"Life's a Slice"

My wife's campaign to destroy Grand Casino Luzern is proceeding apace. She is continuing to sow dissent and discord at every opportunity. I have learned during my time here in Switzerland that Europeans tend to have a very different relationship between employees and management. The employees have a tendency to just take their lumps from management, to figure that "this is just they way things are", and to suffer in silence. Perhaps it's a holdover from the distant past, a reflection of the relationships between the nobility and the peasant class in feudal Europe, whereas the peasants had almost no power, and the nobility had almost all of it. Who knows?, but I have learned that cultural legacies like these can persist for centuries, regardless of how times have changed. Whatever the reason, most of our fellow coworkers just grumble to each other about how awful the job is, then proceed to lick management's ass, or at the least not cause any ripples. Also, many of them are from other, often less-priviliged countries, and are afraid to complain and risk the possibility of losing their job. I think America is very unique, in that it is the only culture I know of that aplauds the idea that not only anyone can....but everyone should....claw their way to success, that unacceptable situations should never be tolerated. Only Americans are so bold and demanding in life(or you could say "such assholes" as well, but I'm trying to be positive here). They often get what they want because they do what it takes to get it. Not Europeans so much, although that fails to explain my wife, as she is European! I often say nowdays that she is more American than I am, and that's no exageration. She is doing everything in her power to change a situation she finds unacceptable in the time she has left. She is encouraging everyone to either stand up to management and demand change, or to quit en masse and leave the casino without a staff. She is trying to have everyone go see a lawyer, explain the horrible work environment and the advantage that the casino management is taking of them, the laws they are supposedly breaking, and to initiate a class action lawsuit. I believe she has a few more dealers on the verge of quiting. Unfortunately for her, she doesn't have much longer to achieve her goals, seeing as how we only have a week of work left -- but I wouldn't put it past her!

Here's an interesting fact about the casino here in Lucerne, that might surprise just abouuuuut......nobody: there is a particular ethnic group of people that tend to frequent the casino and its gambling tables much more regularly and in greater numbers than other ethnic groups. Can you guess which one? -- I'll give you a hint: This groups name starts with an 'A', has three letters in the middle, and ends with an 'N'. It also has multiple ethnic subgroups that have names that start with 'C', 'J','T','V','I', among others. Yes, as I'm sure you have guessed by now, Asians represent themselves in the casino far, far more than any other ethnic group. I'm sure everyone who works in a casino and reads this blog is flabbergasted at this revelation..........not. Some nights at work, here in the middle of the middle of Switzerland and Europe, I feel like I am in China.

Now, there are a lot of stories and analyses in the news today about the ascendancy of China, its massive population and work ethic, its surpassing of the GDP of the economies of Germany, Great Britain, and Japan, the inevitability of its eventual dominance over the global economy and everything else, and its potential effect on international affairs and relations. However, from what I witness and observe on an almost daily basis, I really don't think we have too much to worry about. For starters, they are not just addicted, but absolutely obsessed, with gambling in any and all forms. Gambling is not just an amusing entertainment to enjoy with friends on rare occasions, it is like eating and breathing for them. I'm not sure if they would choose to live without it. Furthermore, they are the second worst gamblers the world has ever known -- after the Swiss, of course. They gamble because they are compelled to, not because they know how to! They do almost everything wrong, believing in their own 'luck' and superstition rather than cold hard statistics and money management. On top of this, if the time they take to ponder, discuss, argue -- and finally decide, to make a bet is any indication of how capable they are in the global marketplace, then we are aaaaaaallll good. Add to this their often complete lack of personal hygiene, their inability to dress themselves with any sense of style or fashion, and their tendency to pick their nose, hawk up loogies, chain smoke, and smell. All we really have to do to put a halt to their designs on global domination is to have American companies build a bunch more casinos in Asia, and keep bringing them to Las Vegas, and eventually we will get all of our money back! Problem solved.

