Cool. Mein Gedankengang geht ursächlich genau darauf zurück, dass ich in Breslau war!schokoschendrezki hat geschrieben:(27 Sep 2018, 13:33)
"Konsum" gibt es selbstverständlich. Und ob! Aber keinen "roboterhaften". In einer Stadt wie Budapest oder Breslau oder Prag wissen sich die meisten Menschen im Durschnitt (nach meinem Eindruck) um einiges geschmackvoller zu kleiden als etwa in Berlin oder Hamburg. Und streifen dafür kenntnisreich durch verschiedene Warenhäuser und Boutiquen... EInfach mal selbst hinfahren und nicht solche Plattitüden daherreden.
Ich hab daraufhin folgende Schilderung dazu verfasst:
On my way home I got the opportunity to spend some time in that
creepy new thing that is the new bus station in Wroclaw. (In case You
dont know it, its that one: https://www.wroclavia.pl/
but the website doesn't tell the actual story - one has to see it.)
I had recognized it already on the way forth, but then it was late
and the thing closes at "normal" times - it is only for the BUSY
people, not for the nightflyers or partygoers. So I went elswhere
for dinner.
Then, on the way back, as I was hungry and hadn't had proper
breakfast, it appeared very difficult to get out of the thing
(and for instance go to the http://restauracjadwakolory.pl/, where
we once were sitting outside, and where they always have easy
polish food), because one can find everything inside and it is
very comfortable (albeit only for the BUSY people -
the dishes are very big so that people fetch more food, and while
standing in the queue the food starts getting cold, so one must
eat quickly).
Lets retrospect: when I first came to Wroclaw, the bus station was opposite
the railway station, and it was basically a flat area with a little
rain protection and the bays for the buses, nothing else.
Then later, that area became a building site, and the bus station
went into that backyard You know.
Now, that whole area is occupied by a super-modern shiny new big
building. It is very big, supposed 50'000 sqm, and very spacious,
and equipped with supermodern stuff - even the toilets are fully
automated and as roomy and luxurious as in a 5* hotel. All this
must have been very expensive...
The bus station is now underground, and below that seem to be two
more levels for car parking. Then on the ground floor and the levels
above it is all shops, criss-crossed by escalators. But its not
normal shops where you would buy things you need. It's "fashion
shops", "outlets" and all the expensive branded crap which nobody
really needs (and which is actually manufactured in Bangla-Desh
by people who earn a dollar a day). It looks really like the
departure area of an airport (and even more cleanly and sterile).
Finally, on the top floor there is something they call "Grand
Kitchen". And that is an area with maybe 30 different "restaurants".
There is every kind of: chinese, japanese, greek, turkey, fish
speciality, dumpling specialty, icecream shop, and obviousely
also mcdonalds, pizza-hut, etc.etc. - but actually it is not
real restaurants - it is all self-service or buffet for the BUSY
people. And: there is no alcohol offered. (It seems there
is one or two real restaurants also, where there are dishes and
waiters and which are labelled "Bar", so these serve alcohol.)
Up there one can also go to the outside, where there is an open
roof garden - so one can sit in the sun for a while and has no
need to leave the building, anyway. Obviousely that area has
signs that declare it non-smoking, but there is also a corner for
smokers, and they even have free deck-chairs there.
So it is all very very nice and very comfortable, and it is all
very great american bullshit. Why that? Lets put it together:
The whole thing seems to resemble the modern american ideal
of people: they are very "clean", they don't smoke and don't
drink alcohol, they have business jobs and are very busy and
"successful", and they need to make money because they must always
buy all the newest fashion stuff - which is their main interest
in life. They care much about their health, thats why they
go to the sports gym (obviousely there is also a gym in the
building) and care a lot about proper nutrition strategies, but
they have no taste - and if you were to ask them for what purpose
they actually live, they would not know an answer. They're
stereotypes, they'ra all about doing the proper things and
having the proper appearance, and they're interchangeable -
in fact they look like they were shop-window dummies - they are
consumer zombies.
So when I perceived that building, I was thinking: oh my gods,
do the Poles indeed want to become the 51. US-state?
So far, this is it, and it is dangerous, because specifically the
young and successful people (those who rather should bring new
ideas into society) may easily fall for that and begin to
think that would be the purpose of life.
But that's not yet the whole story - as I figured when I got
home and started to read various newspapers. There I found the
usual complaints, basically that Victor Orban does refuse to
host migrants and the EU is angry about that - and some stupid
commenters declared that if he doesn't want to play according
to EU rules, he should leave the EU and give back the EU money.
And then the whole thing started to figure for me: because, what is
this EU money (which Poland receives as well)? It is said to be for
"structural improvement". And that does practically mean, it is
exactly the money needed to build such expensive shopping malls,
and similar things!
But then, who does build them? Those fully automated toilets and
escalators are not built by Polish firms - they are built by e.g.
German firms! So, a lot of that money comes back and creates business
(and thats the point in it - nobody just gives away money for free).
But then it goes on: those fashion shops are also not Polish shops:
they are Nike and Svarowski and similar international groups - they
only have Polish employees in the shops, but the money flows out
of Poland to the international investors - they are the actual
winners. Same with the "restaurants" - they are also not owned by
Poles, but by Mcdonalds, PizzaHut, Marche etc. - mostly american
corps.
Certainly all this will create new jobs, and new opportunities for
many people. But at the same time it will suffocate the natural
diversity of local business in favor of a worldwide uniform culture -
a shoppingmall in Dubai or Singapore looks no different than in
NY or Poland - it's the same shops and same products.