left foot as if he was touching the foot of some saint, then gesturing like he was praying to God in the sky with both hands up in the air.


A young Indian lady housekeeper with big dark sparkling eyes. She talked to me often with limited English encouraging me to cheer up. Her smile was that of an angel.

A couple of Swiss women, one of their husbands and their American friend who I just met the day before the accident visited me by taking a taxi all the way from a distance. They were on vacation but they came all the way to see me even if we just met. Their compassion made me bow down in respect.

On the way back to Amsterdam from Goa which took about 24 hours door to door from the hospital to home, I also met so many people with so much kindness.


When I needed to get on the shuttle bus going to Delhi international airport from the domestic airport, a Russian man helped me to lift up my wheelchair to the bus. He was using a cane because he himself had some problem with his left leg but he just helped as a matter of course even without being asked.  

After we arrived at the International airport, he was still waiting to help me get off the bus. I told him that he didn't have to because I was waiting for another wheelchair, and he clutched my arm tightly with a big smile as if to say “Take care” and got off the bus. A silver cross was shining under his shirt.

While I was waiting for a wheelchair sitting on the aisle side seat, the petite Asian young woman who was sitting next to me on the window side waited patiently without even rushing to get off the bus. When a wheelchair came 10 minutes later, she carried my one side with her petite body to help me get off the bus while my partner Tenzin helped me on the other side. I said thank you, and she smiled as if to say “This is nothing” and walked away in silence.

The Indian Singaporean man who gave up his lounge seat inside Delhi airport. He was on the long way back to Singapore waiting half a day for the next plane. I am sure he would have liked to kept sleeping there.

The young woman at the Air France check-in counter gave me four seats with no extra charge so that I can lie down during the 9 hour flight from Delhi to Paris. Thanks to her, I was able to rest fully.


The flight attendant who took extra care of me with her angelic smile in the Air France's flight. You don't even know how relaxed I felt during the long flight to Paris thanks to your smile.

The male staff at KLM Airline counter who gave me 3 seats with no extra charge so that I could stretch my legs in the flight from Paris to Amsterdam. He rushed to me where I was sitting near the counter upon realizing my situation to give me the upgrade after checking my boarding pass from Delhi airport.  

After I arrived home in Amsterdam, Yasu, a Japanese friend of mine who is a shiatsu master rushed to treat me with a special “energy bar” from Japan. The swelling in my leg got considerably better after his treatment.

Floris, a Dutch friend of mine who specializes in electro acupuncture, visited me with all the heavy equipment to treat me for 2 hours. I was able to move my knee surprisingly better after his treatment.


And my partner, Tenzin from Tibet. He looked after me 24/7 in the Indian hospital since the beginning when I was so down that I couldn't even eat by myself.

After we came home in Amsterdam, I was very grouchy because I wasn't feeling well. But he gave me sponge bath every morning, cooked for me, did all cleaning & laundry, and even took care of my toilet needs. I'm sure he was pretty tired himself, but he never appeared unpleasant even if I had to wake him up so many times in the middle of the night.

I have been able to live comfortably in the past 3 weeks even if I cannot walk at the moment because I have been surrounded by all these compassionate people.

I am sending my sincere gratitude to all the kind heart that I was fortunate to feel because of the accident.

There is no border in the human mind. There is only pure kindness as a human being.

My friends, please do not feel despair because of the bad news that seem to permeate our current society.  Know that it's just a few bad apples who are responsible for them but the majority of us are very kind just like the people I encountered.

Also, the mere fact you have read this article about other kind people this far shows that you are indeed kind as well because people are usually interested in something they resonate with.

Human kindness is everywhere if you want to see it.  Just pay attention and you will notice abundance of it around you.


My answer to the question, “Are human beings innately good or bad?” is glaring clear to me now.  



Gassho.

