Tuesday 15 March 2011

Sympathy and concern for Japan

Children of Adam all come from the same source,
When one is wounded, all share the pain,
He who cannot feel the pain of others,
Cannot call himself Son of Man.

- Saadi

4 comments:

Wikispooks said...

Laudable sentiments indeed; and from the pen of a Persian, Arab-educated Muslim no less.

Deeply ironic therefore that it should be applied to events in Japan by a London Banker don't you think?

I wonder; do London Bankers and those they serve REALLY feel the pain of Palestinians, Iraqis, Afghans, Chagossians, Mau Mau, Apache, Aborigine and assorted other native/ethnic 'unpeople' who decline to see the world their way but just happen to inhabit coveted pieces of real-estate - or whatever?

London Banker said...

One cannot generalise from the general to the specific among bankers any more than any other category of man. You imply a division in the world between those oppressed and those oppressing. The same division can generally be drawn in any group of men, no matter how small or how labelled. In every group you name, there will be oppressors and oppressed.

Is the influence of international bankers in Palestine or Iraq more damaging than the influence of corrupt and self-serving politicians who are themselves Palestinian or Iraqi? The same could be asked of the other groups you name.

Men devise systems of governance and economic distribution to achieve improved societal outcomes. Not all men, not even all bankers, and certainly not all London bankers, will devise a more unjust system if given the influence to alter the status quo.

By drawing tribal or geographic lines, you draw divisions that are impossible to either enforce or erase in a mobile world. By devining systems and markets on principles and measureable outcomes, I embrace the world and challenge it to deliver better and more for all peoples.

Silver Timer said...

Thank you LB,

Other sites have started with a nod in the direction of Japan's suffering and then immediately launched into market impact commentary...accurately reflecting our lack of humanity. Not you.

Then a considered response to a presumptuous critic, well done.

Anonymous said...

Let us all hope that Japanese people prevail against all that has been inflicted upon them. And countries of the world support them in their quest for a degree of normalcy in their devastated lives.