Speaking of cultural differences, lets talk about some more of the differences between Europeans and Americans that I have witnessed and experienced. After all, that's what this Blog is all about! Although many women in Switzerland choose to work and pursue careers, which they are free to, and encouraged to, do if they so desire, it seems that many more than in America choose the alternative of not working, at least when they grow older. I see a lot of women working who are in their twenties and early thirties, but very few who are older than that. Maybe older women are out there working in great numbers, but simply at jobs that do not put them in as frequent contact with the public, I don't know. What I do know is that women on average start having children over here at a much older age than in most parts of the world; well into their thirties, and even into their mid-forties is not uncommon. I've seen pregnant women walking around here that look like they should be grandmothers! At least! At this stage in their lives, they often choose to stay home and care for the children. Personal incomes in Switzerland are such that most families can survive on just the man working, although they do have to be more frugal. Contrary to Americans, they are much more satisfied with fewer "things" in their lives, and most often live in smaller homes, or apartments, own only one,small, car, rarely eat out, use public transportation often, and simply.... live simply. As I've mentioned before, "getting rich", and striving to fill their lives with as many material possessions as possible is really not a priority here. It seems that older women here are often content to give up their jobs or careers, and become career moms. Younger women, though, especially those in their teens and early twenties, do seem to be more insecure and less socially developed than women from other western countries. From what I have seen, they are more "clingy" and desperate for attention and approval when around the opposite sex. I'm not sure of the causes behind this. To be honest, the Swiss in general are all less socially developed than many other western countries. It's really just a small country, of rich nerds!

Many cultural and ethnic relationship dynamics here in Europe strike me as disturbingly "Old World". Do you think that all these countries,representing all these different cultural backgrounds, religions, histories, different languages, different ideas, beliefs,and ways of "seeing" the world are all going to get along "lovey dovey"? Or that all theimmigrants coming here from other, generally less-developed,second or third-world countries and cultures are just going to blend seemlessly into the whole? Don't kid yourself. Most people dislike and distrust anyone different from themselves. I would hazard to guess that most Americans would naìvely conclude that something like the Holocaust could never happen again, that it was a cultural aberation of unique time, place, and situation, that Europeans, and especially Germans, have thoroughly learnt their lessons, are still contrite, and feel horrible about it all. Ha, Ha, it is to laugh. I am here to tell you that with little provocation(and if they could get away with it), the Holocaust could happen tomorrow. Jews are not well-liked over here, and, along with the Muslims and former Yugoslavian country's immigrants, they are blamed for much of society's ills. They are viewed with suspicion at best, and open hostility and vitriolic hatred at worst. Unfortunately, they do not try and make it easier for themselves. European Jews, in general, are not like most American Jews. They do not "blend" in, they do not try and assimilate into greater society. They do everything in their power to differentiate themselves, and thus make themselves an even greater, more obvious target. They are very openly Old School. They are immediately identifiable, for they always, at the least, wear their yarmulkes(even the children), and at the most, old-fashioned black suits, black wide-brimmed hats, and the curls cascading down the sides of their faces. They speak their own language(or English), go out of their way to not associate with those not of their faith, partake of very few social events, sports or activities not of their making, live in their own neighborhoods, marry only their own people, go to their own schools, shop in their own stores, eat their own food, work in their own businesses, bathe infrequently, and have virtually no social skills or identifiable sense of humor, at least among Gentiles.

Overall, there is a lot of suspicion, distrust, and discrimination between and amongst all the European countries, but especially between Western Europe and Eastern Europe, most particularly towards the former Yugoslav countries, and specifically against Gypsies, no matter where they come from. Some of this discrimination may be seen as harmless, but it is nonetheless insidious. Of course, America can be, and has been, just as bad. This is not a competition. Americans are just as capable of discrimination and racial hatred and distrust as anyone from anywhere. Neither am I trying to say that Europe is a cauldron on the point of boiling over with hatred and "ethnic cleansing", but it is also far from a utopia of racial tolerance and comeraderie. Many ugly things lurk just below the surface.......

So, on a more upbeat, carefree note, I just celebrated my birthday on the 14th, and my wife and I went up to the resort of Engelberg by train for the day! We took gondolas and chairlifts up to the top of the mountain, and went innertubing on a glacier in the middle of summer! It was very cool, and incredibly beautiful. Thank you, babe! Most of the pics in this post are of that day. Ciao.