FROM: Administration
To: All employees
Date: 04/12/2010
Ladies and Gentleman,
I read only once the deprived answer to our communication from the so called "acclaimed chemical" engineer Stanley M. Barnett at the University of Rhode Island. His response is very forlorn, but sadly amusing as well.
There is no doubt in my mind that what we propose in the arena of colloidal mechanics it is a nonsense for him, and this is because he cannot possibly understand what is he reading, no matter how many times he reads it. For someone who claims to be a "doctor" and to judge a matter he doesn't understand one bit so lightly as a "snake-oil sales pitch", it is not only ignorant, but vainglorious at its best. Furthermore, perhaps my communication was written in "poor and stilted English", as he sanctimoniously declares, but I would like to see him to do better in a fifth language (and I am not including Latin -or perhaps should I correctly say Latium?). It comes to be that the man, according to himself, is also an expert in marketing. I am highly surprised and flabbergasted that he actually works for the University of Rhode Island. I feel truly sorry for the institution.
I have been always suspicious of the existence of those Pleistocene's Idaltu specimens that are supposedly to be extinct by now, but incredibly, many of those not yet fossilized apes have beaten the odds and survived, and they are currently living surreptitiously among us, camouflaging their academically castrated intellects and their obstinate unwillingness to grow to be civilize, by concealing themselves, not just in the subordinated levels of our societies worldwide; but also in many other "high" levels.
Perhaps if Barnett is really a professional as he pledges he is (although the recommendation comes from a source too close), he could learn to see beyond the trivial to get to the truth. A little modesty never hurts. Factual proof of that he doesn't know what is he looking at, is that he is talking about "water treatment" in its ill-bred, uninformed, and uncouth response. We all well know that the Averter™ has nothing to do with water treatment; whatsoever! It says so clearly at the beginning of our "snake-oil sales pitch written in poor and stilted English". Perhaps he should learn that a new product requires a lot more than a well written pamphlet to prove itself. This whole thing reminds me a book-case example of a troglodyte with a dichroscope, which employs it as a hammer.
We know what we know, and we know it well. DuPont, Dow Chemical, PEMEX, BP, a few NAVIES, 3M International, and other people and industries of this stature that know the facts by practical use and not from behind an obscure and discredited desk, do not think this way, and all of them have performed thorough testing of the Averter™. Does Barnett really think he knows more than these people? Who this little man thinks he is? I am tempted to think he obtained his "doctorate" in Wall-Mart. So fanciful, indeed!
I know a lot of "intelligent" people that in spite of achieving bigheaded titles, they are still struggling with the basic social concept of walking erect and are still fraught by the fact that they actually have opposable thumbs. I have no further interest in wasting my little available time with this individual simply because his "perfect English" have already spoken on his behalf.
We just do not need him, or his ignorance-seeker garbage; and he cannot possible bring any positive value to us in this matter. In order to understand, one's needs to know; and his response only reflects intellectual dishonesty and a deep and visible academic impoverishment. The attempts of patronizing someone else in a field he does not understand or comprehend, it is simply flat ignorance; it truly reflects someone’s deeply flawed intellectualism and cultural deceitfulness, the late perhaps a leftover of an obscurantist pseudo-creationism. If you do not understand something, the smart thing to do it is simply to ask. These are the primal and irreconcilable differences between scholars and life forms of nominal acumen.
Nothing is lost. Barnett's gratuitous opinion helped a lot. He has no idea how much. So I think we should thank him. I sincerely apologize for my "poor and stilted English". If I did put too many comas or periods, please accept my deepest apologies and just return them to me. If you still thinking that my "poor and stilted English" it is not acceptable for you, please pick a language of your preference to translate into it.
Ladies and Gentleman, in the future, let's try to make an effort to avoid the nature of this kind of hircismus of moral dysentery.
Truly yours,
The President
Quill Feather versus AK-47
The graphic treatise you are about to read is unbalanced and in favor of certain viewpoints, and it is bound solely and exclusively for those pleistocenistic Idaltu beings that are supposedly to be extinct by now. However, many of those not yet fossilized apes have beaten the odds and survived, and they are currently living surreptitiously among us camouflaging their academically castrated intellects and their obstinate unwillingness to civilize by burying themselves, not just in the subordinated levels of our societies worldwide, but also in many other levels. Therefore, if you are a civilized person, you will agree with this crude account, otherwise, you must concede and admit your own legitimacy, and of course, you will not like it a bit!.
A key question that has being a constant vexation to humankind for millenniums is still as valid today as it was in antiquity: What is more powerful, the Quill Feather or the Sword?. Nevertheless, nowadays the question should read; what is more powerful the Pen or the AK-47?. What in fact it is more powerful?. Is it the reason or is it the force?. Well, that will depend on what kind of society you live in. More civil societies tend to use a pen to resolve their disagreement, whereas less civil societies favor the AK-47 in an attempt to bring about conflict resolution, with its historically catastrophic and devastating consequences. The term “pen” represents the employment of means of civility, and the term “AK-47” means the utilization of brute, fiendish force. Both, pen and AK-47 are used here as a straightforward substantive terminology.
Our planet today is too tight, too small, and too linked in real-time to disconnect the conundrum of cultures, idiosyncrasies, ethnicity, technology, education, and the clustered societies that are entangling multiple levels of civility into a caldarium where only a few mingle. It can be said that some of us are living concurrently with each other, and not amalgamated into the surrounding social order.
In order to answer in a meaningful way this provocative question in today’s world, one has to go back deeply into the outer limits of the chaotic, unsystematic, and deterministic behavior of humankind history. Chaotic because humans behave chaotically without asking them to do so, it is a natural and effortless impulsive behavior. It is unsystematic because of human constant, impractical judgmental reactions and men’s sporadic and illogical methodology of intervention. It becomes deterministic as of the result of the uninterrupted succession of inescapable consequences from a preceding chain of actions.
Civility versus Incivility
As the level of civility and education rises in a culture, the weapon of choice become more intellectual, on the other hand, as the more barbaric a society ensues, the weapon of choice become less intellectual. The use of the word barbaric brought into play here it is employed because of the lack of a better and more meaningful expression to allude certain living creatures.
Let us talk about civility to understand the power of the weapons used. The concept of civility can be define in many ways, but invariably points to dutiful, mechanical, or otherwise, perfunctory self-respect and the respect for others. History shows that for those self-conscious civilizations, civility has been a matter of indispensable schooling, a necessary element of utmost importance for progressive societies.
The notion of civility promotes the nurturing and development of higher concepts and virtues. These virtues of intrinsic worth such as self-discipline, reliability, respect, honesty, truthfulness, justice, progress, willpower, ethical principles, discretion, and the acceptance and deference for law and order sets in motion the complex evolution of man into an elevated echelon of existentialism that free us up to pursue the whole, unexploited human potential.
Incivility is not only the complete lack of all of the above, but is measure in the scale for rudeness. The actual word "incivility" originates from the Latin word incivilis that signifies “not of a citizen”. The Roman Empire regarded the notion of citizenship as an extraordinary value and feat of the Republic. Anyone who was not a citizen was a slave, a conquered culture, or simply a barbarian without the necessary cultivation level to become a citizen, or to deserve citizenship. Non-Roman Citizens for example, were unable to enlist and join the Roman Legions. Non-Roman Citizens could join only the Auxiliary Forces, the Praetorian Guard, and the Praetorian Cohorts. The Praetorian Guard of the Roman Emperor Julius Cesar was of German origin (Non-Citizens from the then conquered territory of Magna Germania of the Roman Republic), and they did not speak Latin, the language of the Romans. In any case, being “civilized” was a big deal for the S.P.Q.R., (Senatus Populusque Romanus, "The Senate and the People of Rome"), and it remains that way for most of us today as well.
