Think YOUR Job Sucks?

[Bill]

I had an opportunity to go to Xiyue Huashan [Mount Hua in Shaanxi province], and while admiring the beautiful scenery, I discovered a group of laborious “tiaoshangong” [a porter? laborers who carry and transport goods with poles on their shoulders]. Amongst them was an old man who left me with an unforgettable memory. These photos were not taken very well. Everyone bear with me!

Huashan’s elevation is over 2000 meters, about 1500 meters from the foot of the mountain to the summit, and the road is precipitous and winding. The transportation of goods is handled by “tiaoshangong”. Their work is extremely laborious, carrying from the foot of the mountain to the highest South Peak, with each 1/2 kg’s price being only 3 mao [~0.04 USD]. Every morning at 6am they begin climbing the mountain, only returning to the foot of the mountain at 6pm at night. In order to survive, they have no choice but to do this.


This old man is already 72-years-old, his wife having died of heart disease many years ago, with no sons or daughters. His crops plagued by pests, his harvest is very little. He has no choice but to join “tiaoshangong” ranks. Other people can carry 35kg, but he can only carry 15kg, which means a laborious day is only 9 kuai. While on the mountain, I saw him sitting there resting, and while descending the mountain, I also found him with many blisters on his right foot, hobbling down the mountain. I was unable to refuse my compassion and purchased for him a cable car ticket down the mountain.

He said, if only there was a meal to eat, he would not come do this!



More pics ...http://www.chinasmack.com/pictures/huas ... ld-porter/

[Chris Fleming]

There is a similar group of people in Afghanistan who have to do the very same thing. They are a shunned group and the only jobs they can get is transporting goods with their wheelbarrow and whatnot. People often hire them and then tell them to piss off when it is time to pay.

[cerebus]

And people in the US throw a fit if their double soy caramel latte isn't made exactly as they like it... People need to get out of the US and look around at what life really is for so many other people...

[roger hao]

I dunno - I think I would rather that then become a WalMart greeter.

[Methods]

And people in the US throw a fit if their double soy caramel latte isn't made exactly as they like it... People need to get out of the US and look around at what life really is for so many other people...

Thats fucking dumb... You should get pissed when you pay five bones for something and it comes out jacked.
This guy created his own destiny. Is it wrong or right, bad or good, he can only judge that. I feel compassion for him but I know of many others in the same boat, it is what it is and most of the time it is because of a decision or circumstance that got you there. For this guy it just seems like plain ol bad luck and being poor to start off with. To blame is not Americans whom get mad about coffee drinks, but the Chinese government that does this to their own people.

Did you get any info on this guy or an address? I would like to send him a few bucks to help make his day better and maybe get him off the mountain for a day or two...

[Ian]

most of the world lives like that.

[cerebus]

Thats fucking dumb... You should get pissed when you pay five bones for something and it comes out jacked.
This guy created his own destiny. Is it wrong or right, bad or good, he can only judge that. I feel compassion for him but I know of many others in the same boat, it is what it is and most of the time it is because of a decision or circumstance that got you there. For this guy it just seems like plain ol bad luck and being poor to start off with. To blame is not Americans whom get mad about coffee drinks, but the Chinese government that does this to their own people.

I'm not suggesting that "Americans who get mad about coffee drinks" are "to blame". What I'm saying is that such Americans lack perspective. They spend $5 on a drink because they can afford to, then act as though they are so greatly deprived if it's not exactly to their specifications.

How do you know if "this guy created his own destiny"? Sometimes that certainly is the case. Other times one's "destiny" happens in spite of one's best efforts. Who knows what the story is there. As has already been mentioned, for many people in the world, this is simply how life is. My point was that most people here in the US really have not the slightest clue how good they really have it...

[Dmitri]

And people in the US throw a fit if their double soy caramel latte isn't made exactly as they like it... People need to get out of the US and look around at what life really is for so many other people...

True, but (un)happiness is not an absolute term, and it doesn't seem to depend on the "absolute measure" of the amount of suffering one receives... it's all relative. E.g. the frustration about having to fix a leaky roof vs. frustration about having to recover your improperly-parked ferrari that was towed while you were at a party is the exact same human emotion.
The only difference is when the problems begin to directly threaten lives of loved ones on a basic level, i.e. when your children have nothing to eat, then it's in a different league. But barring that level of trouble, most of the stuff people usually experience in life is the same for everyone IMO.

[mrtoes]

There's so many people all over the world who have the shittiest jobs it's not even funny. Porters in Nepal have to do shizzle like that but carry up to twice their bodyweight. There's not much point beating yourself up about it but it does give you perspective (hopefully). I seen old people sweeping the streets in old Soviet republics amongst Stalinist white marble buildings who had to bribe officials to even have that!

Dmitri - your relativism is pretty much on the nail but there are a lot of people who get hit by the kinda stuff that transcends relativism, things like severe malnutrition or starvation, absolute unemployment (that's real unemployment not "I don't want to empty bins"), terminal or crippling ailments that should be easily treated, not having a roof over heads, etc.

Anyway my job still sucks

Matthew.

[Dmitri]

...but there are a lot of people who get hit by the kinda stuff that transcends relativism

...yes, and I included that same caveat in my post.

[Steve James]

There are shittier jobs, but the point that people complain about trivia is valid. It doesn't have to be directed at Americans because there are probably people who complain about the froths on their lattes or chips in their china not too far from the guy in the photo. The photos are great. The saddest part is not the actual job; it's that it's an old man; it'd be as sad or sadder if it were an old woman or a young child, and it's not hard to find examples. At any rate, the pictures, imo, are about introspection.

It's true that "it is what it is", but that doesn't mean that there shouldn't be a compassionate reaction. And, imo, it'd be better to act on that compassion than complain about it.

[Darth Rock&Roll]

america = new rome

ergo it gets blamed if a baby in india dies of typhoid fever.

lol, that's life, now please return to the strange enjoyment of bitching at your barristas.