When I read of the horrific events that lead to the kidnap, rape, and murder of Sara Kuszak, I was shocked and stunned. How could a human be so evil? But that was before I read the statements of psychologist Salvador Santiago, Dean of Students, School of Medicine. But to hear the true voice of evil, well that would be left up to Clarisa Jiménez, President of the Hotel and Tourism Association.
You know I was ready to lay out how the demonic tragedy of Sarah, so recent after the tragic loss of Emily Villanueva Caballero were two sides of the same coin. I was going to say that while these were acute examples of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, they were still perfect examples of the criminal culture which haunts Puerto Rico. But know I don't need to, because Dr. Santiago and Ms. Jiménez have clearly illustrated that for me. In my opinion, both of their comments demand that they be removed from the elite positions which they now occupy. THey are a both a disgrace to humankind.
First, while Dr Santiago is right that our "machista" culture tends to objectify women, treat them as property, and thus diminish their equality with men, I believe he is missing the larger issue. According to Dr. Santiago, "La magnitud de este problema no es tan grande aquí. La moraleja debe ser preguntarnos qué estamos haciendo para disminuir la cantidad de hombres que todavía piensan que las mujeres pueden ser ultrajadas, violadas o que no son iguales a ellos." Roughly translated with a little emphasis he says, "This isn't a big problem here in Puerto Rico. (Really? Tell that to Sarah's family and loved ones. I submit to you that any society which looks at the tragic end to this poor woman's life and rationalizes its' significance away is destined for an existence of misery, tragedy, and ultimate downfall. I say that that the only frequency that is acceptable is zero. No one should have to experience what she did.) The moral of this event is to ask ourselves what are we doing to reduce the number of men that still think women can be abducted, violated, or that they are not equal to men. (How about, what are we doing as a society to eliminate the number of people that believe that they can violate the essential rights of any human being and break, with total impunity, laws which are supposed to protect its citizens?)
But it's Ms. Jiménez's statement that really nails the collective thinking about crime in Puerto Rico. In a shameful excuse, she describes Sarah's death as having serious implications, “por tratarse de una mujer joven sin pasado criminal." Translated she is saying that there are serious implications for the treatment and death of a young woman without a criminal record. No Ma'am, there are serious implications when an "upstanding citizen" such as your self believes it is acceptable for this to happen TO ANYONE. Just because someone has a criminal past doesn't mean that they're not human anymore.
What we as a society have not realized is that we can not draw lines around crime and say these crimes are acceptable, but when it happens to someone like Sarah or Emily they are unacceptable. Crime should be unacceptable in all of its' forms and disguises. The level of denial someone has to have to believe that permitting a culture of crime within the poor and the drug addicted will not spill over to touch ever part of our society is bordering on psychotic. It is now clear to me that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. knew that the poor and drug afflicted of our society would become the new blacks, the new slaves to be treated as inhuman, unequal, and therefore in no need of our compassion or protection.
Oh and by the way, I think that it is incredibly disrespectful and even bordering on negligent for the new Director of Tourism, Jaime López Díaz, to state that his office needed to implement the Public Relations Crisis Plan, "para llevar el mensaje a nivel internacional de que esto es un caso sin precedentes en la Isla y que Puerto Rico continúa siendo un destino seguro y de excelencia.” What he is saying is that that are going to broadcast at the international level that this is an unprecedented case in the island and that Puerto Rico continues to be a safe and excellent destination. Yes it is so safe that it's elite citizens want to live in walled communities surrounded by 24 hour security. Yes, it is so safe that those that don't live in a secure community must place bars over every possible entrance to their houses. Yes it is so safe that the ex-Director of the power company needed 3 full-time body guards. Yes, it is such an excellent place that most of the bathrooms in our public beaches are either broken or locked. Yes our beaches are so excellent that they look like trash dumps.
With my deepest sympathies to the families of Sarah Kuszak and Emily Villanueva Caballero, I am only left with hope. As Puerto Rico continues its' rapid descent to the bottom in every possible aspect of civilization, we are one step closer to things getting better. We will finally wake up. This is not the Matrix, we will eventually have our eyes wrenched open to see the disaster, suffering, and insanity that we have created.