In our convoluted societies worldwide exists an amazing mixture of citizens and “not-so-citizens”, or barbarians for that effect, who live among us disgracing the civilized citizen’s citizenship, and are a heavy, aggravating, and unwanted burden to our civil society. Unfortunately, in many cases it seems that there is not much that civility can do with respect to some oafish barbarians living among the rest of us, and towards the pitiful conditions to which the state of their civility it is been reduced to. Indeed those few, very noticeable individuals put extra pressure on civilization, on our culture, and on the rest of the cultured citizens.
To my personal benefit and fortune, I have been living in this auspicious and providential country for almost 30 years now. During my extended travels and years living and working in many countries, I have never seen the level of the personal societal collapse of some populace in the countries I have lived in, visited, or worked at, as I have unmistakable seen it in some individuals in here. I have sure seen more hillbillies piled up in Washington D.C. that in the rest of the country altogether!. It is evident that we have perhaps; too many undesirable and objectionable rudimentary inhabitants that have leave pejoratively inferior civility conditions somewhere else in the planet, not to seek progress and social enlightening in our Country and society, but to perpetuate their embedded life-style of mediocrity within mediocrity. In addition, we have some of our own of those “so-called citizens” living among us. This situation repeats itself in many other more civilized countries as well. The fact that you might be living in a less “civilized” country does not make you at all uncivil. The terminal problem it is not you (or me), but the whole make-up of the society you live in. Humans are capable to attain real and consequential progress and evolution as a group, not individually. Individuals can develop and evolve themselves into a high degree of civility, independently from the confines of the society they live in, but the society cannot become civil as a whole on the account of few.
You can think of this situation as a parallel to what defines societies based on their skills as a whole. An Agrarian society bases its economy on large-scale agricultural production; therefore, identified as an agricultural society. This does not mean that everyone in that society is a farmer. It means that a large portion or the majority of the society dedicates its efforts as a whole to the cultivation of plants, or farming.
A technological society is one that takes technical change, or technology to be the model for progress and development for their trade and industry. A technological society bases its economy in the development, or the acquisition and use of particular technologies of contemporary intensity, salience, and utility. Not everyone in this society is a technological connoisseur.
These distinct societies may or may not have a sound and homogeneous level of civility, or have been able to achieve certain unassailable level of it yet. All will depend of the cumulative number of individuals within each of these societies who have independently achieved an unquestionable level of civility, capable to convey it to the society as a whole, and to transfer to this society the designation of “Magnus Civilius Congregationis”- Latin for Great Civil Society.
Early in life, many of us have learned about the radical importance of a Code of Conduct, namely civility. Civility makes our country to stand above the rest. A few isolated incidents of incivility within our society are not in themselves a concern of great consequence, but a systematic pattern of incivility acts is disruptive and unacceptable, and may result in decadence. Civility is not a weapon to use against other citizens, but it is a sensible concept we, all accountable citizens, need to embrace more seriously. Civic virtue is cultural sophistication.
Around the world, there are the so-called “civilized” and “uncivilized” countries, and the way they deal with their internal struggle is determine by their level of civility, therefore determining the weapons of use to remedy their discords. Their acts put in manifest evidence from time to time that, when humans are not a millimeter above the simian, they are an inch below the pig.
These Homer Jay Simpson-type mentally equipped individuals are comfortable breaking even the most basic rules of civility because it is intrinsic to their basic nature to have total disregard for law and order. They have no respect for others and they take advantage of civil citizens, and they thrive doing this because of their unsighted lack of principles. They can be easily distinguished in a daily basis for example, by their habit to throw garbage on the streets while driving. Did you know that there is a 25 – 30% of trash dumped in our streets (besides the slum-driven brutes themselves), courtesy of them?.
At the end of the day, we should feel deeply sorry and ashamed for those forlorn, pathetic individuals in the planet that cannot comprehend and embrace civility, unfortunately because within the realm of their infinite ignorance, they refuse to do so. Is a matter of great disappointment to know that there are many individuals in the planet that are still engage with the primal struggle of the fundamental concept of walking erect. Moreover, some of these non-Homo Sapiens, these bipedal hominidae yet continue trying to understand and cope with the fact that they posses now opposable thumbs, and probably the first pollicals of this nature they ever had, thus articulating this with all due respect and reverence to the Animalia Kingdom.
In our globus terrae, we have many countries in which scores of inhabitants have not left the Phithecantopoid ranks hitherto, and of their own free will remain uncivil to the demise of the civilized citizens living among them in abysmal minority.
Where in the world are those fecal detritivores today?. Nobody gets Kudos here, just Pens or AK-47s.
Let us take a brief look over Iraq. It is unnecessary to say much about this well-known and unpopular setback (Iraq). From its origins as a country more than 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, the Kurds have been a focus of unresolved conflict for the mentally neutered Iraqis. As far as we know, the Iraqis have not been capable of resolving any conflict by diplomatic means. Then it was the prince with no glory of civilization darkness, Saddam Hussein, the highest priest of the archetype of viciousness. His quick response to alternative means of conflict resolution was always brutality, assassination, and the imposition of tyranny by unprecedented cruelty. The undercover elite of innocent and civilized Iraqis have been paying dearly the towering, unfair, and despotic price of living prisoners of this barbaric and intellectually blind and fanatic society rule by him. This animal put Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as “Caligula” to shame. The real problem with these contemporary salvages of brutish behavior is that they embrace a loutish culture, using 21st Century technology. Please notice that the word brutish was used and not the word British, although if you scratch the skin of some of these hooligans, you will find the barbarian just underneath it.
Some civil Iraqis had fled their country (the lucky ones who could) in search of freedom and civility somewhere else. Some have come to the US, and we are lucky and glad to have them here. Civil people are not only welcomed, but are necessary for the enlightenment of humanity.
The boisterous non-civil Iraqis cannot figure out the divergence, and do not have an understanding of the difference between the “superfluous” items of necessity to built basic civility. Put it in another way, they have no clue between the differences of these:
Discussion and shoot out
Cultural explosion and bombing
Eloquence and torture
Silence and assassination
Conflict resolution and decapitation
Choices and “or else”
Citizen and terrorist
Building blocks and Scud missiles
Visiting and invading
Artisan and artillery
Nuns and guns
Massive construction and mass destruction
Obligation and obliteration
An election and annihilation
Buddy and bloody
Peace and feces
NATO and napalm
Disabled government and dismemberment
Disagreement and genocide
Turban and used diaper
Human rights and human wrongs
Acceptance and rape
The weapons of choice to reason with the ill-mannered Iraqis: Maybe a small worn-out #2-pencil thanks you to the US intervention and to the civil marginal minority, and an exceedingly large bunch of AK-47s fully loaded, plus a deserved Golden Pen for the civilized Iraqis.
Now let us review the bidet of political and social chaos in Venezuela in a nonchalantly manner. Chávez has become the synonym and epitome of the intellectual and political latrine he holds sway. He is perhaps the biggest mental midget of our times and the greatest political travesty in the history of Venezuela. We shall not spend much time discussing this Bandar-log because our mothers told us that if we do not have anything good to tell about someone, we should not say anything. However, our moms cannot hear us right now.
