Lately, it seems like I haven't written any commentary articles for a long time, except for venting. It's not that I have nothing to say, but I feel that many things are no longer worth mentioning.
My blog was recently "verified" in China. The tightening of policies and regulations in recent years is obvious, from mandatory registration to real-name registration for mobile phones and community accounts, and now to various facial recognition methods. It's not necessarily a bad thing, but stricter management clearly demonstrates increased control.
However, since blogs are already banned in China, I'll talk about a post I made on WeChat Moments today:
From Hong Kong to National Day, and now to the NBA, the domestic sentiment has been a bit too exaggerated… One has to admire xx's abilities… Everyone needs to reflect on themselves… Mindset shifts are subtle and gradual, but they don't necessarily reflect one's original intentions.
The reason I say this is because I see everyone's nationalistic sentiment is so high that they've overlooked many things. I also find the Hong Kong riots particularly ridiculous, Taiwanese politicians are like frogs in a forbidden zone, and Morey's Twitter account is utterly inappropriate...
Before you read on, I hope you know: I love China just like you.
So why did I post this on my WeChat Moments? It's because I sensed a sense of danger. I've seen more and more people stop thinking and instead passionately express their emotions around a single, unwavering reason, which has even become a trend. This unwavering reason could be "the motherland is inseparable" or "patriotism," and so on. This reason has even become a default bottom line; once crossed, it's considered "hostile."
In psychology, people lack confidence when they act without sufficient reason. The best way to deal with this is to find a reason for themselves and make it a firm belief, so that they have a legitimate reason to act.
However, we should not stop thinking about this.
After posting on WeChat Moments, I received a lot of comments, which shocked me. In particular, the replies from people who woke up in China (I was in Seattle at noon, and the post was made at 2 a.m. in China) made me even more worried... things like "the motherland is inseparable" and "Americans never reflect on themselves" and so on... I wasn't talking about this issue at all, because I think the same way you do. I was talking about a group of people who are gradually losing their ability to think.
We live in a time of both light and hardship. We are on the verge of becoming number one in the world. At this critical juncture, it is only natural to be suppressed by the current number one. Standing at this historical high point, we are proud and honored to have experienced all of this.
In times of difficulty, we need to be of one mind. If our thoughts are scattered, our actions will be out of sync, and others will have an opportunity to take advantage of us. This is a legitimate reason for increasingly strict control. However, even under such control, everyone still needs their own independent thinking.
When people lose the ability to think, they become pawns. And when people become pawns, terrible things happen. As long as an enemy is created, the situation can get out of control with a single call to arms. This enemy can even be fabricated.
Excessive nationalism can lead to many problems. If the leader makes a mistake or someone sets a trap, the consequences will be unimaginable. At that time, no individual can change the situation because your voice is too weak. Imagine the revolutions, imagine the typhoons, how did these historical events happen?
This is like the post I made on WeChat Moments. The comments were critical of the US, Hong Kong, and even me. But how many people truly understood what I meant? I wanted to discuss this passionate discussion, but it turned into another battleground for criticism… Have you ever wondered why?
Changes in thinking are gradual and imperceptible. Under the influence of an environment or a certain type of guidance, one becomes different without even realizing it, and it is difficult to detect even a 180-degree deviation.
Nowadays, even highly educated intellectuals aren't very calm, let alone the remaining 80%...
It's only natural for Chinese people to love China, so is it hard to understand why American Daryl Morey doesn't love China? (I wonder what everyone will say about this, like mentioning public figures or something, haha. I can guess some of it; most of the time, the responsibility probably lies with the other party, not with oneself.)
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Original author:Jake Tao,source:"Just a casual chat about NBA events"
Comment list (3 comments)
This is normal. During the US-China trade war, even if the NBA made its own mistakes, it wouldn't suffer any losses.
I basically agree with all of your points.
Since the start of the trade war, the government has indeed been very clearly promoting nationalism.
However, it must be acknowledged that this approach may indeed be effective in the current environment.
Whether in China or the United States, the vast majority of people are destined to be pawns manipulated by others; there's no need to take it too seriously or worry too much.
I support your point of view. When I first saw the comments about this NBA executive online, my first reaction was, "Who is Morey? Another one who insults China?" I couldn't be bothered with him; I didn't care anyway, what's the point of arguing with a dog? Later, I saw that it seemed like a huge flood of opinions had erupted online, escalating to the national level. Is it too easy for our national level to rise so easily? Can just anyone make us so "outraged"? This is abnormal, strange indeed.