Wednesday, February 25, 2004
A School Principal's Death
A middle school principal in his early 60s in a southernmost town of Korea (Republic of) committed suicide a few days ago. Reports of suicides were routine but a sociological context implied in the incident was deep and complex.
Why did the principal kill himself? Did he do anything heinous to the students and the parents of students in the school precinct? Did he cause any financial losses to the school?
No, he did not. Of all the public servants in the nation, teachers in the lower learning institutions have been highly regarded as the people of integrity and high moral standards. The principal has been one of them.
Alas, against his own will, he was embroiled in an ugly ijime (wahngtta in Korean) incident which had occurred in one of class rooms of the school. People from higher up (the Education Board in the district) came to him and made inquiries into the incident in which a group of bullies had posted live pictures of the classroom ijime on the Internet.
The live pictures of the classroom ijime roiled the local netizens. The teacher in charge of the class at issue denied her knowledge at first. But the further probe showed that she was aware of the incident.
Fact is that she was making notes on the black board with her back turned to the students while the ijime was going on. She was listening to all the proceedings. She knew what was going on behind her but she did not make any evident efforts to stop the ugly sadistic monstrosity and punish the bad kids on the block.
A group of bullies were making a prey of a student who was making a silent scream. They were engaged in nudging at his ribs, hitting punches on his back, and kicking his legs, giggling. The worse part of the classroom violence was that a member of the gang took a shot at the weird scene. The worst aspect of the scene was that all the class was acquiescing at the mob scene and the teacher was virtually one of the classroom gang.
In due course, the school principal became the target of criticism. Feelings of resentments over his failure to control the teaching staff, combined with the feeling of insult from darts of social accusations--emails, letters, and visitations of protests--seems to have been too stressful. He himself had been beleaguered when he made up his mind to liquidate his career. He was another victim of ijime of sick Korean society.
A middle school principal in his early 60s in a southernmost town of Korea (Republic of) committed suicide a few days ago. Reports of suicides were routine but a sociological context implied in the incident was deep and complex.
Why did the principal kill himself? Did he do anything heinous to the students and the parents of students in the school precinct? Did he cause any financial losses to the school?
No, he did not. Of all the public servants in the nation, teachers in the lower learning institutions have been highly regarded as the people of integrity and high moral standards. The principal has been one of them.
Alas, against his own will, he was embroiled in an ugly ijime (wahngtta in Korean) incident which had occurred in one of class rooms of the school. People from higher up (the Education Board in the district) came to him and made inquiries into the incident in which a group of bullies had posted live pictures of the classroom ijime on the Internet.
The live pictures of the classroom ijime roiled the local netizens. The teacher in charge of the class at issue denied her knowledge at first. But the further probe showed that she was aware of the incident.
Fact is that she was making notes on the black board with her back turned to the students while the ijime was going on. She was listening to all the proceedings. She knew what was going on behind her but she did not make any evident efforts to stop the ugly sadistic monstrosity and punish the bad kids on the block.
A group of bullies were making a prey of a student who was making a silent scream. They were engaged in nudging at his ribs, hitting punches on his back, and kicking his legs, giggling. The worse part of the classroom violence was that a member of the gang took a shot at the weird scene. The worst aspect of the scene was that all the class was acquiescing at the mob scene and the teacher was virtually one of the classroom gang.
In due course, the school principal became the target of criticism. Feelings of resentments over his failure to control the teaching staff, combined with the feeling of insult from darts of social accusations--emails, letters, and visitations of protests--seems to have been too stressful. He himself had been beleaguered when he made up his mind to liquidate his career. He was another victim of ijime of sick Korean society.
Friday, February 13, 2004
A Greedy Star Got Stranded at Last?
Korean stars are going nuts. As is the case with the planet, the constellation might be getting sick. From the galactic flu or something? Itching to go naked, they bring up every gamut of excuses for their nudity.
They seem to have been born to get naked. Days and weeks don't go by without the crazy media covering and reporting the stars' craze for nudity. Why are they so obsessed with the idea of showing their naked anatomy anyway? You won't need a statement of the obvious:To make a big killing.
The militant woman activists and feminists are always in for the answer. It's been all-effective answer for women's nudity. That is the ideology of victims, that is, the victimization theory. The ideology of self-justification has been etched in women's genes that the male-dominated society has taken advantage of aesthetic beauty of women bodies for their visual gratification. What a crafty self-deception!
A star has been stranded at last. How come? Too much of a good flower? Was it ill-timed? Was the dark attempt to make the unfortunate "Comfort Ladies" the motive of her nude demonstration brought to light? Local people got enraged over the naked greed of a woman TV actress, demanding her and company to stop the process.
Korean stars are going nuts. As is the case with the planet, the constellation might be getting sick. From the galactic flu or something? Itching to go naked, they bring up every gamut of excuses for their nudity.
They seem to have been born to get naked. Days and weeks don't go by without the crazy media covering and reporting the stars' craze for nudity. Why are they so obsessed with the idea of showing their naked anatomy anyway? You won't need a statement of the obvious:To make a big killing.
The militant woman activists and feminists are always in for the answer. It's been all-effective answer for women's nudity. That is the ideology of victims, that is, the victimization theory. The ideology of self-justification has been etched in women's genes that the male-dominated society has taken advantage of aesthetic beauty of women bodies for their visual gratification. What a crafty self-deception!
A star has been stranded at last. How come? Too much of a good flower? Was it ill-timed? Was the dark attempt to make the unfortunate "Comfort Ladies" the motive of her nude demonstration brought to light? Local people got enraged over the naked greed of a woman TV actress, demanding her and company to stop the process.