Civilized Venezuelan opponents see Chávez as a freaking authoritarian or a damn totalitarian that will get his way by any means. They also categorize him as a dirty communist, who will sell anyone and get in bed with any other political clowns such as Castro and Morales without a morality condom, individuals alike that assumed power long time ago, but have not assumed responsibility yet. Chavez’s militaristic misconception unfortunately serves him well against the civilized citizens of his beautiful country. Alas, Chavez’s demagogical abilities, backed by his rhetorical and deceptive propaganda of disingenuous goals, has disastrously botched to deliver on his countless empty promises, and he has repeatedly and customarily violated elementary human rights. He has also stuck his big nose in international affairs by meddling in the dealings of other Latin American countries. Unfortunately, it will take a higher authority besides King Juan Carlos I of Spain to make him to shut up. Never before in the history of Venezuela has a leader threatened the economy and democracy of the country to that level, he has illegitimately and criminally eliminated his opponents, and further more, his pathetic, flawed, and egotistic policy has destabilized global oil prices to serve his self-centered and narcissistic way of life. Some here swear he is gay. All and every piece of the information gathered in here comes from the mouths of real Venezuelan citizens in the US.
The weapons of choice to reason with the ill-mannered Chávez: One AK-47 with a single bullet. The civilized Venezuelan citizens do not need any extra pens. They have plenty of them and they know how to use them well.
The latest buffoon: The Somali Pirates
Perhaps this unambiguous group of Somalis misunderstood the whole thing. It is “The Village People”, and not “The Pillage People”. “The pirates of the Caribbean” it is a romantic Hollywood movie and it has nothing to do with this ruffian Somali pirates. The Somali pirates are real brigands; they are the contemporary low-class pirates of the Indian Ocean. Here we go again. How low can a society get?. The sky is the limit…
Somalia is a country that needs serious help at all levels. Once again, the victims are the civil citizens that earn they lives honestly and working hard, in spite of the difficulties, lack of opportunities, and physical exertion that this impoverish, anarchic country offers to its relentless citizens. Everyone understands and agrees that poverty sucks, but the Somali pirates’ approach to success sucks even worst. It must be clear that this is not a fault or legacy of the Italians of British colonizers.
The Somali pirates are snatching at least 2 unsuspecting commercial vessels a week, and more than 100 this year according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in the Indian Ocean, and furthermore, these ex-anglers, scruffy mercenaries are negotiating the vessels’ release for ransom. Unlike these pitiful cowards bursting pusillanimity, the 16th century pirates of the Caribbean preyed on treasure ships equipped with armament, a fierce crew, and heavy artillery to defend themselves. Today, these contemptible and pathetic Somali pirates prey on innocent, defenseless, and unarmed boatmen, mainly because these thugs are not man enough to do better.
I feel sorry for the Somali Government and the civil people that have to put up with this crap and unable to counter it, but I feel even sorrier for this human trash that will short live, because you can interrupt and obstruct civility and progress for a short delay, but you can not stop it. Moreover, the civilized world will not come to amicable terms with buccaneers, felons, criminals, outlaws, crooks, or freaking immoral villains such as the Somali pirates.
The weapons of choice to reason with the Somali pirates: Just AK-47’s. Our hearts go to the worn-out pens of the civilized, heroic Somali society.
Is that enough about incivility?. Let us talk a bit about the accomplishments and benefits of civility to end this write-up in a more positive note. It would be nice if it were a safe way to rescue all the civilized human beings from those places of repression, so they can enjoy the goods of civility in a right, deserved environment.
Civility, its fruits, and benefits
In agreement with most people, civilized or not, the ascetic difference in the civility of the human race, from the lowest to the uppermost level of civility, is due mostly to education. A substantiation of this assertion is that the level of civilization attained in Europe and in America in general, is a manifest product of organized education, whereas in general, the advantages and availability of a superior education are in severe deprivation for the habitants of other less fortunate countries.
A good base of structured education rescues the ignorant from incivility darkness making them shrewd and judicious, it can turn tyrants into righteous, almost impartial leaders, and civility liberates the human being to pursue freely the highest level of wisdom. Civility through education champions for more balanced happiness, consolidates and braces your intelligence, gives a serious boost to will power, and it is capable to create something from nothing. Many individuals in this planet attain a sagacious level of civility via structured education; however, many other fumble in the flippancy of desolation and misery. Nonetheless, it is always possible for any citizen to acquire certain level of civility, almost regardless of their environment and the intrinsic natal capacities of themselves; if the citizen in question desires to seek civility, that is. In other words, any one who has an AK-47 can always change it for a pen.
Civility is more than courteous, well-mannered behavior. “Being civil means being constantly aware of others and weaving restraint, respect, and consideration into the very fabric of this awareness”, according to P. M. Forni, the co-founder of the John Hopkins Civility Project.
Civility brings bonanza, development, enlightening, fairness, growth, happiness, health, hope, innovation, knowledge, longevity, love, organization, peace, progress, science, security, sensibility, sharing, technology, industry, morality, honesty, law, order, and the list goes on and on… it is like an endless Christmas!. If you are not civil, you are too busy killing people to have time to think about these constructive concepts. Who would think that such a small word (civility) could hold so much?. Moreover, why anyone would change productive civility for anything else?. You guessed; 21st century barbarians (or Somali pirates).
Therefore, courageous civilized citizens of the world, hang in there with your pens high!. Strive to be civil; civility benefits all and every one of us. On this, we need to be and act as a TEAM (Together Each one Accomplishes More). Sooner that we expect we will be in celestial navigation towards worlds that are hanging around in the infinites of the universe waiting for us to conquer them. Then we will worry about the pirates of ignominy that are yet to come from Deep Space Nine!.
Animus Civilitates!. Habeo in animo, abalieno civilis!. (Viva civility!. I am resolved to be civil).
A key question that has being a constant vexation to humankind for millenniums is still as valid today as it was in antiquity: What is more powerful, the Quill Feather or the Sword?. Nevertheless, nowadays the question should read; what is more powerful the Pen or the AK-47?. What in fact it is more powerful?. Is it the reason or is it the force?. Well, that will depend on what kind of society you live in. More civil societies tend to use a pen to resolve their disagreement, whereas less civil societies favor the AK-47 in an attempt to bring about conflict resolution, with its historically catastrophic and devastating consequences. The term “pen” represents the employment of means of civility, and the term “AK-47” means the utilization of brute, fiendish force. Both, pen and AK-47 are used here as a straightforward substantive terminology.
Our planet today is too tight, too small, and too linked in real-time to disconnect the conundrum of cultures, idiosyncrasies, ethnicity, technology, education, and the clustered societies that are entangling multiple levels of civility into a caldarium where only a few mingle. It can be said that some of us are living concurrently with each other, and not amalgamated into the surrounding social order.
In order to answer in a meaningful way this provocative question in today’s world, one has to go back deeply into the outer limits of the chaotic, unsystematic, and deterministic behavior of humankind history. Chaotic because humans behave chaotically without asking them to do so, it is a natural and effortless impulsive behavior. It is unsystematic because of human constant, impractical judgmental reactions and men’s sporadic and illogical methodology of intervention. It becomes deterministic as of the result of the uninterrupted succession of inescapable consequences from a preceding chain of actions.
Civility versus Incivility
As the level of civility and education rises in a culture, the weapon of choice become more intellectual, on the other hand, as the more barbaric a society ensues, the weapon of choice become less intellectual. The use of the word barbaric brought into play here it is employed because of the lack of a better and more meaningful expression to allude certain living creatures.
