hotmtlnovel Chapter 4334 Body of Steel (39)
Chapter 4334 Body of Steel (39)
Chapter 4334 Body of Steel (Thirty-Nine)
Clark had actually wanted to ask that question before, because he had thought about it before. Illegal immigrants are miserable enough, aren't they? They travel thousands of miles to get here, without legal status or skills, and can only do manual labor in the kitchen, but at least that earns them money and gives them a stable job.
These people who chose to become homeless seem to have hands and feet, and some of them haven't reached the point of having their brains ruined by drug addiction. Frankly speaking, anyone can do washing dishes. Even if it's only a thousand yuan a month, at least there's something to look forward to. Why can't they work?
But after the old man said that, Clark understood a little. The key point is that psychology developed too late, causing most people in the world to focus only on physical health and neglect mental health.
As for whether these people are healthy or not, they were definitely healthy when they first arrived. The human body is much more resilient and energy-efficient than we imagine; they can easily do several hours of physical labor a day. In terms of physical fitness alone, they are capable of supporting themselves through labor.
Many people only focus on their physical condition and judge them based on this one aspect, thinking that they are lazy because they don't go out to find work, and that they deserve to be homeless because it's their own choice.
However, this view is actually very one-sided because it completely ignores the factor of mental health. Mental health is very important to a person, and in many cases, it is even more important than physical health.
A person who is physically weak but mentally healthy will often live a better life than a person who is physically strong but mentally unhealthy. This is because both physical pain and mental anguish ultimately boil down to mental anguish. As long as the mind does not feel pain, most of the physical pain and distress caused by physical weakness will be lessened.
The vast majority of homeless people are mentally unhealthy; even if they don't use drugs, their psychological state is extremely worrying. Falling from grace overnight, from heaven to hell, all the efforts of their previous lives vanishing—how many people can withstand such a mental blow?
What's more, the reasons many of them ended up like this are ridiculous. If it were something like an economic crisis, it would be one thing, and they could lament about the unfairness of fate or that heaven was against them; but to become homeless just because they couldn't afford towing fees? Who wouldn't go crazy?
Many homeless people choose not to work, instead choosing to live a life of idleness and waiting to die, simply because they believe that labor will not bring any reward. Didn't they work hard before? Didn't they live earnestly? And what was the result? Didn't they end up like this now?
Some highly educated intellectuals, like this old man, have summarized certain patterns: society is not a river, but a waterfall. All the water is constantly decreasing, and decreasing very rapidly; going against the current is virtually impossible.
If you were a drop of water flowing down a waterfall, would you think about climbing up? Of course not, because even if you climbed up, you'd still flow back down. Climbing might take ten years, but flowing down takes only a second—what's the point of climbing then?
Therefore, many of these homeless people aren't incapable of working, but rather unwilling to. Their reason lies in the fact that in this society, effort is unrewarding. You might go to university, even earn a doctorate, but ultimately, you're still living in a tent with those low-class vagrants—what's the point of striving then?
Not to mention, these thugs, having lived at the bottom of society for so long, are probably more experienced than you and will ultimately trample on you. After something like that, who would have the will to rise again?
Many people think this whole system physically abuses you in various ways, driving you to the point of being unable to make a living and ultimately leading to homelessness. But it's actually far more insidious, because it's a system that attacks the mind. Anyone who has experienced such a fall will suffer such psychological trauma that even if they had a healthy body and the opportunity to get back on their feet through their own labor, they would never do it again.
The despair instilled by these experiences is the true guillotine. A person is truly dead when their heart is dead.
Having understood all of this, Clark had only one thought: Zod, you should come down first. We still need to have a proper talk about invading Earth.
He suddenly realized that this Earth still needed some modification. If he didn't teach human governments a lesson, they really wouldn't be human.
It was thought that he had done an excellent job in helping the human government obtain the key tool for dealing with the Kryptonians, namely Kryptonite, and successfully averting the crisis on Earth.
In retrospect, it's no wonder that a few specific countries keep having problems. It's hard to say that the reason aliens landed here instead of elsewhere wasn't partly due to some sense of "unbearable sympathy."
Clark couldn't help but wonder: If America is doing so well, how did his beloved home planet Krypton manage to destroy itself?
Clark eventually took the baby's body to a more remote suburb. After burying the body, he went to Wayne Manor.
Bruce raised an eyebrow when he saw Clark fly over. But as soon as Clark entered the manor hall, he asked, "Do you have any of those devices that can communicate with aliens?"
"...What do you want to do?"
Clark waved his hands in front of him, opened his mouth, then closed it again, and after performing sign language for a while, he said, "My dad used to have a theory."
"Appreciate further details."
“If I dare to open the gate to the sheepfold before the sheepdogs arrive, he’ll break my legs.”
"what?"
