tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post112600991619581980..comments2023-11-02T19:19:15.129+05:30Comments on Death Ends Fun: Bunch of somethingsDilip D'Souzahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08221707482541503243noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1126104858983380552005-09-07T20:24:00.000+05:302005-09-07T20:24:00.000+05:30I agree the competitiveness is odious if it implie...I agree the competitiveness is odious if it implies superiority or arrogance. But the USA gives advice far too freely and is seen as the role model for the world to follow. What Katrina has revealed is not only the horrific loss of life, displacement and human suffering but the longer and deeper warning that we had better learn not to 'master' nature but to coexist with it. American dependence on an oil based society is dangerous for it and the world.After 9/11 the US government could have startd to invest in rail and other mass transportation schemes not one cent extra was allotted for this. And India and China are foolishly pursuing an automobile based society...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1126015865930052502005-09-06T19:41:00.000+05:302005-09-06T19:41:00.000+05:30Dilip,Thanks for this great article. I am also app...Dilip,<BR/><BR/>Thanks for this great article. I am also appalled by this "competitiveness". I've heard things like:<BR/><BR/>- "See that? See that? India is giving America aid? See, a superpower has been brought to its knees."<BR/><BR/>- "When Bombay had the floods, people helped each other. You see, that's what people do. They help each other. They do not loot and rob like Americans do."<BR/><BR/>- "When we had the tsunami, we refused American aid! And now we are giving them aid!"<BR/><BR/>This is unrelated to the competitiveness aspect, but I've also heard asinine things like this:<BR/><BR/>- "I'm amazed that that is America. So many blacks! I thought it was Africa."<BR/><BR/>- "I am not surprised there is so much looting. Blacks are not like Indians. They are violent. Especially in America."<BR/><BR/>You're right, Dilip: many people are using this disaster as a competition of sorts. I'm sick of hearing the same tired argument: "We are better than America because we dealt with our [tsunami, flooding, etc.] better." <BR/><BR/>It's real simple: there was a natural disaster and a lot of people died. Even more people lost their homes and all of their possessions. Yes, this happened in America, the richest country in the world. Yes, the government completely mismanaged the entire situation. <BR/><BR/>But at the end of the day, people are suffering. One should never get "competitive" over deprivation.Vikrumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06919126590338595719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8070362.post-1126014298579949122005-09-06T19:14:00.000+05:302005-09-06T19:14:00.000+05:30Poor Indian graduate students manage on a lot less...Poor Indian graduate students manage on a lot lesser Dilip :). Trust me!!<BR/><BR/>And guess what!! They still tax us a fourth of our stipend !The Tobacconisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10912183908493366214noreply@blogger.com