china

So the Olympics are over. We can all go back to our regular scheduled programs now.

But check out this Sports op-ed piece in the LA Times. This guy has a scary moment in the hotel room where he thinks he’s being followed but turns out he’s just paranoid, and then he says that basically sums up his entire experience in Beijing.

Right, cause just as how the Olympics showed us, the Chinese are sneaky and fake.

In three weeks I have grown to love this city, with its ancient neighborhoods and stately boulevards, with its temples next to tobacco stores, with its tree-lined river walks and rolling city parks.

I’m just not sure how much of it is real.

I’ve also grown to love the people, the women who cover their mouths and giggle at every dumb joke, the men who enthusiastically shake your hand as if it were the first hand they have ever shaken, the simple acts of kindness that occur a dozen times a day.

I just don’t know how much they really liked me back. (link)

See, apparently those cultural welcoming lessons that the Chinese government provided for those workers (like learning how to properly smile at visitors) were too eerie and fake for Bill. No, this wasn’t a case of a country trying to educate its citizens about diplomacy and knowing how to handle what would be an incredible influx of foreigners into a booming city, but you know, a case of how to be sneaky. Because I’m sure this writer really went through his own lessons on Chinese culture and protocol before arriving in Beijing.

Perhaps the efforts of the Chinese government to accommodate the global community and appear to seem better than reality was a little false–but can you fault them for trying to make the situation as best as possible? Can you imagine the backlash if the athletes, reporters and spectators arrived to a city where their taxi cabs didn’t have clean slipcovers or no one smiled? *gasp* I think the press would have found a thousand other reasons to write about.

And the irony of his statement, where he felt like he “…spent three weeks on an Asian version of Disney’s Main Street.” Hey, guess where Disney came from? Yup, that’s right. From us. America is (infamously) responsible for a street that creates a false sense of utopia and happiness. And yet you feel uncomfortable when another country adopts the same effort for its visitors?

I agree that some of the actions were skeevy. That chubby girl should have been able to sing instead of the prettier one at the opening ceremony. They should have followed the rules with their gymnastics team.

But people should be careful with their words. Enough with this whole “they vs. me” language, or the whole “those Chinese” phrases. Especially if they’re returning to a country with a huge Chinese population.

But Bill ends on a high note:

I applaud the Chinese’s effort and ingenuity. I admire their devotion and strength. I am in awe of their gentleness and politeness.

Aww, thanks Bill. Yes, the devotion and strength, as well as the gentleness and politeness of those Chinese people are pretty cool. I appreciate their efforts and ingenuity, too. Where would we be without their ingenuity? Oh, I know. We wouldn’t have icecream, gunpowder and the printing press.

Hey, maybe those are basic traits of human beings and maybe “these Chinese” were just being human to you. Ever thought of that?

And that’s all I have to say about that. I hate sports, so I’m glad the Olympics are finally over.