China Geeks have created quite a stir, not to say a gush of feelings, with this post, “Racism in China”, proving once again that there are things you just can’t say.

I don’t really want to go into the “is China racist” thing, as it seems pretty obvious to me there is racism in China, just as in any other place, but little out right racial activity, so I just don’t see it as a very pressing matter.

Was more interested in the very feverish, borderline violent response by Hecaitou saying, in short, that an American, and metaphorical descendant of slave owners, has no business calling a Chinese a racist.

hmmm.

It came just after a week in which I experienced few misunderstandings, all related to cultural differences or perhaps cultural blind spots, so this response made me wonder a bit. here are the stories:

A friend from Poland living here in the Jing told me he has to be careful about attending any event related to the Chinese government, though it’s part of his job, because in Poland there is hypersensitivity for anything even remotely perceived as cooperation with a communist regime.

I’ve learned this week, in relation to this very interesting and moving story, that in Israel you simply can’t say “Good Nazi” . If you have (which I did) you’d spend precious time explaining you’re not actually trying to find a positive side to Nazism, though you may as well give it up, as no one is willing to listen. (OK this one admittedly I should have known but somehow still tripped right into the pitfall).

A Jewish American friend argued with me that the average Chinese is a bit antisemitic. He based it on many conversations in which Chinese people told him Jews are smart, and control the American economy (which is kind of a contradiction in terms as it would suggest the people controlling the US economy are smart, but whatever).  Now of course I’ve heard the same generalizations, as have anyone who identifies herself as Jewish in China, but it has never accrued to me to relate this to antisemitism. Guess in a way it’s a similar case to China Geeks and the offensive caricature, demonstrating American sensitivities.

So what’s my point, as this is getting long and falttery? The point is, everyone has a blind spot, or sensitivities you just can’t reason with. I think for many Chinese having foreigners (especially white foreigners from developed countries) criticizing them is intolerable. It drives the discussion straight over the cliff and into the messed abyss of 19Th century colonialism, bruised national pride, the Opium Wars and all that jazz. A lot of Chinese, Hecaitou himself  included, I suspect, are quite critical of their society themselves, they just don’t want to hear it from us.

This is not to say I agree with Hecaitou, or that I like any of this. I think all of the above examples represent a tendency to see things that aren’t there, but this is how it works, and old wounds heal very, very slowly, thus preventing necessary operations. It is true just anywhere.