Monday, February 09, 2004
How to Use Your Cars Longer
A local broadcasting company aired an impressive yet odd footage (on SBS TV on the 8th of February, 2004, Korea) in which several 'age-old' automobiles of Korean make were speeding along with brand-new cars of world class. The maker of the cars was Hyundai which had launched on a fledgling car export in the 1970s. The name of the car was Pony with the icon of the beast inscribed on the name plate.
The vintage vehicles made a real scene. Pedestrians stopped short of their progression and turned around to see the vehicles pass by with awe and inspiration. Curious folks behind the steering wheel waved their hands. People on the passenger seat opened the car window and popped up their heads, overwhelmed with the sudden emotion of
nostalgia.
The owners' pride about their old cars was noticeable. They touted their ancient triumphs on and on. The saga of their love was endless. Asked about how they have been able to succeed in maintaining cars' agility and sleekness, they said almost in unison, "They had to be washed, oiled and scrubbed."
One of the car owners had many tips to offer. "The maintenance of the mechanical normalcy is not enough," he opined. He has had to give the stuff everything he had. He has had to love it. "How much?" he was asked by his interviewer. More than his wife and his offspring, he has had no reservations about it. Is it not too much of a good flower? No way. No reservations about it this time, too.
"The machine also has emotions" he declared with a flair of assurance. How come he is so sure? He has known that with his insight, that is, the sixth sense. He has come to realize that he has "become one" with the machine. He has made it a rule to talk to the machine, touch and caress it, to wash and clothe it. Stress is the last thing he has had to give his lover. "What has it been then," the reporter of the broadcasting media was curious. "They have been speeding and rough driving. You can give it the sense of comfort and decency by not speeding and rough driving," he said, "and it will then give you them back in kind."
A local broadcasting company aired an impressive yet odd footage (on SBS TV on the 8th of February, 2004, Korea) in which several 'age-old' automobiles of Korean make were speeding along with brand-new cars of world class. The maker of the cars was Hyundai which had launched on a fledgling car export in the 1970s. The name of the car was Pony with the icon of the beast inscribed on the name plate.
The vintage vehicles made a real scene. Pedestrians stopped short of their progression and turned around to see the vehicles pass by with awe and inspiration. Curious folks behind the steering wheel waved their hands. People on the passenger seat opened the car window and popped up their heads, overwhelmed with the sudden emotion of
nostalgia.
The owners' pride about their old cars was noticeable. They touted their ancient triumphs on and on. The saga of their love was endless. Asked about how they have been able to succeed in maintaining cars' agility and sleekness, they said almost in unison, "They had to be washed, oiled and scrubbed."
One of the car owners had many tips to offer. "The maintenance of the mechanical normalcy is not enough," he opined. He has had to give the stuff everything he had. He has had to love it. "How much?" he was asked by his interviewer. More than his wife and his offspring, he has had no reservations about it. Is it not too much of a good flower? No way. No reservations about it this time, too.
"The machine also has emotions" he declared with a flair of assurance. How come he is so sure? He has known that with his insight, that is, the sixth sense. He has come to realize that he has "become one" with the machine. He has made it a rule to talk to the machine, touch and caress it, to wash and clothe it. Stress is the last thing he has had to give his lover. "What has it been then," the reporter of the broadcasting media was curious. "They have been speeding and rough driving. You can give it the sense of comfort and decency by not speeding and rough driving," he said, "and it will then give you them back in kind."
Tuesday, February 03, 2004
The Craze for Nudity
The national leadership is in disarray. As a result, the nation is amiss in the whirlpool of confusion, disorientation and conflict arising from the missing leadership. Thirty-some people take their own lives every day. More than one hundred brethren hit the road for emigration. Corrupt politicos are pointing their fingers at each other, with blood-shot eyes calling each other "barriers to political reform." Bank robberies and abductions have become a routine. The richest get aboard the plane for golfing excursions. The richest make a cache of huge sum of cash dollars and checks not in monetary banks but in private coffers, which have become targets of warranted raid searches by High Prosecution's Office.
The stars are going nuts, too. As is the case with the planet, the constellation might be getting sick. From the galactic flu or something? Itching to go naked, they bring up every gamut of excuses for their nudity. They seem to have been born to undress themselves. Days and weeks don't go by without the crazy media covering and reporting the stars' craze for nudity. How come they have been obsessed with the idea of showing their naked anatomy anyway? Here is the answer. Militant woman activists and feminists have themselves prepared for all-effective answer for that question: the ideology of victims, that is, the victimization theory, which makes a witness to the grim reality that the male-dominated society has taken advantage of aesthetic beauty of women bodies for their visual gratification.
The national leadership is in disarray. As a result, the nation is amiss in the whirlpool of confusion, disorientation and conflict arising from the missing leadership. Thirty-some people take their own lives every day. More than one hundred brethren hit the road for emigration. Corrupt politicos are pointing their fingers at each other, with blood-shot eyes calling each other "barriers to political reform." Bank robberies and abductions have become a routine. The richest get aboard the plane for golfing excursions. The richest make a cache of huge sum of cash dollars and checks not in monetary banks but in private coffers, which have become targets of warranted raid searches by High Prosecution's Office.
The stars are going nuts, too. As is the case with the planet, the constellation might be getting sick. From the galactic flu or something? Itching to go naked, they bring up every gamut of excuses for their nudity. They seem to have been born to undress themselves. Days and weeks don't go by without the crazy media covering and reporting the stars' craze for nudity. How come they have been obsessed with the idea of showing their naked anatomy anyway? Here is the answer. Militant woman activists and feminists have themselves prepared for all-effective answer for that question: the ideology of victims, that is, the victimization theory, which makes a witness to the grim reality that the male-dominated society has taken advantage of aesthetic beauty of women bodies for their visual gratification.
