Mornin' ya'll-
This comment about Wu and Snow reminded me of another one of those silk stockings that has been snagging on my brain.
As one of the great, poorly informed, I've been conflicted in my feelings regarding the debate about the the goodness or badness of the Chinese leadership( and when you think about it, this is the same arguement going on in the Malcolm X thread, a lot of threads ) and I realized it's because I have fallen into that good/bad ideological take, that seems to me, to almost always lead to crap thinking. I hate when that happens on the left.
Like, Pope, bad. Abortion rights, good. Hate that one. I think the Pope says some pretty great stuff, for a big famous guy. I hear of reactionary priests, but I also know of radically cool priests, so what's that all about? Things are complicated.
I remember the first time I bought something made in the Republic of China.
It was Christmas, and I also bought someone a box carved in Poland. I remember that they were both very nice, and the affordability did not bring forth thoughts of repressed labor, at that time.
I was thrilled to be able to buy these things because it meant my country had stopped one of it's stupidest policies, the criminalization, you might call it, of Communism. Right here in the good ole, US of A, I was having a truly international Christmas.
Naturally, I suspected that the Big Cigars were more open to the totalitarianism I imagined they envied, but I still considered being able to buy these things as a progressive development. Sort of like being able to go to Cuba. (which incidently, I'm longing to do, and would, if I knew of a really reasonable, modest accomodation).
Around that same time I aquired, through my random-walk-through-the-thriftstore theory of education, several books about China and US relations with the Communists, including Snow (I love that guy. I don't suppose someone on the list knew him?) So US dirty deads were fresh on my mind.
Yet I knew a bit about the repression in China also. So what's changed? Mainly, Chinese dissidents get more publicity, and I've been silly enough to lump these people together, and label them good, with out knowing much about them. Like I've forgotten how the US media and foriegn policy apparatus has worked in the past, and is working now. Manipulation instead of repression, eh? And maybe it's the Chinese Big Cigars who are jealous of our govt's methods of rube control.
So I feel stupid, but I don't feel alone.
And if anyone wishes to fill in some blanks, I'd be interested. I wonder too, Steve, what or if, Henry Wu answered. I also wonder where you live in Hawaii because tonight I'm working with my favorite other waitress, she used to live in Hawaii, misses it terribly, and it would give me something mundane to mention about this oft referred to, mysterious, Paula-was-already-wierd-before-she-got-on-the-internet-with-all-those-nutty- commies List.
I'm Paula Marie LaFlamme, reporting from the masses.