Tell it to Steven Hawking. A person's physical stature does not limit his/her potential for work that does not rely on his/her physical stature (e.g., English teaching, as well as physics). The cultural attitude that those who are discriminated against because they do not fit the culturally desired norm should be outcast or should be provided for by special environments that can be sold as entertainment venues to those who will not deal with their own prejudices is a cultural attitude that perpetuates discrimination against all who are 'different'. The problem here, as elsewhere, is a matter of dehumanizing those who are 'different' - prejudicial culture that regiments anything that deviates from its standards, rather than dealing with the prejudice itself. Why not have a theme park within which 'foreigners', with all their funny habits, can be kept, so that they do not disturb the 'normality' of cultural prejudices? Actually, there could be many: one for 'black people', one for Tibetans, one for Japanese, one for gay people, one for Han Chinese people who have given up their 'traditional' clothing for 'western-style' clothing (e.g., the great majority of Chinese, over the past century or so) - in fact we could subdivide and subdivide until nothing was left but mutual nonrecognition. All these would help to maintain the narrow identities of 'normality' that can be relied upon to advance support the cultural attitudes that promote the continuing inability of people to recognize each other as human, and to celebrate and accept their differences - not as entertainment items, no matter how 'cute', but as full human beings. How different is all this from apartheid?
This effort to maintain prejudice can, of course, be profitable to those who invest in it, and convenient for social engineers and political elites who want to maintain an elite power status by reliance on it.
The place is an insult to our common humanity and a spotlight on cultural attitudes of exclusion. Those who find that they enjoy such displays should take a good look at the nature of the culture that has formed them so narrowly. Cultures change; cultures have always changed; cultures are presently changing and will continue to do so; there is nothing sacred about cultural attitudes. Our common humanity is an ongoing project, and those who imagine they are not part of such a project are simply contributing their own blindness to it, and limiting themselves in the process. It's not the 'dwarves' who are the problem, its the people who will not accept them as within the boundaries of 'us'.
Portraits from the Tea Horse Road
发布者Terrific photos, great portraits.
Mike, I don't understand about the 13 centuries, or what era is ending.
Yunnan Baiyao "secret" ingredients found on US websites
发布者In referring to 'the Chinese' and 'the US' I assume you mean certain bureaucracies located in China and the US. A common way to speak, admittedly - but doesn't it (subconsciously) corrupt the way we tend to think? Surely only a tiny percentage of real people are involved - we all know this, of course, and we forget it all the time. No blame on JHC, just a reflection that, um, we might all reflect on more often. Managed thought is dangerous and manipulative, let's not assist the managers out of carelessness and lack of attention to what really goes down.
Yunnan Baiyao rebounds after rough start to 2013
发布者Have scientific tests ever been done on this stuff (i.e., by other than company personnel) - not just on what's in it, but on what it can/does or cannot/doesn't do? I'm not suggesting it's bunk or anything like that, I'd just like to know.
Book Review: Unsavory Elements
发布者Somewhat stereotypical impression of 'foreigners' too, although I think I may have seen these 2 before.
Zhaotong official may face resentencing following weibo uproar
发布者I fail to see the point of an execution, public or otherwise. Has somebody confused vengeance with justice?