Tuesday, 08 September 2009

• Currently Slicker Than Your Average By Craig David World Filled With Love see related

  ^_^ short(er) blog today!! feeling a little tired and sick! *cough* >_<
  WARNING: you might hate me after reading this blog. Sorry in advance if this blog has offened you.

  So I was watching The One Show on BBC with my mom today when I saw this segment on sofa's which contained "sachets of a highly dangerous chemical, dimethyl fumarate or DMF, put in the sofas in China to stop mould growing". These sofas were causing some really agonizing injuries and skin reactions to thousands of unlucky customers. It's pretty old news, but I didn't really pay attention to it before and didn't know just how horrific the injuries sustained were! I am not pointing the finger here and am not sure as to the true reason behind the use of such chemicals; but my underlying feeling is that this is another case of selfish businessmen in the pursuit of even greater profits using these chemicals as they were cheap and did the job in preserving the lesser quality stuffing used in the sofas. I am aware that this is just my personal opinion with no supporting evidence; As far as I can tell, this might not have anything to do with the Chinese manufactory and that it was an honest mistake. However, when you actually look at it, why did I get such a gut feeling to begin with? The answer is simple; this is not, and most likely won’t be, the last case of dangerous goods coming out of china. In a country where people would go as far as to fake baby milk powder for greater profits, using dangerous chemicals in sofas no longer seems that unlikely.
   
  I know that this problem exists worldwide and cannot be isolated to one which only exists in China. For example, the current economic crises was caused by a number of selfish bankers and companies blinded by money and profits. Maybe it is the fact that I am Chinese myself, thus being a little bias and pay more attention into problems caused by China is just a part of me.
  I actually feel this is an inherit problem caused by traditional Chinese ideals. In a Chinese society, success is everything. A good father is one which is able to provide meals and material goods for his family rather than one whom shows it love and care. A successful person is always the one whom has the largest pay check and not the one who has done the most to bring love and kindness into this world. I guess it is good to know that this tradition has somewhat been watered down in newer generations. Perhaps what I’m trying to say is, I really do hope our generation can depart from the ways of those before us and change.

  Sometimes, I truly do feel ashamed, embarrassed if not a little guilty in being Chinese. A country which pays little respect for human life, where anything can be exploited and justified in the name of greater profits, where the rich get richer and poor get poorer. Is money really that important?

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