PARALLEL - Bangkok, Thailand

...dozens of glasses
on the table to
the dj spins techno
trance and hip hop
the fine tuned vibes
send the mood glide high

Recipes against unhappiness, chapter 2 - Children

This chapter is about what NOT to do, rather than what to do, to make people less unhappy in life.
One of the most despicable things that humans can do is brainwashing their own children. This is done when they are growing up and learning, when they are most vulnerable and need the support of the adults that surround them, those same adults they trust with their own safety and security. That’s exactly when they get betrayed and permanently damaged. The aim of this subjugation procedure is to install in the youth’s mind functional narratives such as religion, nationalism, patriotism, ethnicity, culture, even preposterous tribal totems such as sport fanaticism and traditional cuisine. It has always been done, and it’s still done nowadays, even where a great emphasis is placed on children’s rights.

Recipes against unhappiness, chapter 1: sphere of direct control

This recipe against unhappiness is quite easy, and it has ancient roots. The concept is simple, its logic unassailable, for it is very basic. Yet few people follow it. The others, almost everyone, spend their days at work, at the restaurant, at the bar or at home, arguing about topics they actually know nothing about; matters that are not directly connected to their lives. And they do it with such a zeal, as if they were defending what is dearest to them.
Let's try to make this point clearer.
You come across a theory, a hypothesis, a suspicion of a global nature. Let's say in the geopolitical, financial or social context. Okay, may be that theory is correct. Or maybe not. Can you confirm it or deny it without leaving your sphere of direct control? If the answer is yes, then confirm it or deny it. If the answer is no, I'm sorry, but by insisting on supporting it you are only wasting time and energy, and you are probably making a fool of yourself on top of that.
Let's take an example.

Developing country? - Bangkok, Thailand

When disabled passengers enter any station of the Bangkok SkyTrain system (BTS), they are accompanied by an attendant to the right platform and assisted while boarding the train. The arrival station is then informed of the relevant train, car, door and seat numbers. When the passengers reach their desired destination, an employee will be waiting for them in front of the specified door and will accompany them to the station exit.

Khaosanroadsunrise

All of a sudden an incandescent blob
has popped up right at the end of the road,
it might be a nuke test, like in Alamogordo,
but only a fat tourist here is called gordo.
A few seconds later we can breathe again,
the overweight guy can return to Spain,
the light is still there but this is not Nagasaki
and the noise we've just heard is of an old Kawasaki.

Economics

I am walking down a busy sidewalk and I badly need to pee. I remember that at the end of that narrow alley on the right there is a public toilet. I rush. When I get there I am reminded that to unlock the toilet gate you need a 10 baht coin. I don't have any. There is no one around who can give me change.
My nearly exploding bladder is enhancing my resourcefulness: I have an unexpected idea. I remember seeing a nice lady with a radiant smile squatting on the floor at the alley entrance, begging the passersby for some spare baht. Hadn't I been distracted by my body needs I would have already dropped a coin in her bowl. I grab a 20b note out of my pocket. For most people this note is worth double a 10b coin. And that, of course, includes the lady with the lovely smile. However, I want to pee now, and I need the 10b coin, which I don't currently possess, and that makes it priceless for me, no matter what's worth for you or anyone else.

Modern slavery

Modern slavery is not imposed,
no weapons needed, nor nets or chains,
the enslavers operate like fishermen:
they drop a bait that the slave will bite:
it could be an iPhone, a BMW or a penthouse,
the slaves will wake up at 6am,
suffocate for hours in the morning traffic,
sacrifice their eyes for the sake of a report,
arrive home late more sleepy than hungry,
wake up at dawn more drowsy than horny,
watch TV programs that promote mental numbness,
scroll over fake posts that help them feel real.