In America, you have to be a little paranoid in big cities. 미국 대도시에는 특히나 주변상황에 더 신경 써야 해요.Why is this?
I remember when I was traveling into San Francisco with my girlfriend on the train and we were about to get off at the central station in San Fransisco and this old lady was standing in front of us struggling to pick up her bags. 제가 여자 친구랑 샌프란시스코 기차역에서 내리려고 하는데 어떤 할머님이 자기 가방들을 내리는데 좀 도와달라고 하시더라고요. Now after living in Korea for all these years, I have a lot of respect for older people so I naturally felt compelled to help her. 제가 한국에서 살다보니 노인공경이 몸에 배여서 당연히 도와드려야겠다는 생각이 자연스럽게 들었어요.

Yea of course.

So me and this other man helped her to take the bags off the train. Once we got off the train the old lady looked at us like she expected us to carry the bags to outside the train. She kept saying, help me, help me. This is when my red flag radar went off. 그래서 저랑 다른 남자 한 분이 짐을 같이 내려드렸죠. 근데 그 할머님이 기차에서 내리자마자 저희 둘을 쳐다보면서 계속 도와달라고 하시더라고요. 그 때 저는 이게 ‘Red Flag’ 라고 감지했어요.

Really, why? 네? 뭐 때문에요?

Well I looked at the other guy who helped her and he shook his head and we quickly walked away from her. I said to him, “that was weird?” He said, “yea maybe there were drugs in those bags. 저랑 같이 할머니를 도와드린 남자 분을 봤는데 그 분도 고개를 저으며 피하더라고요. 그래서 제가 좀 이상하지 않느냐고 물었더니, 그 가방들 안에 마약이 있을지도 모른다고 하더군요.

WOOH, do you think there was drugs in those bags? 우와, 본인은 그 가방들 안에 마약이 있었다고 생각하세요?

Possibly, what a perfect way for a gang to smuggle drugs into the big city. Get some old lady to do it and she can further reduce her risk of getting caught by acting like a helpless person. 가능하죠. 갱들이 마약을 대도시로 밀반입하기에 좋은 방법이니까요. 몸이 힘든 어르신이 마약을 밀반입 할 거라는 의심을 하지 않기 때문이에요.

Damn
Anyway this was a typical big city crime situation, people take advantage of your kindness. 대도시에서 일어나는 전형적인 범죄수법이에요. If you are too kind in a big city, people will take advantage of you every time. When you live in a big city in America, you have to assume the worst in people. 그리고 도시에서 사람들한테 너무 친절하면 오히려 역으로 이용당할 수도 있어요.

If you are too kind in a big city, people will take advantage of you every time. When you live in a big city in America, you have to assume the worst in people. 그리고 도시에서 사람들한테 너무 친절하면 오히려 역으로 이용당할 수도 있어요.

You have to be so paranoid.그래서 주변상황에 더 신경 써야 한다는 거였군요.

Yup. and so anyway with this Pokemon phenomenon, criminals are hanging around certain areas, waiting for a bunch of Pokemon zombie players to gather around and then they are stealing iPhones. 네. 그리고 요즘 포켓몬 게임 때문에, 범죄자들이 어느 장소에서 포켓몬 좀비들을 기다렸다가 아이폰을 훔치는 등의 범죄도 일어나고 있어요.

Americans are so creative in their crimes and they have no shame. Why is crime so much higher in America?미국인들은 범죄수법도 정말 창의적이네요. 미국은 범죄율이 왜 이렇게 높을까요?

Well, Americans definitely don’t have any shame but also American’s don’t have a concept of Karma. I think a lot of the reason east Asia is more peaceful is that people think, if I act good in this life, in the next life, it will be better. 확실히 미국인들은 부끄러움이 없고 또 ‘Karma’, 즉 ‘업보’ 라는 개념이 없어서 그런 것 같아요. 저는 동아시아가 비교적 평화로운 이유가 바로 이 ‘업보’ 개념 때문이라고 생각해요. ‘이번 생에 잘 하면 다음 생애에서는 더 잘될 것이다’

Right, reincarnation네. 환생 의 의미죠.

Right exactly so say someone has a shitty job, they might have to clean toilets for a living, in Korea they just accept this. 바로 그거에요. 예를 들어, 직업이 화장실 청소원 이라면 한국에서는 그냥 자기 운명이라 생각하고 받아들일 거 에요.

That is true.

Where Americans, if they have a shitty job or no job, they think, this isn’t fair, I am going to take what is mine. They are more likely to commit crimes if they see an opportunity. In America, we have no reincarnation. 근데 만약 미국인이라면, 분명히 불공평하다고 생각해서 기회가 생기면 범죄를 저지를 가능성이 더 높아요. 미국에는 ‘환생’ 의 개념자체가 없어요.

Well in my previous life, I was a grasshopper but I must have been a good grasshopper. 저는 전생에 정말 착하게 살았나 보네요!