10 years
It’s been a decade since I first arrived in US for the “American Dream”. I thought of doing rocket science at NASA one day and making my parents feel proud when they see me on TV.
Fast-foward to 2019, I’ve learned a lot about what a scientist is and isn’t. I’ve been receiving continous education for the past ten years and counting. I’ve met a lot of people along the way, made a lot of new connections, learned to think from different angles.. and so on…
Why Send Kids Oversea?
This is not about politics.
Watching the photos and videos taken during the ongoing protest in Hong Kong and hearing the opinions expressed by mostly people in the age group of 60+ on the use of violence by the police force towards unarmed protestors, I can’t help to wonder why are these people so eager and proud to send their children to schools, to colleges, to overseas but then argue that the younger generations have been brainwashed by western cultures to voice their opinons and expects equality, and that it’s unreasonable for them to demand demoncracy nor to be treated like as humans by the police force because they shouldn’t have protested in the first place? I cannot comprehend the contradictory between wanting their kids to receive higher education overseas and refusing to listen and learn from them? So why do you overwork and save your earnings for their education? Why don’t you keep them at home and just teach them yourselves? Why do you admire your neighbors when they tell you their kids are going to college, studying abroad? I just can’t follow the logic in their heads.
I find it very interesting that these parents/older generations think that they are the lord/God, and that their opinions and beliefs should be respected by the younger generations blindly. Similarly, they believe that the police are there to preserve orders, and thus, whatever actions they take must be just and fair. Isn’t that too idealistic?
This post is not about my opinion; after all, I am a very rational person, just someone who’s fascinated by human behaviors and wanting to understand why people think in certain ways or believe in certain things.
I decided to write about something related to Hong Kong today because I was listening to some cantonese songs that were once popular when I was attending high school.
Songs I Listened to and Moving Past Childhood Memories
Admittedly, I am not someone who’s good with names of any artists. Most of the songs and artists I know probably date back to 10 years ago due to peer influence.
I was listening to a Canton Pop song playlist on Spotify while taking the subway this morning. My brain formed somes vivid images based on my memories growing up in Hong Kong. Over a decade ago, Causeway Bay used to be packed with locals and tourists, with all kinds of shops and restaurants. Traffic is always jammed. These days, all the photos I’ve been seeing on the internet show two groups of people with no public transportations (no buses, not trams, no taxis). One side shows a group of people around my age, wearing t-shirts and shorts with facial masks and umbrellas, while the other group consists of fully armed police force with shields, pepper sprays, tear gas canisters, guns, etc. The night shots show clashed between two groups with tear gas filling the air.
It is not the Hong Kong I remember. Not sure how I should feel about that city.