隻是因為在人群中多看了你一眼...
三生石上舊精魂,賞月吟風莫要論;慚愧故人遠相訪,此身雖異性長存。
September 4, 2007
“鑽石恒久遠，一顆永流傳”（A diamond is forever), 這句被商家 De Beers 設計推出的口號應該是人盡皆知，尤其是戀愛中的女孩子。 似乎“鑽石代表愛情”這個概念由來已久，根深蒂固，近年來， 更有“愛情就是鑽石”之趨勢。 上個月在國內甚至看到一個真人真事的電視節目，女孩子對男朋友傾吐內心的最大願望—“我就是想要一顆鑽石！！！ 我可以以後忍饑挨餓，過簡單的日子，但是我結婚一定要一個大大的鑽石！”結果男朋友回答說—我們現在沒有條件買大大的，先給個小的用著，以後再換—這個回答在女孩子無可奈何的表情中贏得了場上觀眾的熱烈掌聲 。。。
很多人也許不知道，這個婚嫁必有鑽石的規矩和習俗其實是1960年才由美國開始並且流行起來的—這是個完全由De Beers 一手打造出來的商業產品。無可否定， 這是個出色的市場開發的絕妙大手筆！不過鑽石象征永恒，象征純潔的愛情嗎？ 看看李湘與鑽石大王李厚霖的一年多的婚姻也許會找到答案？
這個改造了美國人以及整個世界消費習慣的公司，現在又開始把毒爪伸向年輕的中國市場—看看上麵的電視場景，和你周邊的女性朋友談談，然後再在Google上查一下（China+Diamond），你就可以看到，這個不亞於中國空氣汙染，土地沙化，能源緊張，交通擁擠的無形侵襲，正在無孔不入地進入中國億萬個人家。但是，你知道鑽石能從一個稀有礦石變成今天的愛情象征是經過商家采用了什麽樣的手段，其中還有那些駭人聽聞的血鑽 （Blood Diamond）和那麽多的悲慘故事 呢？
下麵的文字是我看了“艾麗絲筆記”的文字“鑽石恒久遠”的留言並修改的 （“艾麗絲筆記”的原文請看http://blog.wenxuecity.com/blogview.php?date=200709&postID=2151&page=1#mark),可惜沒有時間用中文寫一遍了。
Anyone who read the book Blood Diamond, or even watched the movie, might have some different opinions on the extravagant value that the merchants put on diamonds. Undeniably, the diamond industry has made this 120 years of industry more profitable than most of the brick-and-mortars. Its sophistication levels on controlling the productions, marketing and sales; the way they cultivate the product imagines and dynamically direct and control the politically climate to create market demand, all and all, came from the visions of one single man, who had no formal education and had virtually no money to start with, Cecil Rhodes, the founder of the one and only dominating diamond company in the world, De Beers.
Even today, it is inconceivable to many that, out of this $81 billion annual sales industry, De Beers has over $60 billion sales, and the U.S. customers consumed more than $31 billion dollars (2004), over 50% of its sales are to the U.S. —and, more amazingly, this happens when De Beers, the world largest diamond company, is prohibited by law to do any direct business with any U.S. company because of its monopoly position in the world of diamond, which is in violation of U.S. Antitrust Law. There is also a U.S. law specifically prohibits De Beers in conducting formal business in the U.S., no more than three officers can be in the U.S. at the same time, or facing arrest even jail time.
Of course, the so-called Blood Diamond is only less than 2% of the total annual global sales, according to the carefully crafted research and study from world diamond industries. However, some critics say that the real number could be as high as 20%!!! Since there is no way to trace the origin of a stone once it is cut, even the most sophisticated chemical analysis would fail to achieve this noble goal—eradicating the profit from blood diamonds, it should not be a surprise to see the stone which made some girl’s day could be the one that contains a bloody history, a history full of amputations, child labors, mass murdering and genocide, and the war that caused over 3 million death and over 6 million people displaced in Sierra Leone, Angola, Congo and other Africa nations.
Diamond is the only item that one can carry in a naked body with value worth millions. The diamond industry proclaims, A diamond is forever!!! I wonder if the true reason for some women or men for that matter, to love diamond is because it resembles love, or really, let’s face it—it resembles a portable and liquidity wealth, and the influence of power it implies?
Love is something much deeper than skin, can we wear love instead of diamond?
Diamond is only an overly inflated piece of rare mineral, it reflects nothing without light, it is worth nothing if no one is admiring.
We don’t need diamond to proof we are worthy, the light of our hearts will make anything we touch shine, and turn everything golden, or shall we say, diamond?
也許我們對待鑽石界鋪天蓋地的老鼠會形式的攻勢，也應該采取像對待60年代開始流行起來的滾石音樂（Rock&Roll）一樣，當成是一種自然流行，自然消亡的現象而已，理解這隻是一種商業產品，和我們心底的那種特殊感覺沒有任何關係。如果有人給我們買了鑽石，除了盡情欣喜像一個小女孩剛剛得到的一個盼望已久的布娃娃之外，我們大可不必認為這個鑽石給自己帶來的感動勝過其他任何東西，也更要防止自己誤將購買的價錢當成感動的度量--這小玩具帶來的感動和其他生命中的感動也許並不能相提並論， 那些由於知道了一個人愛著自己十年二十年而不變的感動，那個能夠為自己舍棄舒適安逸的生活而與自己風雨同舟的人，那個為愛而走天涯的人，那個每天嗬護著自己的溫馨，甚至那首給自己寫的，曾令人流淚的小詩，一段回味無窮的雋永話語，一段令人難忘的友情。。。
就像應該對待其他任何流行起來的東西一樣，我們也不必采取完全絕棄的態度--這個世界有人喜歡滾石樂，也有人喜歡古典，更有人喜歡輕音樂一樣，喜歡鑽石也無可厚非，不喜歡也沒有什麽，因為自己的價值並不在於身上可以去掉的東西值多少日元。。。
However, if we really need something to serve as a reminder how unsafe this world is, we don’t need to wear a diamond to feel that, there are plenty things around us already…
If I have to select something “forever”, I would say, Tattoo is forever!
Ok, throw some bricks at me, or better yet, some precious stones at me, I am not living in a glass house…
---為什麽不用試了？
回複爾爾的評論:
" I personally like pearl a lot. :)"
---Or cash?
你的文章寫的很好呀，思想很深刻！
相信愛情的人，更相信真愛，與對方心心相印、刻骨銘心的當兒，一切外在的物質，隻是錦上添花，愛情至上的人不會在乎的！即使那訂情信物隻是一首詩、一疊心意咭。
現實的世界，金錢掛帥，往往以物質去令愛情神話化，形式化。。。要講心，還是講金?? 隨人性情，難說難說。。。。
(我當然是講心啦，哈哈 ^_^ )
幸福和鑽石沒什麽直接的關係,愛人給我一枚鐵戒指我也照樣歡天喜地.
人是人,鑽石是鑽石,人錯誤歸於人自己來反省,鑽石的美麗歸於天地自然.
以上是我的小磚頭,問好:))