あなたは善人、悪人？

人は生来善か悪か、と自答している自分がいつもいた。人間が存在する限りあった古来からの質問であろう。

この質問に答えるのは今の時代には特に重要に感じる。メディアで報道される地球のあらゆる場所で起こる犯罪が私に結論を急がせることも多々あった。

しかし私が最近遭遇した「不幸」な事件が、私の心にはっきりとした答えをくれた。

不幸中の幸いとはこのことである。

＊〜＊〜＊〜＊〜＊

インドのゴアで旅行中にレンタルのスクーターでこけて左足のすねの骨を折ってしまった。


妊娠23週目の体であった。幸いにも胎児は無事である。

４週間のバケーションの最後の週のハロウィーン（10/31）に起こった。

精霊のいたずらだろうか、などと勘ぐったりもしたが、その村、アゴンダビーチに長く住む西洋人の話によると、そこでは毎年何度も事故があり、何人も亡くなっているそうだ。

ひざにぽっかり3cmほどの穴が空いていて、ザクロのように見えたのが事故現場からの一番強烈な印象だ。すねの中程が2cmくらい突出していた。明らかに骨が折れていた。

幸運なことに、ショックのせいか、神様にお守り頂いていたおかげか、不思議なほど痛みは感じられなかった。

救急車を待っている間の40分間には、通りかかりの地元のインド人や西洋からの観光客の方々もたくさん手助けをしてくれて、人のやさしさに心が癒された。

その中の一人である地元に在中のカナダ人の男性は、「事故後のショックを和らげるために」とバッグからホメオパシックのお薬を取り出して私にくれた。近くにある私営病院の名前までわざわざ紙に書き留めてくれた。

この人がいなかったら設備の整った治療を受けた病院にたどりつけなかっただろう。

たまたま事故現場を通りかかった、前日に知り合ったばかりの若いチベット人の3人も心配して、わざわざ病院まで救急車の後を追ってきてくれた。自分も短期のバケーション中というのに何時間も付き添ってくれた。

最初に担がれた政府経営の病院は、小学校の救急室に毛が生えたという感じで、私のケガには対応できそうにないのが一目瞭然だったので、カナダ人男性に聞いた23kmほど離れた私営病院の救急車を呼んでもらった。

１時間後にそこに到着して、入院の手続を取った。

骨が2ヶ所折れていたので、足にメタルピンを入れて骨を固定する手術を翌朝6時にした。ヒザのでっかい穴も閉じてもらった。妊娠中で全身麻酔はできなかったので、足だけの麻酔だった。痛みはもちろんなかったが、ハンドドリルやカナヅチの登場した手術中は、車の修理をしているような騒音と衝撃が左足にひびいていた。

手術後に7日間入院している間も、インド人の看護婦さんや職員さんやその他の方々の心からあたたかい優しさにふれて、涙が出る思いだった。

病院の警備員でゴア出身のインド人のガネシャ。カーキのユニフォームを着ていて口ひげのある見かけは厳つい30代の男性だ。毎晩の巡回の途中に私の病室を訪ねてきてくれて、聖人の足にふれるように私の左足に触れて、空を仰いで祈る仕草をしていた。

小柄で大きな黒い瞳がきらきら輝いていた、若いインド人の女性ハウスキーパー。私を励ましそうとしてか、限られた英語で一所懸命話かけてくれた。天使のような笑顔の人だった。

事故の前日に会ったばかりの2人のスイス人女性と、その一人の旦那さんとアメリカ人のお友達も、わざわざ遠くからタクシーでお見舞いに駆けつけてくれた。バケーション中というのに、出会ったばかりの私に会いにきてくれるなど、その思いやりに頭を下げる思いだった。

病院から自宅までおよそ24時間かかった、ゴアからアムステルダムへの帰路でもいろんな人の優しさに出会った。

デリー国内空港から国際空港に向かうバスのシャトルで、私の車いすを車両まで持ち上げてくれたロシア人の男性。自分自身も左足が悪いのか杖をついていたが、頼まれもせずに、当たり前のように手伝ってくれた。

国際空港に着いた後も私がバスから降りるのを手伝うように待ってくれていた。「車いすを待っているからいいですよ」と言うと、私の腕を「がんばってね」というように笑顔でぎゅっと握りしめて下車していった。シャツの下に銀の十字架が光っていた。

車いすを待つ私が通路側にいる中、下車を急ぐこともなくじっと待っていてくれた小柄なアジア系の若い女性。車いすが来た10分後、片足の不自由な私の片脇を私のパートナーのテンジンとその小さな体で抱えてくれて下車を手伝ってくれた。お礼を言ったら、「何事もないわよ」みたいな笑顔で無言で立ち去った。