Let us talk about civility to understand the power of the weapons used. The concept of civility can be define in many ways, but invariably points to dutiful, mechanical, or otherwise, perfunctory self-respect and the respect for others. History shows that for those self-conscious civilizations, civility has been a matter of indispensable schooling, a necessary element of utmost importance for progressive societies.
The notion of civility promotes the nurturing and development of higher concepts and virtues. These virtues of intrinsic worth such as self-discipline, reliability, respect, honesty, truthfulness, justice, progress, willpower, ethical principles, discretion, and the acceptance and deference for law and order sets in motion the complex evolution of man into an elevated echelon of existentialism that free us up to pursue the whole, unexploited human potential.
Incivility is not only the complete lack of all of the above, but is measure in the scale for rudeness. The actual word "incivility" originates from the Latin word incivilis that signifies “not of a citizen”. The Roman Empire regarded the notion of citizenship as an extraordinary value and feat of the Republic. Anyone who was not a citizen was a slave, a conquered culture, or simply a barbarian without the necessary cultivation level to become a citizen, or to deserve citizenship. Non-Roman Citizens for example, were unable to enlist and join the Roman Legions. Non-Roman Citizens could join only the Auxiliary Forces, the Praetorian Guard, and the Praetorian Cohorts. The Praetorian Guard of the Roman Emperor Julius Cesar was of German origin (Non-Citizens from the then conquered territory of Magna Germania of the Roman Republic), and they did not speak Latin, the language of the Romans. In any case, being “civilized” was a big deal for the S.P.Q.R., (Senatus Populusque Romanus, "The Senate and the People of Rome"), and it remains that way for most of us today as well.
In our convoluted societies worldwide exists an amazing mixture of citizens and “not-so-citizens”, or barbarians for that effect, who live among us disgracing the civilized citizen’s citizenship, and are a heavy, aggravating, and unwanted burden to our civil society. Unfortunately, in many cases it seems that there is not much that civility can do with respect to some oafish barbarians living among the rest of us, and towards the pitiful conditions to which the state of their civility it is been reduced to. Indeed those few, very noticeable individuals put extra pressure on civilization, on our culture, and on the rest of the cultured citizens.
To my personal benefit and fortune, I have been living in this auspicious and providential country for almost 30 years now. During my extended travels and years living and working in many countries, I have never seen the level of the personal societal collapse of some populace in the countries I have lived in, visited, or worked at, as I have unmistakable seen it in some individuals in here. I have sure seen more hillbillies piled up in Washington D.C. that in the rest of the country altogether!. It is evident that we have perhaps; too many undesirable and objectionable rudimentary inhabitants that have leave pejoratively inferior civility conditions somewhere else in the planet, not to seek progress and social enlightening in our Country and society, but to perpetuate their embedded life-style of mediocrity within mediocrity. In addition, we have some of our own of those “so-called citizens” living among us. This situation repeats itself in many other more civilized countries as well. The fact that you might be living in a less “civilized” country does not make you at all uncivil. The terminal problem it is not you (or me), but the whole make-up of the society you live in. Humans are capable to attain real and consequential progress and evolution as a group, not individually. Individuals can develop and evolve themselves into a high degree of civility, independently from the confines of the society they live in, but the society cannot become civil as a whole on the account of few.
You can think of this situation as a parallel to what defines societies based on their skills as a whole. An Agrarian society bases its economy on large-scale agricultural production; therefore, identified as an agricultural society. This does not mean that everyone in that society is a farmer. It means that a large portion or the majority of the society dedicates its efforts as a whole to the cultivation of plants, or farming.
A technological society is one that takes technical change, or technology to be the model for progress and development for their trade and industry. A technological society bases its economy in the development, or the acquisition and use of particular technologies of contemporary intensity, salience, and utility. Not everyone in this society is a technological connoisseur.
These distinct societies may or may not have a sound and homogeneous level of civility, or have been able to achieve certain unassailable level of it yet. All will depend of the cumulative number of individuals within each of these societies who have independently achieved an unquestionable level of civility, capable to convey it to the society as a whole, and to transfer to this society the designation of “Magnus Civilius Congregationis”- Latin for Great Civil Society.
Early in life, many of us have learned about the radical importance of a Code of Conduct, namely civility. Civility makes our country to stand above the rest. A few isolated incidents of incivility within our society are not in themselves a concern of great consequence, but a systematic pattern of incivility acts is disruptive and unacceptable, and may result in decadence. Civility is not a weapon to use against other citizens, but it is a sensible concept we, all accountable citizens, need to embrace more seriously. Civic virtue is cultural sophistication.
Around the world, there are the so-called “civilized” and “uncivilized” countries, and the way they deal with their internal struggle is determine by their level of civility, therefore determining the weapons of use to remedy their discords. Their acts put in manifest evidence from time to time that, when humans are not a millimeter above the simian, they are an inch below the pig.
These Homer Jay Simpson-type mentally equipped individuals are comfortable breaking even the most basic rules of civility because it is intrinsic to their basic nature to have total disregard for law and order. They have no respect for others and they take advantage of civil citizens, and they thrive doing this because of their unsighted lack of principles. They can be easily distinguished in a daily basis for example, by their habit to throw garbage on the streets while driving. Did you know that there is a 25 – 30% of trash dumped in our streets (besides the slum-driven brutes themselves), courtesy of them?.
At the end of the day, we should feel deeply sorry and ashamed for those forlorn, pathetic individuals in the planet that cannot comprehend and embrace civility, unfortunately because within the realm of their infinite ignorance, they refuse to do so. Is a matter of great disappointment to know that there are many individuals in the planet that are still engage with the primal struggle of the fundamental concept of walking erect. Moreover, some of these non-Homo Sapiens, these bipedal hominidae yet continue trying to understand and cope with the fact that they posses now opposable thumbs, and probably the first pollicals of this nature they ever had, thus articulating this with all due respect and reverence to the Animalia Kingdom.
In our globus terrae, we have many countries in which scores of inhabitants have not left the Phithecantopoid ranks hitherto, and of their own free will remain uncivil to the demise of the civilized citizens living among them in abysmal minority.
Where in the world are those fecal detritivores today?. Nobody gets Kudos here, just Pens or AK-47s.
Let us take a brief look over Iraq. It is unnecessary to say much about this well-known and unpopular setback (Iraq). From its origins as a country more than 7,000 years ago in Mesopotamia, the Kurds have been a focus of unresolved conflict for the mentally neutered Iraqis. As far as we know, the Iraqis have not been capable of resolving any conflict by diplomatic means. Then it was the prince with no glory of civilization darkness, Saddam Hussein, the highest priest of the archetype of viciousness. His quick response to alternative means of conflict resolution was always brutality, assassination, and the imposition of tyranny by unprecedented cruelty. The undercover elite of innocent and civilized Iraqis have been paying dearly the towering, unfair, and despotic price of living prisoners of this barbaric and intellectually blind and fanatic society rule by him. This animal put Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, better known as “Caligula” to shame. The real problem with these contemporary salvages of brutish behavior is that they embrace a loutish culture, using 21st Century technology. Please notice that the word brutish was used and not the word British, although if you scratch the skin of some of these hooligans, you will find the barbarian just underneath it.
Some civil Iraqis had fled their country (the lucky ones who could) in search of freedom and civility somewhere else. Some have come to the US, and we are lucky and glad to have them here. Civil people are not only welcomed, but are necessary for the enlightenment of humanity.
