America

Moving here has taught me exactly why so many American teenagers are so interested in and passionate about politics and activism and changing things. The system sucks, it really does.

In Hong Kong, teenagers really don't get involved with all that stuff because we have it so good. Who wants to go against an almost-perfect system? I mean, my only complaint is the language barrier (but that's really my fault, though HK needs to stop advertising itself as an English-speaking region). In Hong Kong, I can get anything I want without suffering bureaucracy. The buses run on time, everything is so clean and maintained, people get paid measly wages but can somehow live on that because everything is so cheap. It makes me wonder who is suffering to make the city of Hong Kong run so smoothly, like melted butter.

Over here though, I really see how money equals power. And it scares me. Because I feel like people with money are buying our souls without our permission - they are using our ignorance. Money can buy history (as we see with CBGBs) ... money shouldn't be allowed to buy history. I feel like I never ever want to give my money to the huge corporate conglomerates that chase out individuality and character. Like Starbucks, which can make it hard for anyone to own a ma-pa coffeeshop.

Money really drives the system here and it's like big corporations are creating a new reality for us - we are their little puppets.

I will be no one's puppet.

I will not give my money to the brands that paint a new and untrue world for us - though I have: to Apple, to Motorola, to Nike (my converse), to Coca-Cola ... now I'm asking myself, 'who owns H&M? Forever21? Kim's? The Bowery Ballroom? Penguin? Harper-Collins? Rough Trade? Transgressive Records?'

I would love to get Blackspot trainers (with their anti-logo) but I frankly cannot afford them. American Apparel treats their workers like people, but it means higher prices. I would honestly love to put my money in the right places, I wouldn't mind paying more for that - but I simply cant afford $80 trainers and $25 plain t-shirts. That's where they get us.

Indie used to mean that you went against the tide and consciously chose hole-in-the-wall coffeeshops over Starbucks, Transgressive over BMG, Reebok over Nike (joke) ... and even though today, Indie has been reduced to an image of coolness and people tying their Converse in a different way to be unique, I dare say that I am Indie. I don't want a world painted by those with money. I will consciously pick the places where my money goes. I want to know, who am I giving my money to when I shop at:

-Duane Reade
-Rite Aid
-Global Ink
-Kim's
-H&M
-Forever21
-etc

It's a slippery slope but I am SO going there.