Posted on 02/25/2012 9:56:30 AM PST by nickcarraway
In his Daily News column, Stanley Crouch examines China's deeply entrenched racial hostilities, especially stereotypes regarding African Americans. He says that such animus within the rising economic power should not be ignored.
Though Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer-winning columnist for The Washington Post, is a serious and highly sophisticated man, I was disappointed by a recent column in which he compared the United States and China.
In eloquent terms, Robinson asserted that the Chinese, right now, look more unsentimentally at their problems and are not bluffing the world about taking them on, no matter how large, intimidating and deeply dug in by custom they might be.
Robinson suggests the Chinese seem to be addressing their most important natural resource, which is their population, as we are not -- as proven by the depressingly shallow nature of American political arguments.
Fair enough, as far as it goes.
But Robinson does not mention something about China -- something that an honest assessment of its strengths and weaknesses should not ignore.
(Excerpt) Read more at theroot.com ...
Jesus folks!
Jesus!
Smart people are bigotted against dumb people, most smart people are dumb and many dumb people have some real smarts.
So of course folks on the other side of the world will also be bigotted.
Jesus!
Self-emptying Love - regardless what’s dished back. Trust in Jesus!
Communist imperialism and Islamic imperialism both are approved by the Left.
So this originated with the NY Daily News, huh? Figures.
I’d like to be privy to the newsrooms’ reaction when they find out that political correctness doesn’t mean jack with the rest of the world.
Here the Chinese can rape the environment, steal our secrets, actively support third world dictators, undermine our global prestige, threaten our allies, steal our industry, kill thousands of innocent people, support Iran, and in general be a bunch of commie bastards, and they still get “most favored nation” status and are fawned over.
But when they don’t embrace the right ethnic views....THAT is when they get noticed.
They also believe whites are a mongrel mixture of conquered and conqueror, nasty mutt race.
After reading the article I can’t figure out what the Chinese have said about blacks.
It appears that the Chinese aren’t politically correct.
Maybe you should read the title of this thread and pay attention to the topic at hand and not contradict yourself.
Completely off topic, but do you just want to "take a little peek over the shoulder" of the police?"
Yes, the Chinese are quite untroubled by the sentimental and self-destructuve PC crapola that so troubles other peoples.
Tough.
To a certain point, I agree with you. And I am an American of Chinese descent. And I understand all too well, that there is a political correctness against people of European heritage projecting that same racial superiority. Whereas other people, whether from Africa, Middle East or Asia seem to get somewhat of a free pass. Not entirely a free pass, but more so than those of European descent.
However, be grateful that that is true as this is an indication that the West still leads the world. For there will come a day, when the world will resent China's racial smugness more than any potential or possible European or Western smugness :) People tend to feel the most threatened by the smugness of those who have more than those who have less.
Being around people who are poor and smug vs those who are wealthy and smug, have a different feel to the recipient of that attitude. One feels more threatening than the other even though they are the same attitudes of racial superiority.
So, as the global environment evolves and the economic center of gravity shifts Eastward, the world will slowly feel more of and resent China's Sino Centric view of the world. So, be grateful that we aren't there ...... yet ;)
Anyways... those are my 2 cents.
I really appreciate your intelligent reply and I agree with you.
We live in a world of double standards.
That is undoubtedly a fact.
Look, many of these Asian countries I mentioned don’t wear their superiority on their sleeve.
If you are a tourist, you are not going to encounter it for the most part. It isn’t like some white person is going to go to Asia and experience an Asian version of the Klan out to get you.
But there exists an institutionalized racism in Asian countries that basically says screw you whitey, screw you blackey, screw you my Asian neighbor. The whole notion of one Asian culture is a myth.
The one thing that might save America down the long road is that powerful Asian countries will compete for the position of top dog, at least regionally, and keep each other in check, and most likely with the US military in their corner.
As far as the China goes, it is in a tough neighborhood with Russia, India, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam as neighbors.
It can’t afford to get uppity.
But double standard is something felt by everyone, even those in the non-Western world, but its just in a different area. It may not be in the area of race, like Westerners, but in the area of say, power. Whether it be economic or military.
One only has to look at the reaction of the West when the Chinese puts a satellite into space vs the Russians. The Chinese are viewed with much more suspicion when putting a satellite into space than the Russians.
So, political correctness is felt by all, but just in different areas.
And when you say:
It can’t afford to get uppity.
A more accurate statement would be:
China can't afford to get TOO uppity.
She will be the economic center of Asia, for sure, and to a lesser degree, even the world as she will soon surpass the US in GDP. But this strength can only occur in peace time. Projecting beyond peacetime strength, then you get into an area where other nations can begin to form alliances.
And as you said, China is surrounded by potentially powerful countries, Russia, India, Japan, etc. And they can form alliances in times of war. Not to mention Europe and the US coming on board. The best example of this is during World War II. Germany was and still is the most powerful country in Europe. But when it went into war time mode, all the countries united against her. Today, in peacetime, Germany still carries, quietly, more influence than any other European country, including Russia.