The boisterous non-civil Iraqis cannot figure out the divergence, and do not have an understanding of the difference between the “superfluous” items of necessity to built basic civility. Put it in another way, they have no clue between the differences of these:
Discussion and shoot out
Cultural explosion and bombing
Eloquence and torture
Silence and assassination
Conflict resolution and decapitation
Choices and “or else”
Citizen and terrorist
Building blocks and Scud missiles
Visiting and invading
Artisan and artillery
Nuns and guns
Massive construction and mass destruction
Obligation and obliteration
An election and annihilation
Buddy and bloody
Peace and feces
NATO and napalm
Disabled government and dismemberment
Disagreement and genocide
Turban and used diaper
Human rights and human wrongs
Acceptance and rape
The weapons of choice to reason with the ill-mannered Iraqis: Maybe a small worn-out #2-pencil thanks you to the US intervention and to the civil marginal minority, and an exceedingly large bunch of AK-47s fully loaded, plus a deserved Golden Pen for the civilized Iraqis.
Now let us review the bidet of political and social chaos in Venezuela in a nonchalantly manner. Chávez has become the synonym and epitome of the intellectual and political latrine he holds sway. He is perhaps the biggest mental midget of our times and the greatest political travesty in the history of Venezuela. We shall not spend much time discussing this Bandar-log because our mothers told us that if we do not have anything good to tell about someone, we should not say anything. However, our moms cannot hear us right now.
Civilized Venezuelan opponents see Chávez as a freaking authoritarian or a damn totalitarian that will get his way by any means. They also categorize him as a dirty communist, who will sell anyone and get in bed with any other political clowns such as Castro and Morales without a morality condom, individuals alike that assumed power long time ago, but have not assumed responsibility yet. Chavez’s militaristic misconception unfortunately serves him well against the civilized citizens of his beautiful country. Alas, Chavez’s demagogical abilities, backed by his rhetorical and deceptive propaganda of disingenuous goals, has disastrously botched to deliver on his countless empty promises, and he has repeatedly and customarily violated elementary human rights. He has also stuck his big nose in international affairs by meddling in the dealings of other Latin American countries. Unfortunately, it will take a higher authority besides King Juan Carlos I of Spain to make him to shut up. Never before in the history of Venezuela has a leader threatened the economy and democracy of the country to that level, he has illegitimately and criminally eliminated his opponents, and further more, his pathetic, flawed, and egotistic policy has destabilized global oil prices to serve his self-centered and narcissistic way of life. Some here swear he is gay. All and every piece of the information gathered in here comes from the mouths of real Venezuelan citizens in the US.
The weapons of choice to reason with the ill-mannered Chávez: One AK-47 with a single bullet. The civilized Venezuelan citizens do not need any extra pens. They have plenty of them and they know how to use them well.
The latest buffoon: The Somali Pirates
Perhaps this unambiguous group of Somalis misunderstood the whole thing. It is “The Village People”, and not “The Pillage People”. “The pirates of the Caribbean” it is a romantic Hollywood movie and it has nothing to do with this ruffian Somali pirates. The Somali pirates are real brigands; they are the contemporary low-class pirates of the Indian Ocean. Here we go again. How low can a society get?. The sky is the limit…
Somalia is a country that needs serious help at all levels. Once again, the victims are the civil citizens that earn they lives honestly and working hard, in spite of the difficulties, lack of opportunities, and physical exertion that this impoverish, anarchic country offers to its relentless citizens. Everyone understands and agrees that poverty sucks, but the Somali pirates’ approach to success sucks even worst. It must be clear that this is not a fault or legacy of the Italians of British colonizers.
The Somali pirates are snatching at least 2 unsuspecting commercial vessels a week, and more than 100 this year according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), in the Indian Ocean, and furthermore, these ex-anglers, scruffy mercenaries are negotiating the vessels’ release for ransom. Unlike these pitiful cowards bursting pusillanimity, the 16th century pirates of the Caribbean preyed on treasure ships equipped with armament, a fierce crew, and heavy artillery to defend themselves. Today, these contemptible and pathetic Somali pirates prey on innocent, defenseless, and unarmed boatmen, mainly because these thugs are not man enough to do better.
I feel sorry for the Somali Government and the civil people that have to put up with this crap and unable to counter it, but I feel even sorrier for this human trash that will short live, because you can interrupt and obstruct civility and progress for a short delay, but you can not stop it. Moreover, the civilized world will not come to amicable terms with buccaneers, felons, criminals, outlaws, crooks, or freaking immoral villains such as the Somali pirates.
The weapons of choice to reason with the Somali pirates: Just AK-47’s. Our hearts go to the worn-out pens of the civilized, heroic Somali society.
Is that enough about incivility?. Let us talk a bit about the accomplishments and benefits of civility to end this write-up in a more positive note. It would be nice if it were a safe way to rescue all the civilized human beings from those places of repression, so they can enjoy the goods of civility in a right, deserved environment.
Civility, its fruits, and benefits
In agreement with most people, civilized or not, the ascetic difference in the civility of the human race, from the lowest to the uppermost level of civility, is due mostly to education. A substantiation of this assertion is that the level of civilization attained in Europe and in America in general, is a manifest product of organized education, whereas in general, the advantages and availability of a superior education are in severe deprivation for the habitants of other less fortunate countries.
A good base of structured education rescues the ignorant from incivility darkness making them shrewd and judicious, it can turn tyrants into righteous, almost impartial leaders, and civility liberates the human being to pursue freely the highest level of wisdom. Civility through education champions for more balanced happiness, consolidates and braces your intelligence, gives a serious boost to will power, and it is capable to create something from nothing. Many individuals in this planet attain a sagacious level of civility via structured education; however, many other fumble in the flippancy of desolation and misery. Nonetheless, it is always possible for any citizen to acquire certain level of civility, almost regardless of their environment and the intrinsic natal capacities of themselves; if the citizen in question desires to seek civility, that is. In other words, any one who has an AK-47 can always change it for a pen.
Civility is more than courteous, well-mannered behavior. “Being civil means being constantly aware of others and weaving restraint, respect, and consideration into the very fabric of this awareness”, according to P. M. Forni, the co-founder of the John Hopkins Civility Project.
Civility brings bonanza, development, enlightening, fairness, growth, happiness, health, hope, innovation, knowledge, longevity, love, organization, peace, progress, science, security, sensibility, sharing, technology, industry, morality, honesty, law, order, and the list goes on and on… it is like an endless Christmas!. If you are not civil, you are too busy killing people to have time to think about these constructive concepts. Who would think that such a small word (civility) could hold so much?. Moreover, why anyone would change productive civility for anything else?. You guessed; 21st century barbarians (or Somali pirates).
Therefore, courageous civilized citizens of the world, hang in there with your pens high!. Strive to be civil; civility benefits all and every one of us. On this, we need to be and act as a TEAM (Together Each one Accomplishes More). Sooner that we expect we will be in celestial navigation towards worlds that are hanging around in the infinites of the universe waiting for us to conquer them. Then we will worry about the pirates of ignominy that are yet to come from Deep Space Nine!.
Animus Civilitates!. Habeo in animo, abalieno civilis!. (Viva civility!. I am resolved to be civil).
