Consumerism

and its pitfalls.

So a friend showed me this after hearing that I've been to the Tiger Temple at Kanchanaburi. It's a horrible account of a British tourist's trip to the temple in December last year. When we were there, we did think it was kind of dodgy, cause the tigers all looked pretty doped up.. and the handlers were kinda herding us around as though we were animals too. Eric pretty much hated it. But because our 'tour' was the cheapest we could find, we weren't "entitled" to everything that the Brit experienced and did not witness the things she did. Still, it's shocking and horrible and we should have researched more on it before heading to that 'attraction'. I was naive to believe the brief accounts that I read about it being a sanctuary for tigers. The campaign and drive for action to be taken is starting to gain in strength and numbers though and I really really hope that the push is successful. So if you know of anyone who is visiting Thailand, please pass the message on. Lest they fall prey to lending a hand in the abuse of these tigers.

Coincidentally, this actually ties in with an entry that Audrey did, on the pervasiveness of consumerism. In this age that we live in, the act of buying and owning tangible goods have become a way of life. The phenomenon of consumerism has managed to slide itself subtly into every nook and cranny of the society, from the affluent to the developing. Anywhere that a cent can be found, you can be sure that there's an ad inducing you to give that cent up for something else, something that will satisfy your desires, your needs, soothe the itch of instant gratification. 

In Bangkok, the ads and brochures for the Tiger Temple are virtually in every tour package, every tour agency. With pretty pictures of roaming tigers that appeal to that animal lover in you, and pictures of monks leading these tigers appealing to that compassionate side in you, it's not surprising that so many cough up money for such an experience. And in the process, unknowingly contributing to these tigers' abuse. But it's not that we're not aware of consumerism at work. We are aware, we know that advertisements are meant to lure us, to tempt us. Yet so often, we just go along with the flow, letting the temptation of satisfying a self-serving need in us win over. I liked how Drey summed it up, that 'our outlook to the awareness of the inherent consumerism that exists today, should settle for some introspection for the things we consume and pursue'. Being consumers, we do have the power to decide where and what our spending money is channeled into.

I'm sure many hope that the tigers from the temple will get their reprieve. But with consumerism and it's prevalence in society today, where it's money, demand and supply that's keeping the economy going, I can't help but wonder how far the government will actually be willing to go, in stopping something that plays a part in the pumping of cash flow into their economy. 

Today's swedish word is, missbruka, which means abuse. It can be used in two ways.

Djur missbrukare - means animal abuse.

Ett missbrukat ord - means a misused word.