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From: wmartin@brl-smoke.ARPA (Will Martin )
Newsgroups: net.women,net.singles
Subject: Re: career vs. relationships
Message-ID: <1686@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Mon, 10-Mar-86 15:08:39 EST
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Posted: Mon Mar 10 15:08:39 1986
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I hope that at least some of you who are participating in this "careers"
discussion caught the latest episode of the PBS program, "Adam Smith's
Money World". A good part of the program was devoted to a woman who is
now involved in trading with China -- I'm sorry that I forget her name;
she had an academic background in economics and Eastern languages,
worked for a couple large organizations running their Japan and China
divisions, and since then has formed her own company to negotiate trade
and barter deals between Western companies and Chinese suppliers or
customers. Her working conditions were mentioned -- mostly 12+ hour
days, 6 or 7 days a week, living out of bleak hotel rooms, enduring
spartan conditions in various off-the-beaten-track Chinese locations.
No social life possible. She loves it, or at least gives that impression. 

Now, to me, that sounds like hell. She's probably making vast amounts of
money, and seems to be enjoying doing what she does. It would not suit
me at all, and the money would not make up for doing what she has to do.
This is simply due to a fundamental difference in our psyches. 

I think this is the kind of disparity in viewpoint that some net
participants have, and neither can understand the others' attitudes.
That is why some will decry what others have done as "giving in" to
the malign forces of oppression, and those will respond with resentment
against what they see as "holier-than-thou"ness and an attempt to run
their lives in someone else's image. I doubt if there is any solution;
I don't think that it really is possible for people so involved or
committed to a certain mindset or attitude to "back away" long or far
enough to view the situation dispassionately or objectively. There is
really no common ground for meeting and discussion.

I'm not offerring any solution. If I knew one I'd be Leo Buscaglia or
somebody like that! :-) But maybe it can be remembered that we are
speaking different languages, from different world-views, and trying to
"convert" each other, or even make each other somehow "understand", is
futile and a waste of energy.

Will