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You're doing no better by trivializing the author's purview. He doesn't live anywhere else you mentioned, he lives in China and in Tibet before that. That is th

You're doing no better by trivializing the author's purview. He doesn't live anywhere else you mentioned, he lives in China and in Tibet before that. That is the world he inhabits and that his writing reflects. Not to mention that problems are relative; you think an American balking at finding out their favorite restaurant was closed because of hygiene issues doesn't feel something comparable to a Chinese person who finds out their favorite street vendor used gutter oil? [0] Also in all of those Western examples you gave, China was much worse off. How can you say that China's situation isn't bad with a straight face? This is a country where the smug is so bad you can't see a few feet ahead of you. Where people who criticize the government can be made to disappear. Where the internet goes through a firewall [1] and is closed off from the rest of the world. [2] Sure, there are many countries worst off, but that doesn't mean we can completely overlook issues with our own countries. [0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutter_oil [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Firewall [2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websites_blocked_in_mainland_China https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Websites_blocked_in_mainland_C...

ebbv 10y ago
> Not to mention that problems are relative; you think an American balking at finding out their favorite restaurant was closed because of hygiene issues doesn't feel something comparable to a Chinese person who finds out their favorite street vendor used gutter oil? I don't think it's unreasonable to have a strong reaction in either case. But I do agree with the parent commenter that believing this to be unprecedented and "beyond unreal" shows a level of ignorance or naivety that is more remarkable than the event itself.
coldtea 10y ago
>You're doing no better by trivializing the author's purview. He doesn't live anywhere else you mentioned, he lives in China and in Tibet before that. There are billions of people, including highly successful or educated people, living in a place X all of their lives, while still not understanding it. Do, for example, Trump supporters really understand their country? >you think an American balking at finding out their favorite restaurant was closed because of hygiene issues doesn't feel something comparable to a Chinese person who finds out their favorite street vendor used gutter oil? They wouldn't call the whole country "unreal" for that. >Also in all of those Western examples you gave, China was much worse off. How can you say that China's situation isn't bad with a straight face? This is a country where the smug is so bad you can't see a few feet ahead of you. Well, there are industrial cities in Europe where it used to be like that. Or the horrible smog in LA in the 70s-80s. And China has been the "factory" of the world for 2 decades, so we've basically outsourced our smog there. >Where people who criticize the government can be made to disappear. That has been business as usual in places ranging from Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain to Mexico for most of the 20th century (and still in the 21st). Not to mention most of Latin America, and often with you know who's support. >Where the internet goes through a firewall and is closed off from the rest of the world. Well, if the US was in their place, ie no longer top dog, with another country owning most of the internet's infrastructure and flagship services, and openly meddling in their regional affairs, plus stuffing its culture and political views all over the world, they'd do something like to to. Like they did during McCarthy, where certain tendencies had to be eradicated from mass media, cinema, etc.

ebbv 10y ago

> Not to mention that problems are relative; you think an American balking at finding out their favorite restaurant was closed because of hygiene issues doesn't feel something comparable to a Chinese person who finds out their favorite street vendor used gutter oil? I don't think it's unreasonable to have a strong reaction in either case. But I do agree with the parent commenter that believing this to be unprecedented and "beyond unreal" shows a level of ignorance or naivety that is more remarkable than the event itself.

coldtea 10y ago

>You're doing no better by trivializing the author's purview. He doesn't live anywhere else you mentioned, he lives in China and in Tibet before that. There are billions of people, including highly successful or educated people, living in a place X all of their lives, while still not understanding it. Do, for example, Trump supporters really understand their country? >you think an American balking at finding out their favorite restaurant was closed because of hygiene issues doesn't feel something comparable to a Chinese person who finds out their favorite street vendor used gutter oil? They wouldn't call the whole country "unreal" for that. >Also in all of those Western examples you gave, China was much worse off. How can you say that China's situation isn't bad with a straight face? This is a country where the smug is so bad you can't see a few feet ahead of you. Well, there are industrial cities in Europe where it used to be like that. Or the horrible smog in LA in the 70s-80s. And China has been the "factory" of the world for 2 decades, so we've basically outsourced our smog there. >Where people who criticize the government can be made to disappear. That has been business as usual in places ranging from Italy, Greece, Portugal and Spain to Mexico for most of the 20th century (and still in the 21st). Not to mention most of Latin America, and often with you know who's support. >Where the internet goes through a firewall and is closed off from the rest of the world. Well, if the US was in their place, ie no longer top dog, with another country owning most of the internet's infrastructure and flagship services, and openly meddling in their regional affairs, plus stuffing its culture and political views all over the world, they'd do something like to to. Like they did during McCarthy, where certain tendencies had to be eradicated from mass media, cinema, etc.