Warning: This article became a diatribe against monetizing the idea of health and spirituality. It contains broad generalizations about some of the citizens of San Francisco, as well as probably offends people from Taiwan. More than anything this article offends people who are not bitter health nihilists.
The Loving Hut is a vegan restaurant with prices slightly higher than average that has good miso soup, a clean atmosphere and friendly staff.
To continue to the original 'review' see below.
The Loving Hut is weird. Posters with lots of writing, pictures of smiling people, pamphlets and some funding that allows it to be a chain offering vegan food. It's eerily quiet.
It's creepy in that everyone who works there is always smiling and helpful, but formal. That the overreaching message of world peace, and healthy living - through us, seems, not in-genuine, but obvious.
One can't disagree with world peace, nor can one really fundamentally disagree with eating healthily, but something remains unusual.
Some cursory research shows that the Loving Hut is owned by Ching Hai, head of the Supreme Master Ching Hai Association. She is a mystic, spiritual leader, business owner, fashion designer, etc. Just read her wiki page. I'm not saying that Ching Hai is a cult leader and marketing expert who can sell abstract ideas packaged as spirituality, but.
San Francisco has a relationship and understanding of new-age yoga though; the bay area has monetized yoga into exercise and has countless stores selling Tibetan tchotchkes. This kind of world peace and be healthy lifestyle appeals to a large demographic in San Francisco.
What the Loving Hut appeals to is a different demographic of people - mostly, it appears, in Taiwan. While the ethos seems mostly the same, these two demographics like different things.
Rich white people in San Francisco, who for the purposes of this I shall refer to as "Yuppies", go for a different aesthetic than the demographic that Ching Hai profits off of.
So let's compare to something I understand.
The best reference point for the same level of uncomfortable niceness, cost, and holier than thou atmosphere is Cafe Gratitude. Gratitude serves a customer base of yuppies, who I can comfortably pass judgement on due to the large amount of time spent in a city designed for them. The Loving Hut, however, does not make any sense to me. I have no reference it's not that busy, and when it is the customer base is diverse. The prices are high, but not too high to scream "class warfare" as loudly as Gratitude.
It comes down to culture, it has to; The Loving Hut is an operation based out of Taiwan and I imagine every store in Asia looks the same as any store in the USA, but it's money is made in Taiwan.
The answer lies in Capitalism. Capitalism uses status symbols to organize itself . So when people pull on their $100 yoga pants, that's a class signifier and a status symbol, the same way eating at Gratitude is, the same way the dog and the address are.
I cannot claim any knowledge or even a theory of why the Loving Hut does not easily make sense in those terms; all I can say is that it confuses me, and creeps me out; it's something so far removed from my experience that it makes me uncomfortable.
So then, why is The Loving Hut a cult, while Cafe Gratitude isn't? My answer is probably that:
1. I am being racist and assume people into The Loving Hut are less rich and less educated than those into yoga in the united states.
2. I assume the people buying into The Loving Hut and Supreme Leader Ching Hai in Taiwan have closer ties to spirituality and more sincere reasons for doing things. (This could easily be more racism)
3. I assume rich people are inherently selfish and never do anything for any genuine reason.
4. Yuppies never do anything culturally worthwhile.
The Loving Hut is a vegan restaurant with prices slightly higher than average that has good miso soup, a clean atmosphere and friendly staff.
To continue to the original 'review' see below.
The Loving Hut is weird. Posters with lots of writing, pictures of smiling people, pamphlets and some funding that allows it to be a chain offering vegan food. It's eerily quiet.
It's creepy in that everyone who works there is always smiling and helpful, but formal. That the overreaching message of world peace, and healthy living - through us, seems, not in-genuine, but obvious.
One can't disagree with world peace, nor can one really fundamentally disagree with eating healthily, but something remains unusual.
Some cursory research shows that the Loving Hut is owned by Ching Hai, head of the Supreme Master Ching Hai Association. She is a mystic, spiritual leader, business owner, fashion designer, etc. Just read her wiki page. I'm not saying that Ching Hai is a cult leader and marketing expert who can sell abstract ideas packaged as spirituality, but.
San Francisco has a relationship and understanding of new-age yoga though; the bay area has monetized yoga into exercise and has countless stores selling Tibetan tchotchkes. This kind of world peace and be healthy lifestyle appeals to a large demographic in San Francisco.
What the Loving Hut appeals to is a different demographic of people - mostly, it appears, in Taiwan. While the ethos seems mostly the same, these two demographics like different things.
Rich white people in San Francisco, who for the purposes of this I shall refer to as "Yuppies", go for a different aesthetic than the demographic that Ching Hai profits off of.
So let's compare to something I understand.
The best reference point for the same level of uncomfortable niceness, cost, and holier than thou atmosphere is Cafe Gratitude. Gratitude serves a customer base of yuppies, who I can comfortably pass judgement on due to the large amount of time spent in a city designed for them. The Loving Hut, however, does not make any sense to me. I have no reference it's not that busy, and when it is the customer base is diverse. The prices are high, but not too high to scream "class warfare" as loudly as Gratitude.
It comes down to culture, it has to; The Loving Hut is an operation based out of Taiwan and I imagine every store in Asia looks the same as any store in the USA, but it's money is made in Taiwan.
The answer lies in Capitalism. Capitalism uses status symbols to organize itself . So when people pull on their $100 yoga pants, that's a class signifier and a status symbol, the same way eating at Gratitude is, the same way the dog and the address are.
I cannot claim any knowledge or even a theory of why the Loving Hut does not easily make sense in those terms; all I can say is that it confuses me, and creeps me out; it's something so far removed from my experience that it makes me uncomfortable.
So then, why is The Loving Hut a cult, while Cafe Gratitude isn't? My answer is probably that:
1. I am being racist and assume people into The Loving Hut are less rich and less educated than those into yoga in the united states.
2. I assume the people buying into The Loving Hut and Supreme Leader Ching Hai in Taiwan have closer ties to spirituality and more sincere reasons for doing things. (This could easily be more racism)
3. I assume rich people are inherently selfish and never do anything for any genuine reason.
4. Yuppies never do anything culturally worthwhile.
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