At 05:24 PM 6/22/01, Jeffrey Miller wrote: >Christopher Gwyn wrote: > > > > Darryl Shannon wrote: > > > Christopher Gwyn wrote: > > >> 1.) Do you agree or disagree that citizens of the People's Republic > > >> of China are all - each and every one of them - fully human in all > > >> respects? > > >> 1A.) If you do agree that '*they*' are 'fully > human', >and therefore > > >> 'think like everyone else', then why do you suggest that "we don't > > >> know how *they* really think"? > > > Listen, Christopher, I think you are being silly here. > > I don't. > > > > > Did you honestly not understand John's point, that public opinion > > > cannot be accurately determined in a totalitarian state? > > it was not clear to me that that was his point. it seemed likely to > > me that that was what he was meaning - but it was _not_ what he said. > > > > > (Whether in can be > > > accurately determined in a non-totalitarian state is another argument). > > agreed. > > > > > Did you HONESTLY think he meant the Chinese people are sub-human? You > > > are better than that. > > Do I think that he meant to imply that? No, and I never said I did. > > Do I think that he came too close to saying that? Yes, much too > > close. > > Do I think that his word-choice was influenced by the congruence > > between his perception of the People's Republic of China as a > > fundamentally different political _system_ (an 'other') and the > > culturally supported perception of 'other races and cultures' as > > fundamentally different from 'real people'? Yes. I have run into this > > sort of 'not racist, but' speech for all of my life and I am pretty > > darn tired of it. > > > >I think it's pretty unfair and disrespectful to try to paint John with a >racist brush. Well, he is a _conservative_ . . . <vbg> -- Ronn! :) who, as far as this list is concerned, is also a member of the radical right . . .
