Bleeding heart conservative

by phil on Thursday Sep 24, 2009 9:42 PM
off-front

The Filipinos are interesting. We were watching Wowowee on Filipino TV at a Filipino restaurant, and there were no subtitles, and up on the screen was this man with no teeth. Well, he had one tooth, like a can-opener tooth, and the MC was asking him some questions. And then the camera moved to the audience, onto what looked like his daughter, and you could make out she was talking about wanting to grow up and become a nurse. And then the camera went back to the old man, and he was crying.

I couldn't pick up exactly what was going on, but based on what I know of Filipino variety shows, the basic gist is usually an impoverished person getting a major break. And eventually this man did. He won half a year's salary right then and there without performing any major feat of trivia-recall or other game-show achievement.

This show couldn't happen in the US. Too many people would be disgusted by the display of rednecks and would deride the show, commenting like, "Ah, that hick is just going to spend it on booze and hookers."

In the Philippines, this is about the Cinderella story. In the US, just witnessing these people is self-debasing.

On a related note, I feel disgusted by "People of Wal-Mart," in both meanings of the term. I find the styles and fashion sense of the unwitting subjects to be repulsive. Simultaneously, I find the harping on Wal-Mart repulsive. I think hating on Wal-Mart is what makes liberals unattractive. Actually, among liberals, making fun of Wal-Mart makes you cool. But my gut sense of Wal-Mart is that it employs a ton of low-income people and it provides goods and services at really affordable prices to the poor (and wealthy alike).

If you hate Wal-Mart, what would you want in its place? Do you want fancy boutique stores that only the middle- and upper-class can afford? Sure, expelling Wal-Mart will improve property values, but at whose expense? You're making someone else's commute a little bit longer.

So does this make me a bleeding heart conservative?

When I watch those Filipino programs, my first thought is, "aw, poor guy," but then my second thought isn't, "let's throw tons of money at him." Instead, I ideate about what would it take for them to better themselves, or hoping they find some solace in something healthy, like the joy of family or good fun.

Or I'm an elite who's just trying to prove he's more enlightened than both conservatives and liberals. And more self-aware.

Comments

Squidhelmet said on September 29, 2009 11:25 PM:

I do have to admit I love that website. And I feel a little better about it knowing this site is out there: http://www.latfh.com/

Philip Dhingra said on September 29, 2009 11:29 PM:

Oh man, I go there for fashion tips!