This weekend I watched two documentaries on TV which got me thinking about the oddities of life,but more specially how one's beliefs affects the way one behaves.
The first,which was shown on Discovery channel's "On the Run," was about an international scam artist and the second,which was on National Geographic, was about Mennonite's search for their "perfect world."
The first feature reenacted the hunt for a Chinese guy from Malaysia named Mr. Wee,who managed to swindle people of over $4 M and ended up getting free after serving short terms in prison. His modus operandi was to sweet talk people into investing their money on businesses which he promised would give them profitable returns.
The segment I caught showed him putting up a magazine in Netherlands called Publique. He convinced most of his employees except a certain Ellen, to put in money in the venture. Then he spent their money on his personal pursuits until the business folded up. It was this Ellen who helped put him in jail eventually.
What was interesting to note was that Mr. Wee was a confirmed psychopath and yet he was able to convince intelligent people into giving him their money! I couldn't help but recall Rose Balajay and her Multitel scam operation which robbed many people (including my sister & law and my wife) of their life's savings! The lure of easy money does blind people and makes them believe what they want to believe.
The piece on the Mennonites was also on how one's beliefs influences one's actions.
It showed families and individuals belonging to three different colonies of Mennonites; two in Mexico and one in Bolivia. One colony in Mexico which was called El Capulin was a "progressive" one which allowed its members to use electricity and rubber tires on its tractors. With electricity the community could produce more products (e.g. milk and cheese) and enjoy amenities like TV, which in most Mennonite circles is forbidden.
I was puzzled at first about the issue on rubber tired tractors until it was explained by one of the men interviewed. He explained that having rubber tires on tractors would allow their boys to "steal" away to town and drink beer. Having only metal wheels would discourage them.
The other two colonies were less progressive but the Mennonites there preferred that kind of life even though they wished they had more money so they didn't live poorly! As the feature progressed I understood that the perfect world they were after was one in which they could practice their religion and basically live in peace, away from the trappings and temptations of civilization.
These people who shunned the more progressive colony of El Capulin to live in the more desolate colonies did so because they believed this was the correct way of living their faith!
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