Getting back to Asia and racism, I would say, racism, in the traditional sense, might be a bit strong of a word, though not entirely inaccurate. I would say a better term would be they are cultural centric. Meaning, people in, for exampe, China, would simply see their culture as better than others. And same with Japan, Korea, etc. And their ways better than others while still respecting the individual of others to certain degree. But reserving the right to say things about other cultures or races that would be deemed politically incorrect in the West.
I think we are on the same page, but I slightly disagree with you to a certain extent, because I don’t think the racism is just limited to cultural superiority or thinking that one culture is superior to another, but there is outright de facto and institutionalized racism(jingoism?) as a matter of law and in business.
The cultural stuff I don’t really care about.
I don’t really care about people’s private prejudices or preferences.
For example, I have Chinese friends and I know their families want them to marry other Chinese. I don’t care. And I know every Asian country as the equivalent of the “N word” for white people. And that doesn’t bother me much either.
However, I know as a White American I won’t be treated equally under the law, that I won’t have my contracts enforced, that I will be discriminated against in the justice system and by the bureaucracy, that I have to deal with racism in terms of preferences based exclusively on race and nothing else, that I will never be able to own land, or own 100% of my business without a local partner. I have been cheated just because I was white and I had no recourse. You just have to bite the bullet.
In the US, if Americans did that to any foreigner, even to illegal aliens, they could be sued and lose every penny.
The irony, of course, is that is not exclusively a race thing, because not all Asians are treated equally either(eg Japan and Korea, Thailand and Cambodia, Singapore and Malaysia, China and Vietnam), but it is a more jingoistic characteristic I have seen in every single Asian country, except Singapore, which is basically a Western county with Asian people living there.
Ha! I was hoping so. I’m a huge Hendrie fan myself and I think Jay Santos is probably my favorite character, although sometimes it’s hard to beat Bobbie Dooley. You should check out the show website...for $6.95 you can download just about a complete show archive from 1999 on. If you already knew about it....tip of the cap and I’m on my way.
The condition you described is packed with some things I am familiar with and somethings that I am not. And some things I agree with and some things I do not. On the global level, I am familiar with and agree with, on the individual level, I am not familiar at all. And also, your statement has to do with ethics of people as well, in other words, there could be laws that exist to ensure the rights of foreigners, but those dispensing the law may not adhere to it, this area, I'm not real familiar with.
In the area I am familiar with, such as requiring a local partner, as in the case with China, I do agree with. And this was a condition in which Europe and the US agreed to when China joined the WTO. This is necessary for a poor country to develop without being overwhelmed by global corporations. It still happened anyway, as General Motors is the largest auto manufacturer in China. And they were given preferential treatment over their domestic auto manufacturers, at first. Now the government are setting up policies that do favor their domestic companies. This, to a degree, I agree with. Poor countries, in the past, have had their economies controlled by outsider powers before.
Onto the individual levels. Foreigners can own homes in China right now. This policy has more to do with ensuring that the local population gets first shot at housing. Its not fair to expats, for sure, but it is born out of anger by ordinary citizens who earn meager wages compared to foreign workers living in China. To be sure, wealthy Chinese seem to have unbridled access to housing in China. So, yes, the world isn't fair all around even as it tries to be fair in certain areas.
Onto ethics. In China, the central government is trusted more so than at the local level. Tens of thousands of Chinese protest every year against corrupt government practices. So, likely, those practices will have fallen your way as well, as local officials do not help your petition for your rights under the law. This area, I must admit, I know very little about since I have actually not lived in China or anywhere else in Asia but hope to someday (for a little while, anyway).
In the US, if Americans did that to any foreigner, even to illegal aliens, they could be sued and lose every penny.
Lose every penny, might be an extreme outcome. But I understand what you are saying. But really, foreigners in America having access to strong legal counsel has more to do with the Americans, as a whole, adhering to the law more so than in Asia. What that means, is that a white person suing a white person have the same power of legal protection, both the plaintiff and the defendant.
Within Asia, some places are better than others, i.e., Japan is probably better than Taiwan and South Korea, and they are probably better than China. And China better than Vietnam. And Singapore better than Japan.
Also, keep in mind, minorities have had to fight for fairness of the law in the US as well. And they have been successful, because legislative protection, along with the media, had protected white on white issues first. And those who were minorities, simply piggy backed on those benefits by entering into a legal framework that was ethical and became more ethical over time. If white on white oppression been in America, had been, for example, like Arab on Arab oppression in the Middle East, then minorities in America would not have gained the rights they enjoy today.
I am convinced, the same will happen with China as well. As they develop a better legal framework, people within China will also develop greater ethics to adhere to that frame work. And foreigners and expats will be able to piggy back off of this improving legal frame work.
I saw a news reports once, about a Taiwan husband and British wife where they were trying to buy a house in Beijing. They have stated they will leave China if they are not given the right to own a home. According to the news report, the government is trying to address those concerns as well. So, in the long run, with alot of petition, I do believe foreigners and expats will enjoy the same rights as Chinese citizens in China. It just might take a few more decades.
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