デリー空港内で、私にラウンジの席を譲ってくれたインド系のシンガポールの青年。シンガポールへの長い帰路の途中で次の飛行機を半日も待っている間で、自分もそこで寝ていたかったろうに。

デリーからパリの9時間のフライトで私が横になれるように、私に4つの座席を無料でくれたエールフランスの若い女性係員。おかげでゆっくりと眠れた。

天使のような笑顔で私に気を使ってくれたエールフランスの女性搭乗員。あなたの笑顔のおかげで、長いパリ行きの飛行機の中、私の心がどんなに和んだことか。

アムステルダムからパリまでのフライトでゆっくり足を伸ばせるように、私に3席の座席を無料でくれたパリ空港のオランダ航空男性係員。私の事情を察したのか、私がカウンターの近くで座っているところまでわざわざ駆けつけてくれて、デリー空港からの搭乗券を見た後にアップグレードしてくれた。

アムステルダムに着いてから、心配して日本からの特殊な「エネルギー棒」を持って私の治療に早速駆けつけてくれた日本人の友達の指圧師ヤスさん。治療のおかげで足の腫れがかなり引いた。

オランダ人の友達で、電子針での治療を専門とするフロリスさんも駆けつけてくれた。重い治療器具をすべて持ち込んでくれて、2時間治療してくれた。その後驚くほどヒザの動きが楽になった。

そして私のパートナー、チベット人のテンジン。インドの病院から24時間態勢で私の面倒を見てくれた。最初は寝込んでいて自分の口に食事も運べない私を介護してくれた。

アムステルダムの自宅に帰ってきても、具合が悪くて機嫌の悪い私の体を毎朝拭いてくれたり、食事をつくってくれたり、掃除洗濯をすべてこなして、トイレの世話までしてくれた。自分もかなり疲れていただろうに、夜中に何度も起こしても嫌な顔など一つもしたことがない。

これまで2週間歩けない中、心地よく生活できたのは、こんなに心のやさしい人にかこまれてきたおかげだ。

事故のおかげで幸運にも出会うことができた人々の親切心に心から感謝をしたい。

人の心に国境などはない。そこには人間としての純粋な思いやりがあるだけだ。

我々の現在の社会は悪いニュースで占められているようだが、絶望を感じることはない。ほんの一部の人間がこれらを起こしているのであって、大多数の人は私が出会った人のような親切心にあふれた人である。

また、親切な人についての記事をあなたがここまで読まれたという事実は、あなた自身も親切な人である、ということを語っている。人は通常自分が共鳴することに興味を示すからである。

あなたが望めば人の優しさはどこでも目にすることができる。それに注意を払うだけで、自分の周りに溢れていることが見えてくるだろう。

「人は生来、善か悪か？」への答えは、今の私には明らかである。

合掌。

The *MONEY* Issue

"Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted."

Martin Luther King Jr.

US black civil rights leader & clergyman (1929 - 1968) 

(Click here to listen to an epic classic "MONEY" by Pink Floyd while you read the blog below.)

June 21, 2012 in Amsterdam

Money is often time a sticky issue.

This thing can make or break your closest relationship.

It is that one more thing that can be added to the list of things that's certain for humans:

death and tax

I still haven't met anyone who has never touched a form of currency that we know of now.

It seems that it is unavoidable to be under its effect & circulation
if you live in a human society on this planet.

Money can take up so much of your time & energy.

Thinking about making more, dreaming about spending it,
and
worrying about losing it.

These are the 3 things people usually use their head around money.

But if you retire on some fixed income guaranteed to make you survive in style
for the rest of your life,
wouldn't that helps to save lots of energy we use around money?

So, early retirement is one of the key factors to be happy in this world filled with doom & gloom theories about the imminent global economic bust.


A friend of mine is an economist.

He used to be a senior banker at a well known national bank in the U.S.

The guy knows the world of Money inside out, like that rabbit hole of investment included.

The tiny stash that I totally forgot about turned up recently
so the question was how to play with the mula.

So I turned to the man, Ramsay, who now runs his own company that 
helps people retire early to enjoy life.