Peppers
I remember many years ago (1968), I came back from a trip to Japan and I brought a gift a Japanese friend gave to me. The gift was an innocent, small bag with a label reading “Piper Japonicum” (山椒 – sansho, sometimes called –wrong or not– Naga Jolokia). The bag did look more like a candy bag. It was a small cloth sack of multiple colors and a drawing of a “Kokeshi” doll offering the peppers in one hand, and holding a beautifully crafted hand-held-fan in the other hand covering her face, and probably a beautiful small lips smile. A rustic twine was keeping the bag closed. Of course in those days you could have brought home an elephant, and customs service wouldn’t have a problem with it. When I arrived to my house, I tossed the little bag (along with other “souvenirs” I brought) in my treasure chest in my room, and after awhile, I forgot about it.
Months later, while performing some cleaning of my room, I found the bag and I brought it to the kitchen with the intention to have a taste of those little rascals. That night when I sat down for dinner with my family, I pulled the bag and offered its contents to everyone. I did remind them that I was told that those peppers were extremely hot, and you have to go easy on the quantity when adding it to the food. We all had some in our soup. They were really, really hot, but flavorsome and they make the soup to taste real good.
A few minutes after we started eating, one of my nephews joined us for dinner, and as soon as he learned about the peppers, he started to presume how “macho” he was and started to tell a story about this “killer peppers” he had eaten bare, and nothing happened to him. He went on telling other tales about how much spice he can ingest in his food, and these peppers will not even pull tears from his eyes. There was no pepper in the planet that would top him. All of the sudden nobody could move in the room because my nephew’s arrogance had filled it completely.
Well, you know what’s coming. Yes, he needed to prove himself, and he poured nearly half of the bag content into his bowl of soup. After a few seconds, I could have sworn that his soup was shrieking! By that time, I have been sipping my soup for a jiffy now with a small spoon making sure I did not burn my mouth or tongue, and I was already feeling the intensity and hidden passion of those innocent -in a candy box- peppers.
Well, my dear nephew started to swallow the soup in a hurry because he was already late going to some party somewhere. After he had his peppery soup, he gobbled up some quick meat and some fast salad, and off he went. We finish dinner calmly, and we comment on the power of the peppers. Several minutes had past since we finish eating the soup spiced with the “Piper Japonicum”, and the burning sensation in my lips, mouth, esophagus, and stomach was confirming the tales about the peppers’ hot reputation. We also made a few comments on how my nephew can possibly eat such amount of those peppers, and do not feel it! We were all wrong, very wrong…
Minutes after my nephew left for the party with his friends, he was brought back by one of his friends. My arrogant nephew had a very bloated mouth, swollen lips, he had difficulty breathing, and his tears were showering from his red eyes. His lips looked like an air bag gone wrong! We all got up in a hurry and took him to the hospital.
To make the long story short, in the hospital the doctors “fixed” him. The only collateral damage was a colossal deflated ego, and an extreme difficulty in going to the bathroom for a couple of days. When we came back home from the hospital, the pepper bag was sitting silent on the table where we left it, looking innocent and harmless. I took the bag with the rest of the peppers in the candy-like bag, and I put it back in my treasure chest.
Some History
According to most biologists, chili peppers are native to the continents of South and Central America. It is believed that they were introduced to South Asia in or around the 15th century, and because of its success as food enhancers (and other uses); peppers conquered the planet’s spice trade. Cristoforo Colombo never imagined the wide impact this little fruit he brought to Spain, will have in the rest of Europe. The pepper spice is so pungent that did put to shame the reigning black pepper native to South Asia being consumed in Europe in those discovery days. Cristoforo Colombo called these fruits "peppers" because of their similarity in taste with the European peppers of the Piperaceae family.
There is indication of wide consumption of these plants in Central America, and substantial evidence of its utilization starting around 7500 BC. Chili peppers are perhaps the earliest plants to be domesticated. The origins of Capsicum Annum have been traced to Mexico and northern Central America, and the origins of Capsicum Frutescens to South America. These pepper species were first introduced to South Asia in or around the 1600s and now they rule as the two principal species in the region.
There is an interesting book written in 1597 in weird English, and published in London in 1633 about peppers. "The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes", written by John Gerard of England (1545-1612), is the first “scientific” study written on chili peppers of which Bryn Mawr published the first edition in 1597, and then, he published an enlarged, fully illustrated second edition in 1633. Some botanists and archeologists believe that chili peppers have been an important part of the human eating habits in the Americas since before 7500 BC. Ancient evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador point to fact that chili peppers were already a domestic plant more than 8000 years ago, making peppers one of the first self-pollinating cultivated crops in the Americas.
The Voyages of Chili Pepper
Chili peppers started to be cultivated broadly and actively around the globe, courtesy of Colombo’s physician, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca, who gave a long ride to peppers in the second voyage to the West Indies in 1493. As historians reveal, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca, driven by the wish of become rich (the first reason to jump in this crazy adventure with Colombo), introduced the first chili peppers to Spain, only a year after the discovery of the new continent in 1492. In 1494, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca recorded the first written testimony about the medicinal properties of peppers.
The Spaniards, with commercial ports in their newly conquered colony in the Terra Nova -today Mexico- controlled most of the maritime trade interchange with Asia. With the help of European vessels that docked in the new world, Spaniards started exporting the precious chili peppers -now turned a commodity- seemingly without limitations; besides storms, pirates and lost ships to the ocean’s grandiosity, to the Philippines, and afterwards to India, China, Korea, Japan, and of course, the rest of Europe. The exotic spice was quickly adopted by the people and absorbed into their local gastronomy.
Then, since the peppers become a sensation and they also were a high ticket item, the Portuguese sailors took the cherished new pepper from Spain and transported it to India -a Portuguese colony at the time- for its sale (today India is the largest producer of chilies in the world). Soon after, the pepper made its way from India, to Central Asia, and reportedly to Hungary and Turkey on horse, donkey, and camel backs, courtesy of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Portuguese conquistadores. The pepper demonstrated a remarkable resistance to lingering voyages, defiance to weather erosion, and changing climate.
There are many chili species, in all sizes and colors; there are sweet peppers, spicy peppers, and killer peppers. Some peppers are used as ornaments, others as food supply, and others as weapons. The Black Habanero (AKA: Chocolate Habanero), is believed to be the direct descendant of the native peppers that once grew in one of the world's longest coastal plains which is located in western South America. This pepper is hardly available due to its long maturity time which makes it very scarce. Guitar makers introduce one of this huge Black Habaneros inside wooden guitars because they say that it helps to absorb the guitar’s humidity, and makes the guitar to produce a more “sweet” and “soft” sound. Olé!
Whatever the case, everyone who has come in contact with peppers at one time or another has something to say about this peculiar fruit. Even though chilis may enjoy a denomination as a vegetable and also conceived as a fruit, its culinary relevance is mostly as a spice. Now, botany and its botanical troopers and cohorts armed with powerful microscopes, scary Petri dishes, threatening scissors, snatching tweezers, and cyclopic magnifying glasses, consider this eccentric plant a berry shrub! But who cares? Really! We just like to eat peppers!
Montezuma’s Revenge
Have you heard before of Chile Habanero, or the people screaming after eating them? Well, there are conflicting and obscure accounts on the subject of the origin of Moctezuma’s Revenge because of this chili pepper. According to my own digging and discoveries in the annals of ancient Aztec popular folklore, Moctezuma used to torture his victims –usually a warrior in disgrace– before sacrificing them by making the unfortunate devils eat a thick gumbo of chile habanero mixed with “scraped dust of the big claw of Camaxtli” –the god of hunting, war, fate, and fire.
