#peco

Today's KAITO module of the day is:

I have a confession to make. I've read the Ping Pong manga more times than I can remember. This is a slight ramble about what it's about beyond table tennis.

The most notable fact about Ping Pong as a story revolving around sports is that the usual themes and values of self-sacrifice and complete devotion to a sport (or specifically winning at it) are not espoused as a guideline for everyone to follow.

Of the two main characters, Smile and Peco, it's only the latter who can have nothing in his head except wanting to win, while the former is shown to care about the opponent's weaknesses or wants. While Smile goes through a period of closing himself off from his opponents and simply playing to win, the series does not let him end on this note, instead recontextualizing this as a necessity for him to truly give it his best and realize the limits of his talent and effort, his true limits as a player, beyond which he is allowed to enjoy the sport to the extent he wants- teaching it to kids at the local club, content with where he is.

Peco stands in contrast to this in his desire for nothing except victory, and once he learns to not coast along on his talents for the sport and instead back it up with genuine devotion and effort, he's unbeatable, and continues to push his limits in the way he is uniquely able to.

The critical thing here is that Peco is not held as a standard for people to strive to- other than in his genuine love for the game- but rather, that people can indeed care for things outside of the game, and endless devotion to it is not something everyone is cut out for, and that's okay. This is illustrated in the match between Peco and Kazama, with the line referencing how even though Peco is pulling away and ahead of him, there's no fear, there is an acceptance in realizing one's limits and still playing once they are reached, no longer having to be anxious about one's standing and place in the game or field.

The thesis is that the true way to get rid of one's anxiety and fear about their proficiency and or devotion to something is not to detach from the end result and your own feelings using some unfeeling veneer of irony or the mask of a robot, but to truly believe in your love for it and give it your all at it, even if your talent and effort combined can't carry you to the top, you will have flown at your limit, and that in itself is worth all the things that loving something brings. Smile can't truly be satisfied with himself until he truly gives it his all, and when he gives it his all and loses, this is nothing to be disheartened by- his fear of devoting himself to something is gone, having fully explored the limits of his machine, and that knowledge in itself is what allows us to be complete as people, and content with ourselves. Contentment cannot come from a simple proclamation of "I am fine with where I am", we need to be first feel out the limits of where our love and effort can take us so as to not be left in that space where we reach out our hands and don't know where the limits are- only by reaching that wall first can we accept it, without which we are left in the abyss of regret or the uncertainty from imagining where it may be.

Myria: I must become unto a Fury…

Farewell my children.

I say "Getting Ahead Of" because this is big local news right now, but I can see it quickly turning into national news.

PECO, which is the sole Electric Utility in Philadelphia, and Electric and Gas for areas in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Here is a map showing the area they serve.

So, what's happening?

They have voted to authorize a strike. It does not mean a strike is going to happen. However, they have already made mutual accusations of failing to negotiate in good faith:

To add pressure to the situation, PECO filed to raise rates by 12.5%, and then withdrew that filing after the Governor intervened:

So, this definitely has the potential to hit National News.

A few "complicating" factors:

Governor Shapiro is being touted as a potential candidate for POTUS in the next election. Ergo, he is already on Trump's radar.

Philadelphia, the center of the served area, is one of the host cities for the World Cup, including games on Juneteenth and a big game on July 4. If there is a strike, if there are picket lines for the electric company, that's going to be very much national and even international news.

Philadelphia is one of those cities that has passed laws fighting back against ICE.

So, if this goes to a strike?

Trump is going to get involved. He's going to put himself right at the center of the whole thing.