On the side note,
he lives in San Francisco with his lovely Russian lady
who is also my dear friend.


Early retirement does not come from winning a jackpot or coming upon a trust fund from your grandma.

It's something any commoners like me can handle
with a free tool like an online calculator that snaps out
the amount of mula you need to retire at the age you decide.

Yes, Ramsay made it easy for you. 

Here's his company's website:

Green Retirement

As one of the blogs from the website says,

retirees are usually better consumers, meaning they don't waste their stash casually.

That means a lot of saved resources including the energy & the environment.

The less you buy, the less footprint you are leaving on the planet.

For instance, if I want to buy a pair of leather shoes made in Indonesia, hypothetically,
they have to be made there using materials from natural resources using precious human energy, and they have to be shipped to Amsterdam using precious fuel.

If I decided to buy a second hand pair, I am recycling not only the shoes themselves but all the resources that was used while they were originally made & shipped.

And most of all, I save that resource I usually like to save, money, so that I can retire earlier.

Check it out.  Ramsay's site is filled with the information many of us cannot afford to miss in this turmoil world of economy, the money situation that involves almost everyone on the planet.

Yes, the situation is changing so quickly & critically.

Don't be blaming your alarm clock malfunctioning when shit hits the fan in the world as we know it now.

Be awaken & proactive to whatever suits your plan as much as you can (amap).

But Ramsay, bro, one more thing, you gotta give me more precise justification for
your portfolio sample you said in the blog to me last week:

70% on S&P 500 Index and 30% on the U.S. T-bills.

Eh?

The time like right now, I have seen and heard so many talks of

the U.S. economy completely tanking and

defaulting as a nation.

If such instance prevails,
what would happen to the U.S. stocks and bonds?

A bunch of printed papers that they are?

That is precisely my question, my friend.

Really, it bugs me to think there is a solution for it
and I don't know about it.

That's all-

Okay brother,

You and I shall prevail-

Love,

marina saga

P.S. Do you know why I spell my name in lower case letters?
It's because I am a human being, not a fuckin' corporation.

P.P.S. Here's the free retirement calculator from Green Retirement again

A Nail that Sticks Will Be Pounded

It is a Japanese proverb.

---Means:

If you don't behave according to the unspoken code of conducts that fits your obvious profile such as gender and/or age, you will stand out like an un-pounded nail and will be pounded.

So you play that role that was assigned to you by the societal expectation, other than your expectation of what your world is like.

Things like a kind of job you work, a kind of house and neighborhood you live in, clothes you wear, a bike you ride, everything is a tool to make you look *me* according to your programming of the idea of who you think you are and how you should look because of your gender, age and perceived societal expectation based on these two factors.

Or, you can just be YOU.

I heard someone said this once:

"All clothes are all uniform or costume."

Makes sense, doesn't it?

So I chose to go between:

"I become as me as possible, by mixing and matching clothes that I received through friends, family, 2nd hand stores, street finds, flea markets so I will not support particular brand but instead, I choose to shop at thrift/2nd hand stores to boycott sweatshops and consumerism that supports it as much as possible, as somethings are harder to come by in 2nd hand, like undies & socks.

I said, "As Much As Possible," AMAP, that is.

Use Your Money as Your Voting Power

Yes.

That's right.

Whenever you are buying stuff - vegetables, furniture, shampoo, juice, clothe & etc.,
you are voting for the company that produced it,

meaning,

you are supporting the company's corporate decisions

such as

environmental or humanitarian decisions.

Say, you buy 1 lb of Costa Rican coffee beans.

If it does not have a logo that reads:

Fair Trade

it means the foreign corporation that made coffee available to you
actually took advantage of the local people
to increase their profit unfairly to them.

Usually it's done through
cheap labor, cheap sales of their ancestral lands to the foreign big corporation.

So when you are buying non-Fair Trade coffee,
you are an active participant of the company's
exploitation of the local people who make the coffee beans.

Some food products that you may find in Fair Trade:

coffee, tea, chocolate, fruit juice,

Your purchasing power is your voting power.

Every time you are spending money, you are voting for the company and its environmental and human rights policy.

Let's use it wisely and appropriately.

Be more informed.