I
obviously agree with everything you say..and I’ll finally send you an
email on Patreon, because, despite knowing the backlash I’m going to
get; I’ve been de-friended by MANY friends and acquaintances on twitter
and Facebook already. Heck, I was wearing my “I Love China” T-shirt
last week and the older gentleman who delivers my groceries announced he
can no longer deliver to me. I KNEW the shirt would spark
conversations-which is fine and what I intended; but this fellow
baby-Boomer didn’t want a conversation, he inexplicably cited his
Christian faith and veteran status that he didn’t feel comfortable
around a “Satanic Communist”. SAY WHAT??
I was dumbfounded...still am. I spoke to one of the girls at the store where I get my groceries because he refused to talk to me and left, refusing his usual tip. My friend at the store, Janine, said that some people in this town still think the yoga ashram up the road, (where I lived and worked for over 2 years when I first moved here-this was over 10 years ago, shortly after my accident and yoga therapy got me out of, and keeps me out of, a wheelchair), is some kind of satanic commune. I KNEW there were people like that when I moved into town, but considering all the money the Institute has brought to this town, saving many businesses from bankruptcy, AND people from the institute being active in everything from healthcare to local government, I thought things had changed. So, THATS where the “satanic” part comes from, and if I’ve learned anything from this town, it’s that it’s racism and bigotry run deep. 😔. I usually stay to myself and no longer have any close friends around here. My black and Indian friends moved away when the harassment and bullying reached a point they were concerned about safety. I HAD planned on moving myself this summer..but it doesn’t appear that’s going to happen now. Anyways, back to China-I’ve actually had a couple of great conversations with some people. I’m friends with the family who own the local taxi service and she said they would even consider visiting China now for their twice yearly international trips. 😁
When
she came by to pick up some Chinese food I had made too much of last
week; we sat down and I showed her some pictures my son had taken in
China and gave her the link to some videos, yes, yours, but also the
Xinhua News Channel New China TV, CGTN’s series on scenic & historic
places, and a few others. I gave her a small box of extra stuff I had,
including some Chinese bilingual children’s books someone sent me by
mistake-for her grandchildren.
My idea is that I’ve started writing a piece about my own views on China
that I will eventually post on Medium. I’m finding that trying to
explain everything to someone online, whether through twitter or
Facebook; ends up not helping. After this tragic weekend, it’s been
extremely disheartening seeing so many jump on the conspiracy bandwagon.
It seems many people are completely stuck in the mindset that
EVERYTHING MUST be EITHER pure black or white, far-left or far-right,
pro-gun or complete ban...NO GREY areas are accepted. Trying to talk to
these folks about China ends up the same way- Pro-China =“brainwashed
communist party member”...OR you have to hate China. My mind just can
NOT wrap around these concepts and I have no idea if they can be
reasoned with. It’s been a complete shock for me to see, hear and read
how effective the anti-China propaganda machine has been...and I
continue to hear it daily with mainstream media using the non-existent
“China planted backdoor chips in Apple phones”, (DESPITE Apple
insistence, IN CONGRESS, that they didn’t), the frequent claims of
current “intellectual property theft”; things like this are brought up
EVERY TIME they discuss trade with China. I heard someone on Fox last
week insisting that China had built up the islands in the South China
Sea AND had plans for building up “a Bay Area”, specifically for
possible action against the US. 🙄. When the public is constantly
hearing this steady stream of misinformation, HOW do we convince them of
THE TRUTH?? I’m just going to do my best to write something truthful,
AND encourage people to actually talk to people from/in China.
I’ve just been so shocked recently at how I don’t recognize many of the
things happening in my country anymore. I feel like an outsider, stuck
watching more fear, anger, and hatred than I’ve ever seen before; and
millions have already built a “wall”, around themselves and refuse to
let in anything that doesn’t confirm their already held biases. 😔
https://中华人民共和国.blogspot.com/
I was dumbfounded...still am. I spoke to one of the girls at the store where I get my groceries because he refused to talk to me and left, refusing his usual tip. My friend at the store, Janine, said that some people in this town still think the yoga ashram up the road, (where I lived and worked for over 2 years when I first moved here-this was over 10 years ago, shortly after my accident and yoga therapy got me out of, and keeps me out of, a wheelchair), is some kind of satanic commune. I KNEW there were people like that when I moved into town, but considering all the money the Institute has brought to this town, saving many businesses from bankruptcy, AND people from the institute being active in everything from healthcare to local government, I thought things had changed. So, THATS where the “satanic” part comes from, and if I’ve learned anything from this town, it’s that it’s racism and bigotry run deep. 😔. I usually stay to myself and no longer have any close friends around here. My black and Indian friends moved away when the harassment and bullying reached a point they were concerned about safety. I HAD planned on moving myself this summer..but it doesn’t appear that’s going to happen now. Anyways, back to China-I’ve actually had a couple of great conversations with some people. I’m friends with the family who own the local taxi service and she said they would even consider visiting China now for their twice yearly international trips. 😁
https://中华人民共和国.blogspot.com/
