One of these headlines is real. Guess which one?
“Titanic Docks in New York — Sinking Was a Hoax”
“To Settle Debt, U.S. Gives New Jersey to China”
“History May See Lincoln-Like Greatness in George W. Bush”
“Angelina Jolie Admits She Is a Space Alien”
In my entire stint in Asia, starting in 2001, I have never once heard a positive mention of Bush by any Chinese person, either in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan or the PRC. Not among teachers, mid-level government officials, co-workers, friends, business people or taxi drivers. Despite the bombing of the Belgrade embassy, I still hear Chinese people praise Clinton. I’m not sure why, but most seem to adore him. The mention of Bush’s name tends to prompt a reflexive reaction of scorn and disappointment. If people were glad he went to the Olympics, they didn’t make a big deal out if it, the way they did over Spielberg’s backing out. And I’m not sure how the reporter measured Obama’s “unpopularity†in China during the primaries. I’m not going to say Chinese people I knew were raving about Obama, and he probably was less popular than Clinton, but I never heard anything indicating he was unpopular. (The only memorable remark I heard about Obama that wasn’t gushing with praise came from a Chinese teacher who, the day after the election, asked me, “How is it possible that white people voted for a black man?â€)
Poor Dubya. China doesn’t love him after all.
Earlier this week I explained right-wing morality: “In other words, whether an action is moral or not is not determined by what is done, but by who is doing it.”
Here’s a nice example — when done by an illegal immigrant, sexual exploitation of a girl is an outrage. But sexual exploitation of girls by native-born Americans is perfectly OK.