21st Century Living: Part One

Cold Winter

By Andrew Chung
April 27, 2006

As winter finally winds down, there is only one word that could sum up this time of year: cold. Well, yuh think? Oh, but you misunderstand me my friends.

There are two major stereotypes people have of Canada: it's cold and the people are very polite. But I'm only sure they're half right. The stereotypes are in fact a bizarre paradox for someone who has grown up in Toronto. I mean sure, I'm freezing my ass off as I write this, but the people of Toronto have become as cold as its climate.

The mere act of saying 'hello' invokes paranoia and awkward looks. It may be understandable for the most part if they really are complete strangers, but in the mundane hustle and bustle routine of large cities we encounter many of the same faces every day. Saying 'hello' to those that we recognize should not be a far stretch of the imagination. But alas it is for most, whether they recognize us in return or not. In this liberal day in age we live in, whether the person is a member of the opposite sex or not, someone who goes out of their way to say 'hello' is either coming on to them or wants something from them. It would never occur to them that it may be simply an act of kindness.

Oh, you're paranoid, you say, there are plenty of friendly people out there. I agree, you may be right. But it's always the bad apples that ruin the bunch.

I was downtown the other day, standing in the middle of the sidewalk with family discussing a show we just watched, when suddenly someone over my shoulder screams, "Hey!!"

I think to myself for a moment that it's nothing, just someone calling out to his friend. I look over my shoulder and this elderly man (who clearly is not senile) is aggressively pushing past me mumbling, "Get the hell out of the way."

And I am completely baffled out of my wits, wondering how a human being could be so rude to another. So I say to him, "What is wrong with you??"

"See, in Canada the people walking this way walk on the right side, while the people walking the opposite way walk on the left," he says condescendingly.

"Have you ever thought of saying excuse me?!" I exclaim.

"What the hell are you - ?" he shouts. But he hesitates for a moment, as if holding his tongue from saying something almost dangerous. He then proceeds to turn around and walk away.

He was not an Asian man, if any of you have already inferred so much. He was Caucasian, and reading between the lines it was quite obvious that he was implying that I was not from around here and didn't deserve any respect simply because I was Asian. Mind you, I was born and raised in Toronto my entire life.

In any given major city, this experience is probably far from rare, and doesn't even have to be a matter of race, but simply discourteous behaviour that occurs all too often. If you've ever seen the film Crash by Paul Haggis, this cyclical nature of anger and bitterness (which here, came out in the form of racism) running rampant like an invisible epidemic is not unique to Los Angeles. Indeed, it's common in most, if not all, densely populated metropolitan areas. What results, are cities of miserable people who have inadvertently propagated their temperament to those all around them.

So the question is where does such bitterness originate from? It's clear that it must be something unique to largely populated cities. One may be quick to argue that naturally large crowds get the better of everyone. While the argument has some definite merit, I believe it comes down to one key characteristic of modern society: technology.

It's all around us and is the driving force behind any major city's fast paced living. As things get easier with technology, living gets faster. We can get anything and contact anyone anywhere at any time. Technology has given us instant gratification. And with instant gratification comes an implacable expectation of it, because the alternative (i.e. delayed gratification) is not a habitual experience. Granted this idea is obviously not a new one, but its connection to the collective disposition of a city warrants discussion.

If there is any one aspect of technology that causes a busier and faster society, it is our mind blowing ability to communicate information to one another. The advent of cell phones, palm pilots, Blackberries, and the Internet has made the flow of information instantaneous. While the immediacy of information exchange has undoubtedly enhanced our standard of living, forced governments and corporations to be more transparent, and created more educational opportunities, they have come at a cost. Something has been lost in achieving all of these efficiencies and enhancements. Our mindset is often, 'how can things be done better?' 'What can make us better?' But I use the word 'better' very loosely, because we use it with a very important underlying assumption, and that is that doing 'better' or being 'better' consequently makes us happier. And happier is the operative word here. Technology is supposed to make us happier.

But I'll bring you back to my initial thesis: most techno driven metropolitan areas are rife with miserable people.

And there my friends, lays the paradox.