Chapter 11 8. I'm a 100% jerk

MM: As I said in a previous letter, I feel that there is nothing to "rebel" in our age.I went to see a movie yesterday and my mind changed a bit. This German film is called "The Good Days Are Gone".The three young people felt that the society was very unfair, and wanted to continue the revolutionary spirit of the German leftist "Red Army Company" in the 1970s. However, the "Red Army Company" used violence to try to realize their ideals. in a nonviolent way.They broke into the rich man's mansion, but they didn't take anything or destroy it, they just changed all the furniture in the mansion, and then left a note: "The good old days are over!" What they mean by "threatening" the rich man is : No amount of money can help you, we are here.

One of the three people used his broken car to hit a rich man's Mercedes-Benz, so he owed a sum of money to repair the car.One night, it was discovered that the mansion they broke into happened to be the home of the owner of the Mercedes-Benz, and they happened to be bumped into and recognized by this man again.So they had no choice but to "kidnapped" this person, that is to say, they became "kidnappers." Hiding in a dilapidated wooden house in the Alps, several people started talking.They discovered that this rich man was once an "angry youth" in the 1960s and 1970s, full of ideals and fighting spirit to transform society.The three of them gradually reflected and felt that their "kidnapping" behavior was not in line with their ideals, and wanted to let them go; while the kidnapped recalled their "angry" years, they also said that they would not call the police, and their debts were also serious. Don't ask for it.

But once the rich man returned to his familiar environment, he changed his mind and immediately called the police.The police followed the route to the residence of the three and found that it had been evacuated, leaving only a note saying: "Some people will never change." The movie ends with these three guys breaking into a TV station and shutting down the channel.They think TV is stupid The most thorough tool. This is a movie about class and the difference between rich and poor, social justice.I was thinking, well, my dad and I went to see this movie, he was driving a BMW 745, I was wearing a Ralph Lauren white shirt, the town we lived in, the town with the highest average income in all of Germany - then I Isn't it the "bad guy" in this movie?With so many people in the world starving to death, isn't it immoral for us to drive luxurious cars?Some people work for a day and still can’t earn enough to eat, but I just go to school, don’t have to do any work, and live comfortably like a little prince, can I feel at ease?I also know that TV is manipulating and playing with people's thinking and values, but I continue to sit there and watch TV.I also know that when the material is full to a certain extent, it loses its meaning, but I still enjoy the material fullness.

Is there really nothing worth "rebelling" in this world?Is this society true, as I said in my previous letter, is there no injustice worthy of our "revolution", no ideals and values ​​worthy of our actions? I think there are, and there are. OK, so what can I do?I can think of a few possibilities.One is that I can become an activist, draw up a plan, go out to the streets to protest.One of the three revolutionaries in the movie said that he has completely seen through the social system like this virtual Matrix, and he refuses to coexist with this false Matrix.I feel that I can only see part of this virtual structure, and I can bear it—maybe because I close my eyes, because I don't want to see the problem, and I don't want to see the problem, and the problem becomes abstract.My solution was to turn a blind eye to the problem and pretend not to see it—if only I could turn my mind off.

But what can I do if I decide to open my eyes to the injustice of the world?I live in a democratic society where information is open and values ​​are diverse. TV, internet, and newspapers influence me every day, but when you really want to know what you can do, they tell you, hey, you have to up to you, Because this is democracy. When I was talking about freedom for young people earlier, I got a lot of letters from readers ("a lot" to me) who seemed to share the same feeling that there is nothing to "rebel" in this world.But this movie seems to remind me that there are so many injustices in the world, how could there be no need for "rebellion"?The difference is only whether you are willing to see, whether you are willing to stand up, and whether you act or not.

In the end, I had to ask myself: So do you decide to "stand up" and "act"? I really thought about this very seriously, and then, MM, I must be honest with you about my self-discovery, and you take it as a "confession."What I found: Yes, I know that McDonald's destroyed a large area of ​​virgin forests in South America to produce beef, and their bosses have money in their pockets, but I will not stop eating McDonald's because of this.I know many children in Africa are dying of malnutrition, but I wouldn't stop leaving uneatable meals on the plate to be thrown away.In other words, I found out that I was a 100% asshole.

I am a young man who "lives too well", and it is not too much to slap me a few times, but at least, I clearly see my own state of existence, and at least, I do not regard my state of existence as an obstacle. Rong. Now, MM, I wonder what you'd say? Andre