Thursday, August 6, 2009

inequality: Paris, pollution and the nouvelle rich


I have just come back a short holiday visiting friends in Paris. The weather was great and it is a very beautiful city, particularly by night. However Paris is also a very aggressive and dirty city too...

 

Paris feels very polluted - the traffic is awful, there are so many cars in the street. I kept thinking "beautiful by night, but disgusting and dirty by day", the thick smell of traffic, metro and stale sweat? All coupled with the "violent emotions" of the french. Of course big cities tend to be aggressive, but the following incident real shock me: I was half across a three lane zebra crossing when the lights changed, the cars revving their engines just came at me. It was so aggressive! I was quite horrified, this was far worse than any London driver; who have an vile tendency to accelerate at zebra crossing, to intimidate you from stepping out and assuming your right of way. No this was even more aggressive and dangerous. I signalled to the young yuppie couple that they really had to let me through, which they reluctantly did. As they drove past in their BMW convertible, the elegantly dressed young woman gave me a two-finger solute!?


This is the 2nd time I have been attack by a yuppie couple in a sports car, the first (in London) was the Mercedes' who decided to cut the lights from a side street almost wiping me out in an accelerated sweeping turn (I am sure his woman was impressed). While I had stepped out into the road (the pedestrian crossing had just turned green for me) fortunately my boyfriend grabbed me back.


The nouvelle rich often disgust me, they are so vain, selfish and uptight, they can keep their filthy money. Honestly to much inequality, it is bad for the soul.


Finally back to Paris the noise pollution of all the traffic is pretty awful as well :(


pollution

1 air and water pollution contamination, adulteration, impurity; dirt, filth, toxins, infection; smog.

2 the pollution of young minds corruption, defilement, poisoning, warping, depravation, sullying, violation.



disgust |disˈgəst|

a feeling of revulsion or profound disapproval aroused by something unpleasant or offensive : the sight filled her with disgust | some of the audience walked out in disgust.

verb [ trans. ] (often be disgusted)

cause (someone) to feel revulsion or profound disapproval : I was disgusted with myself for causing so much misery | [as adj. ] ( disgusted) a disgusted look.

DERIVATIVES

disgustedly |dəˈskəstədli| |dɪsˈgəstədli| adverb

ORIGIN late 16th cent.: from early modern French desgoust or Italian disgusto, from Latin dis- (expressing reversal) + gustus ‘taste.’


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