 China:
Jingo-ism and Xenophobia
Yes,
it's still there. But it is waning in the big cities, a
bit . . .
The notion of
Critical Thinking is a Western value
and Critical
Thinking IS a Western skill.
Over
and Over Again
You will hear
many statements in China that are obviously incorrect
and silly. Yet many of them will be repeated constantly
and assumed to be the truth. It is as if everyone read
the same thing, believed it, and was told to repeat it
frequently. This idea is called Jingoism.
Jingoism
Jingoisms can be
political/economic statements (Americans are out to
dominate the world) , cultural assumptions (all
Americans are noisy and rude), and even just commentary
(I'm sorry you don't have a son). Sorry, we are picking
on Americans here but we don't
want to offend anyone! You will often be astounded
at some of the things you will hear. Only with close
friends will it be worth challenging such statements as
they are so embedded in the culture. And even then,
it may not be worth it.
Other
common Jingoisms?
Only foreigners
have AIDS.
And, of course, other generically stereotypic
statements - such as, "All [fill in the blank with a
nationality or ethnic or religious group] [do something
stupid, odd, or bad]."
Xenophobia
Some cultures
fear foreigners. The first time the webmaster lived in
Asia,
he
thought that he learned how Black-Americans must feel in
the American South. The way people would stare - often
in great distaste - at him.
He was on a bus
once when a small - very cute - young girl ran onto the
bus, looked up - saw him - screamed and started crying as she ran
back off the bus. Now, he wouldn't call himself
handsome, but he's not THAT ugly either! What was the message she
must have been given about foreigners?
Such xenophobia
is fading - but is not uncommon away from urban areas
and in a closed society.
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"Twenty
years from now you will be more disappointed
by the things that you didn't do than by the
ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the
trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream.
Discover." -- Mark Twain |
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