After eating the potion forced upon him, the ill-fated victim plummet into violent convulsions, terrible vomiting, and explosive diarrhea, as the implausible and far-fetched anecdote tells. After a few hours through this ordeal, the unenthusiastic victim was ready for the sacrifice, and unable to oppose any resistance.
Of course these folk stories have no historic and/or scientific basis; however, they have been narrated as “factual” by old members of the Tlahuica culture, one of the earliest ethnic groups members of the Aztec culture who inhabited regions near to today’s State of Morelos, or so I was told…
In any case, the Great Moctezuma and the despicable diarrhea are forever fused together in the expression “Moctezuma’s Revenge”, in modern times known as “Traveler’s diarrhea”. To those who have traveled abroad and have experienced the fueling effects of this ancient spell, there is no more explanation to do. Truth or not, feel free to find out for yourself.
Now back to the peppers. The spice popularly called chile habanero does not have its origin in Chile, but in the Yucatán peninsula and its coastal regions. Chile Habanero is also called Capsicum Chinense Jacquin, a close cousin of my nephew’s “Piper Japonicum”. This chile is one of the most powerfully spicy chili peppers ever of the entire Capsicum genus. Before they mature, this habaneros are bright green, and at its maturity its color can fluctuate a lot! The most common colors are bright orange and vivid red, however, clear white, dazzling pink, and shades of intense brown also conform to their aquarelle of fiery colors. Most habaneros will rate between 200,000 and 300,000 in the Scoville scale, but the Chile Habanero is at the top of this group with a rating close to 350,000.
The Scoville Scale
The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper.
Scoville rating Type of pepper
15,000,000–16,000,000 Pure capsaicin
9,100,000 Nordihydrocapsaicin
2,000,000–5,300,000 Standard US Grade pepper spray
855,000–1,041,427 Naga Jolokia
350,000–577,000 Red Savina Habanero
100,000–350,000 Chile Habanero
100,000–350,000 Scotch Bonnet
100,000–200,000 Jamaican Hot Pepper
50,000–100,000 Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper
30,000–50,000 Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper
10,000–23,000 Serrano Pepper
7,000–8,000 Tabasco Sauce (Habanero)
5,000–10,000 Wax Pepper
2,500–8,000 Jalapeño Pepper
2,500–5,000 Tabasco Sauce (Tabasco pepper)
1,500–2,500 Rocotillo Pepper
1,000–1,500 Poblano Pepper
600–800 Tabasco Sauce (Green Pepper)
500–1000 Anaheim pepper
100–500 Pimento, Pepperoncini
0 No heat, Bell pepper
And NOT; pepper-oni does not belong in the scale!
Chile peppers have nothing to do whatsoever with black pepper (Piper Nigrum) which is originary from tropical Asia. The expression ‘pepper’ this spicy has been nickname with, is confusing and this misunderstanding has been mistakenly embedded in the common cultures of peoples for more than 500 years, and there is no chance to change that!
This uncharacteristic, wonderful, and ancient fruit ought to be called chile. The Aztecs called them that! This fruits were born in the heart of the Aztec’s terra firma! Since primordial times, chiles have been fundamental elements in the lives of the aboriginal populace who used them as food and medicine. Tons of these peppers were found in the Aztecan Valley of Tehuacán, were the city of Tehuacán was erected sometime before 8,500 BC –today Puebla, Mexico– but considered as “city” in 8,500 BC. The found peppers in the Aztec territory were dated as being more than 9,000 years old, so for goodness sake call them chiles like the Aztecs did in ancient times! Just so you know, among the ruins of the deep-rooted city of Tehuacán was also found the oldest archeological fossil of corn.
Next time you are about to eat any “pepper” in any way, or in any form, please before you devour this magnificent plant, look at it for a few, emotional moments, and nostalgically bring to mind the 9,000 years-long journey the amazing pepper endured to be at your munificent table.
“The Aztecs feared their Gods, their Gods feared Chile Habanero” – unknown author.
Months later, while performing some cleaning of my room, I found the bag and I brought it to the kitchen with the intention to have a taste of those little rascals. That night when I sat down for dinner with my family, I pulled the bag and offered its contents to everyone. I did remind them that I was told that those peppers were extremely hot, and you have to go easy on the quantity when adding it to the food. We all had some in our soup. They were really, really hot, but flavorsome and they make the soup to taste real good.
A few minutes after we started eating, one of my nephews joined us for dinner, and as soon as he learned about the peppers, he started to presume how “macho” he was and started to tell a story about this “killer peppers” he had eaten bare, and nothing happened to him. He went on telling other tales about how much spice he can ingest in his food, and these peppers will not even pull tears from his eyes. There was no pepper in the planet that would top him. All of the sudden nobody could move in the room because my nephew’s arrogance had filled it completely.
Well, you know what’s coming. Yes, he needed to prove himself, and he poured nearly half of the bag content into his bowl of soup. After a few seconds, I could have sworn that his soup was shrieking! By that time, I have been sipping my soup for a jiffy now with a small spoon making sure I did not burn my mouth or tongue, and I was already feeling the intensity and hidden passion of those innocent -in a candy box- peppers.
Well, my dear nephew started to swallow the soup in a hurry because he was already late going to some party somewhere. After he had his peppery soup, he gobbled up some quick meat and some fast salad, and off he went. We finish dinner calmly, and we comment on the power of the peppers. Several minutes had past since we finish eating the soup spiced with the “Piper Japonicum”, and the burning sensation in my lips, mouth, esophagus, and stomach was confirming the tales about the peppers’ hot reputation. We also made a few comments on how my nephew can possibly eat such amount of those peppers, and do not feel it! We were all wrong, very wrong…
Minutes after my nephew left for the party with his friends, he was brought back by one of his friends. My arrogant nephew had a very bloated mouth, swollen lips, he had difficulty breathing, and his tears were showering from his red eyes. His lips looked like an air bag gone wrong! We all got up in a hurry and took him to the hospital.
To make the long story short, in the hospital the doctors “fixed” him. The only collateral damage was a colossal deflated ego, and an extreme difficulty in going to the bathroom for a couple of days. When we came back home from the hospital, the pepper bag was sitting silent on the table where we left it, looking innocent and harmless. I took the bag with the rest of the peppers in the candy-like bag, and I put it back in my treasure chest.
Some History
According to most biologists, chili peppers are native to the continents of South and Central America. It is believed that they were introduced to South Asia in or around the 15th century, and because of its success as food enhancers (and other uses); peppers conquered the planet’s spice trade. Cristoforo Colombo never imagined the wide impact this little fruit he brought to Spain, will have in the rest of Europe. The pepper spice is so pungent that did put to shame the reigning black pepper native to South Asia being consumed in Europe in those discovery days. Cristoforo Colombo called these fruits "peppers" because of their similarity in taste with the European peppers of the Piperaceae family.
There is indication of wide consumption of these plants in Central America, and substantial evidence of its utilization starting around 7500 BC. Chili peppers are perhaps the earliest plants to be domesticated. The origins of Capsicum Annum have been traced to Mexico and northern Central America, and the origins of Capsicum Frutescens to South America. These pepper species were first introduced to South Asia in or around the 1600s and now they rule as the two principal species in the region.
There is an interesting book written in 1597 in weird English, and published in London in 1633 about peppers. "The Herball, or Generall Historie of Plantes", written by John Gerard of England (1545-1612), is the first “scientific” study written on chili peppers of which Bryn Mawr published the first edition in 1597, and then, he published an enlarged, fully illustrated second edition in 1633. Some botanists and archeologists believe that chili peppers have been an important part of the human eating habits in the Americas since before 7500 BC. Ancient evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador point to fact that chili peppers were already a domestic plant more than 8000 years ago, making peppers one of the first self-pollinating cultivated crops in the Americas.
