"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor

        starving kids all over the world, I can't help

        but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like 

        that, but not with all those flies and death

        and stuff."  - Mariah Carey *

Does anyone know if Miss Carey writes her own lyrics? She really should, she's got a knack for poetry.

Anyway, speaking of those poor starving kids. I don't very often write about world issues and causes I am involved in, the reasons are several fold. Mainly, I just don't feel like getting into political discussions. But also having been involved through the years and having seen things with my own eyes I often find that having been face to face with the gruesomeness of some areas my ability to face things often exceeds that of a typical Westerner. And the last thing I want is to bring anyone down by shocking them. Or make Mariah cry by letting her know what's really going on in the world outside her 12,000 square ft shoe closet. 

So, look at this. This is a Louis Vuitton purse. It costs $1,400. I ended up with one of these purses without actually having had to pay for it. I just don't like it. Just like I don't like blood diamonds. Or slavery. Or starvation. 

There is a Danish artist by the name of Nadia Plesner. Frustrated that the Western media wouldn't cover important humanitarian issues such as child slavery, the African child soldiers, or the inhumanities of Darfur, she created an image that fulfilled both of the requisites of making headlines: carrying a designer purse and a designer dog. And the much-envied body image, I might add. The result is the picture below:

Some people, such as Miss Carey, don't like to know what's going on because they feel overwhelmed. You know, I can understand that. I am not trying to mock Mariah, I do actually understand. Throughout the years I did get overwhelmed so many times by the brutality that I had to witness. Turning away however is not right, and not what I want to do. 

So, I’d like to know what you think about $1,400 and on up purses? What do you think about having over a 1,000 pairs of shoes in your 12,000 square ft shoe closet? At which point does fashion cease to be fun and begins to be a crime?

Where is the line? 

Agnes

* It was brought to my attention that according to Mariah Carey she was misquoted and in fact never made such a statement. I have no problem with Mariah Carey -- my purpose is to illustrate the contrast between the brutally disadvantaged and the brutally rich.

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