"That's his theory. He always insists that children shouldn't be spoiled too much. If verbal discipline is ineffective, or if they cause too much trouble, then they should still be disciplined."
“That makes some sense,” Bruce said.
"Have you ever hit your child?" Clark asked. Only after asking did he realize that he might have stepped on a landmine.
Surprisingly, Bruce actually thought about it seriously and then said, "No. I don't think there's anything so outrageous that I need to take action against him."
Clark's brilliant mind suddenly flashed with a realization: if this was indeed the case, it meant that Damian himself bore very little, if not none, responsibility for Damian's death. The matter wasn't as simple as a rebellious child running away and having an accident.
After a moment's thought, Clark's mind returned to normal, and he said, "I think we should help that thing up there."
Do you mean the sun?
“I’m talking about Kryptonians,” Clark said with a long sigh. “Or some other alien species, I’ve had enough.”
What happened that made you have such a negative view?
Clark sat there and began to ramble on about his experiences. Expecting Bruce to listen attentively and offer serious critique, he simply wiped his glass and said, "It sounds like things are going well in Los Angeles. The tent area managers are responsible and efficient, which shows they have a clear and sustainable work plan."
Clark looked at him in disbelief.
Bruce paused. He adjusted the collar of his turtleneck sweater, then continued wiping his glass, saying, “In Gotham, this model wouldn’t work. A serial killer would probably appear by the third day, and within a week, two cannibals would infiltrate, one of them a baby-eater. The women are mostly not to be trifled with either; they might stab you in the rage. Some heavily addicted addict could develop a geothermal-based lunar launcher in three days, just to eject their excrement to the moon. But it usually doesn’t succeed; it just shaves off a layer of the earth. In less than two weeks, there won’t be any survivors left.”
Clark used every expression and body language to leave him with a huge question mark. He suddenly realized that his previous "baby theory" seemed to be true; Bruce must have lived for thousands of years to say something like that with such a calm expression.
"To prevent this from happening, the more than 20 charitable foundations I fund have established a complete 'crisis rescue' process to help those who suddenly encounter life crises get through the disaster and prevent them from suddenly falling into poverty and becoming homeless. At the same time, some welfare positions have been arranged to help those who have suffered irreversible disasters, such as sudden disability, to continue to stay in society, in order to prevent these people from having a moment of despair and blowing up the whole city."
Clark opened his mouth again. His reason told him this was a good thing; Bruce Wayne was great, but why did it sound so strange?
Bruce's next words answered his question.
"The reason this happens in other cities is because ordinary people are too powerless. When they are being ground into pieces by the meat grinder, they have no power to resist, so some people can kick them down with impunity."
"Gothamites are different. I don't know if the city is cursed or what, but if you dare to leave them on the streets, they'll strap bombs to their bodies and say they want to play a game with you. So, almost all the entrepreneurs here, including myself, don't dare to go too far, which results in pretty good welfare for the citizens and a pretty good economy."
Clark couldn't help but rub his face. He realized that Bruce was right; it seemed that was indeed the case.
As mentioned before, many homeless people choose to drift along and wait to die because they have lost hope in society, completely giving up on life.
However, Gotham, this vibrant city, may be haunted by some mysterious element in its waterways and air, causing its inhabitants to be so excited that the word "despair" is simply not in their vocabulary.
They're the kind of people who, if you dare to build a waterfall and throw me down, I'll do a dragon plunge into the sea followed by a dragon's tail sweep, creating a basin right in front of you.
To reiterate, mental health is very important. Mental health can make life better, but so can poor mental health.
The homeless are disappointed because they understand the rules of society and believe they are powerless to resist, so they give up. The madman also understands the rules of society, but he doesn't feel powerless to resist. He thinks he's so powerful that if he jumps up, the earth will revolve around him, so he fully exerts his initiative, and the result is naturally that he makes a big fuss.
So, in essence, Arkham Asylum is a nuclear deterrent against capitalists. It's precisely because of the existence of these lunatics that none of the upper echelons in Gotham dare to go too far.
Even in Gotham, not everyone is a gifted, eccentric artist, but the probability is always high. This means that the more people you eliminate, the more people who could blow your factory to smithereens. Therefore, even for the sake of one's own industry, one must minimize unemployment, find jobs for them, and prevent them from using their talents.
Ultimately, a region's low crime rate, while seemingly due to strict law enforcement, is fundamentally driven by a robust social welfare system. When everyone has something to do, the chances of going astray are reduced. The reverse is also true.
Bruce placed the two cups of coffee on the table, looked at Clark, and said:
"Using extraterrestrials to exert external pressure is indeed one approach, but it will only be effective in the short term. Humanity must walk its own path, and ultimately, it is humanity that must change it. Isn't that right?"
Ye Wenjie's mental fortitude is still lacking; I suggest she go to Chicago for further studies.
(End of this chapter)