The Voyages of Chili Pepper
Chili peppers started to be cultivated broadly and actively around the globe, courtesy of Colombo’s physician, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca, who gave a long ride to peppers in the second voyage to the West Indies in 1493. As historians reveal, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca, driven by the wish of become rich (the first reason to jump in this crazy adventure with Colombo), introduced the first chili peppers to Spain, only a year after the discovery of the new continent in 1492. In 1494, Don Diego Álvarez Chanca recorded the first written testimony about the medicinal properties of peppers.
The Spaniards, with commercial ports in their newly conquered colony in the Terra Nova -today Mexico- controlled most of the maritime trade interchange with Asia. With the help of European vessels that docked in the new world, Spaniards started exporting the precious chili peppers -now turned a commodity- seemingly without limitations; besides storms, pirates and lost ships to the ocean’s grandiosity, to the Philippines, and afterwards to India, China, Korea, Japan, and of course, the rest of Europe. The exotic spice was quickly adopted by the people and absorbed into their local gastronomy.
Then, since the peppers become a sensation and they also were a high ticket item, the Portuguese sailors took the cherished new pepper from Spain and transported it to India -a Portuguese colony at the time- for its sale (today India is the largest producer of chilies in the world). Soon after, the pepper made its way from India, to Central Asia, and reportedly to Hungary and Turkey on horse, donkey, and camel backs, courtesy of the entrepreneurial spirit of the Portuguese conquistadores. The pepper demonstrated a remarkable resistance to lingering voyages, defiance to weather erosion, and changing climate.
There are many chili species, in all sizes and colors; there are sweet peppers, spicy peppers, and killer peppers. Some peppers are used as ornaments, others as food supply, and others as weapons. The Black Habanero (AKA: Chocolate Habanero), is believed to be the direct descendant of the native peppers that once grew in one of the world's longest coastal plains which is located in western South America. This pepper is hardly available due to its long maturity time which makes it very scarce. Guitar makers introduce one of this huge Black Habaneros inside wooden guitars because they say that it helps to absorb the guitar’s humidity, and makes the guitar to produce a more “sweet” and “soft” sound. Olé!
Whatever the case, everyone who has come in contact with peppers at one time or another has something to say about this peculiar fruit. Even though chilis may enjoy a denomination as a vegetable and also conceived as a fruit, its culinary relevance is mostly as a spice. Now, botany and its botanical troopers and cohorts armed with powerful microscopes, scary Petri dishes, threatening scissors, snatching tweezers, and cyclopic magnifying glasses, consider this eccentric plant a berry shrub! But who cares? Really! We just like to eat peppers!
Montezuma’s Revenge
Have you heard before of Chile Habanero, or the people screaming after eating them? Well, there are conflicting and obscure accounts on the subject of the origin of Moctezuma’s Revenge because of this chili pepper. According to my own digging and discoveries in the annals of ancient Aztec popular folklore, Moctezuma used to torture his victims –usually a warrior in disgrace– before sacrificing them by making the unfortunate devils eat a thick gumbo of chile habanero mixed with “scraped dust of the big claw of Camaxtli” –the god of hunting, war, fate, and fire.
After eating the potion forced upon him, the ill-fated victim plummet into violent convulsions, terrible vomiting, and explosive diarrhea, as the implausible and far-fetched anecdote tells. After a few hours through this ordeal, the unenthusiastic victim was ready for the sacrifice, and unable to oppose any resistance.
Of course these folk stories have no historic and/or scientific basis; however, they have been narrated as “factual” by old members of the Tlahuica culture, one of the earliest ethnic groups members of the Aztec culture who inhabited regions near to today’s State of Morelos, or so I was told…
In any case, the Great Moctezuma and the despicable diarrhea are forever fused together in the expression “Moctezuma’s Revenge”, in modern times known as “Traveler’s diarrhea”. To those who have traveled abroad and have experienced the fueling effects of this ancient spell, there is no more explanation to do. Truth or not, feel free to find out for yourself.
Now back to the peppers. The spice popularly called chile habanero does not have its origin in Chile, but in the Yucatán peninsula and its coastal regions. Chile Habanero is also called Capsicum Chinense Jacquin, a close cousin of my nephew’s “Piper Japonicum”. This chile is one of the most powerfully spicy chili peppers ever of the entire Capsicum genus. Before they mature, this habaneros are bright green, and at its maturity its color can fluctuate a lot! The most common colors are bright orange and vivid red, however, clear white, dazzling pink, and shades of intense brown also conform to their aquarelle of fiery colors. Most habaneros will rate between 200,000 and 300,000 in the Scoville scale, but the Chile Habanero is at the top of this group with a rating close to 350,000.
The Scoville Scale
The Scoville scale is a measure of the hotness or piquancy of a chili pepper.
Scoville rating Type of pepper
15,000,000–16,000,000 Pure capsaicin
9,100,000 Nordihydrocapsaicin
2,000,000–5,300,000 Standard US Grade pepper spray
855,000–1,041,427 Naga Jolokia
350,000–577,000 Red Savina Habanero
100,000–350,000 Chile Habanero
100,000–350,000 Scotch Bonnet
100,000–200,000 Jamaican Hot Pepper
50,000–100,000 Thai Pepper, Malagueta Pepper, Chiltepin Pepper
30,000–50,000 Cayenne Pepper, Ají pepper, Tabasco pepper
10,000–23,000 Serrano Pepper
7,000–8,000 Tabasco Sauce (Habanero)
5,000–10,000 Wax Pepper
2,500–8,000 Jalapeño Pepper
2,500–5,000 Tabasco Sauce (Tabasco pepper)
1,500–2,500 Rocotillo Pepper
1,000–1,500 Poblano Pepper
600–800 Tabasco Sauce (Green Pepper)
500–1000 Anaheim pepper
100–500 Pimento, Pepperoncini
0 No heat, Bell pepper
And NOT; pepper-oni does not belong in the scale!
Chile peppers have nothing to do whatsoever with black pepper (Piper Nigrum) which is originary from tropical Asia. The expression ‘pepper’ this spicy has been nickname with, is confusing and this misunderstanding has been mistakenly embedded in the common cultures of peoples for more than 500 years, and there is no chance to change that!
This uncharacteristic, wonderful, and ancient fruit ought to be called chile. The Aztecs called them that! This fruits were born in the heart of the Aztec’s terra firma! Since primordial times, chiles have been fundamental elements in the lives of the aboriginal populace who used them as food and medicine. Tons of these peppers were found in the Aztecan Valley of Tehuacán, were the city of Tehuacán was erected sometime before 8,500 BC –today Puebla, Mexico– but considered as “city” in 8,500 BC. The found peppers in the Aztec territory were dated as being more than 9,000 years old, so for goodness sake call them chiles like the Aztecs did in ancient times! Just so you know, among the ruins of the deep-rooted city of Tehuacán was also found the oldest archeological fossil of corn.
Next time you are about to eat any “pepper” in any way, or in any form, please before you devour this magnificent plant, look at it for a few, emotional moments, and nostalgically bring to mind the 9,000 years-long journey the amazing pepper endured to be at your munificent table.
“The Aztecs feared their Gods, their Gods feared Chile Habanero” – unknown author.
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