Flickr Creative Commons Contributor: Steve Rhodes
A fascinating article in the New York Post, proposes the following: Those who believe they were born with all the smarts and gifts they’re ever going to have approach life with a “fixed mind-set.” Those who believe that their own abilities can expand over time, however, live with a “growth mind-set.”
Your like so what? Well I'll tell you so what! Have you every thought that you're perfectly content with the job you have? No, well have you met someone who was? Have you ever concluded, with a sigh of relief, "I'm glad I don't have to study anymore." What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you encounter a new challenge, a new skill that you need, or a task that you've never done? If it's oh I don't know. It's not my job, it's outside of my training, or I don't think I can do it because I've never done it before, then you might have a fixed mind set. Not you, fine! What about your peers or your subordinates? Sorry boss, I can't do that with out going to training.
The Times article reveals that after three decades of painstaking research, the Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck believes that: "Society is obsessed with the idea of talent and genius and people who are ‘naturals’ with innate ability. (Or had the good fortunate to be born with a certain last name)” Oh yeah, that sounds nothing like most of the people I come into contact with. Oh you haven't worked in the pharmaceutical industry, then you clearly can't work on our computer systems. Oh sorry no banking experience, nope, no way you can understand our computer systems. Yeah I guess that whole Masters in Computer Science doesn't provide me any basis on how to learn new computer systems.
Dweck continues: "People who believe in the power of talent tend not to fulfill their potential because they’re so concerned with looking smart and not making mistakes. But people who believe that talent can be developed are the ones who really push, stretch, confront their own mistakes and learn from them." Now that clearly is NOTHING like most people here. The typical Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican company is so completely immobilized at the prospect of making a mistake or not looking smart, that if a task, idea, or opportunity comes along that is outside of their comfort zone, it must simply be ignored.
Finally Dweck concludes that: "People with a growth mind-set tend to demonstrate the kind of perseverance and resilience required to convert life’s setbacks into future successes. That ability to learn from experience was cited as the No. 1 ingredient for creative achievement in a poll of 143 creativity researchers cited in “Handbook of Creativity” in 1999.
Conclusion: Well, it explains a lot!
In a culture where image is everything and vanity is the number one motivator, we let our obsession with looking smart and avoiding mistakes dominate our lives. When considering Dweck's research it is now clear that these beliefs must be a major contributing factor to the lack of [innovation, research, invention, market growth, market creation, and global focus] here on the island. In addition, it explains why, when it comes to technology, there is a herd mentality of follow the leader. Since technology is complex, ever-changing, and hard to understand, most managers (leaders) refuse to make bold decisions that place the necessary importance and risk on technology. The exact strategy that all companies need to stay competitive. With a lifestyle mentality, business owners are content to have risen to as high as they believe their abilities can take them (Peter Principle), so they become fearful of losing what they have. They become risk-averse, exactly as identified in the classic business article 'Why good companies fail' .
In addition, for the same reasons, it prevents nearly all of our companies from researching and developing new products. It also blocks nearly all of our "entrepreneurs" so that they conclude that since company 'x' is successful, then that must be a good idea for a business. Therefore they conclude that it is a good idea to start a business to offer almost exactly what company 'x' provides. Listen people: Puerto Rico doesn't need any more online classified ad sites. I'm not saying give-up and let ClasificadosOnline.com 'own' the market. I'm saying unless you're bringing something new to the game that can disrupt their guerilla marketing strangehold on the market, don't waste your time. They have too much of a head-start for anyone to displace them with the exact same product and marketing strategy.
In a previous life I worked for a large wireless telecommunications company. We spent hundreds of thousands of dollars launching a web-based system to sell cellular telephones. Before we launched the project I asked the director in charge of the project, "How many phones do you think we'll sell from the website?" His answer: zero. So I asked, "Why are we spending the money then?" His answer: because our competitor has a web site to sell telephones. While this director was not stupid his decisions clearly illustrate a fixed mind set. Instead of changing the game, bringing something new to the market, all he could come up with is that's what my competitor did, so I have to as well, EVEN THOUGH HE BELIEVED IT WOULD BE A COMPLETE FAILURE. Is it any wonder our economy sucks so badly?
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