What Would Gandhi Bring?

I hope for their sake that poor people don't read the Wall Street Journal. Today's paper has a special summer guide to "warm-weather eating, drinking, dressing up, dressing down, game playing, luxury lounging, road tripping and wind-in-your-hair driving" that is particularly obnoxious and aimed at the wealthy. Tucked between the articles about preparing the perfect gourmet picnic (kits for $85) or finding heavenly hostess gifts for your weekend at the beach (four silver corn-cob holders, $280) are ads for incredibly expensive watches, high-end hotels and higher-end condos. And if you're tired of that same old Disneyland vacation, consider one of these fun "Adventures with Children": a South Africa River Ramble at $3,898 per person (ages 7 and up), or a six-day tour of southern France for $4,198 per person (ages 9 and up).

In the very same newspaper, different section, a review of a book called Outcast: The Repressed People of Asia that depicts the lives of the so-called Untouchables in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Nepal, defined as human dross born into a caste system and "bound to a wheel of grinding poverty," offers a break from the same-old, same-old. Haunting black-and-white photographs of emaciated people cleaning latrines and sewers, scavenging for food in dumps and living in excrement-covered slums can be yours for just $46.95. For some extra brownie points, try bringing that to your weekend hosts in the Hamptons!