Aug. 2022; Open minded, until…

Well let’s be honest, it had to happen eventually. A few weeks ago I wrote a thing for the Sunday Scribble called “The Tides of Change,” talking briefly about the rather obvious exodus of expats from the grand ol’ PRC. And somehow, after being able to view for a few weeks, has now since been deemed “in breach of wechat law.” In fact, it says “Unable to view this content because it violates regulations.” Clear, concise, a little bit rude and presumptious, but there we have it. I went on to read the godly Weixin set of rules and restrictions, and after several pages it basically comes down this; “What exactly violates wechat rules? Absolutely anything we damn well decide.” To be honest, I’m not surprised. I always keep in mind what I should and should not feel is suitable to talk about, and most of the time I keep  a lid on my real feelings about certain subjects (or just don’t mention them at all, to stop me getting carried away and end up in hot water.) But sometimes I’m feeling a bit sassy or riled up, sometimes I might be writing after a drink or two is inside me, and sometimes I just don’t give a toss.”The Tides of Change” was clearly crafted in one or all of those circumstances. Of all the articles I’ve wrote about, that one probably got the most honest feedback. Many people are all too aware of the feelings and situation this year, and many were completely unawares until they read it. So that’s fine for me. If someone, anyone, read something and understood a slightly wider-view of life here then great, my job is done. Mission complete. And having a trivial blog article taken down by the wechat police hardly ruins my day, in fact it brought a smile to my face. Finally, I’ve been censored. I wear the tag like a medal of outspoken honour. Nope, being taken down doesn’t bother me. It’s what’s not taken down that royally pisses me off.

As I’ve said many times before, nowhere is perfect. Every single city, country, has problems. Everywhere has rules and regulations you might not agree with or consider worthy or just. I would love to live in the US, but I would not want to be terrified every day concerning the gun culture there. I would love to live in India, but perhaps the sanitation leaves something to be desired. And if you’re the kind of person that feels the need to flap your trap off about everything and anything you disagree with, then China is truly not the place for you. Living in one of the worlds most censored countries is something you either accept, or go live somewhere else. There’s no grey area. Take it or leave it, which to me is fine. This is how the system works, and it wouldn’t work so well if there were too many opposing views on things. Most people are fine accept what they’re told, because they’ve never known any different. You don’t miss freedom if you’ve spent your whole life in a cowshed. Personally I’m fine with nearly all of the restrictions here. I do miss things like YouTube, but that’s purely from a learning standpoint. I couldn’t give a damn about Facebook or Twitter or whathaveyou, it’s just more distracting rubbish that lures me away from reading a book or doing something humanly normal. Nope, I have no issue with the restrictions here. What I do have issue with, is what is actually allowed to be shown, read, and broadcast, seemingly without question.

So, somewhere here, probably in a small but brightly lit yet plain office, I’m guessing a little man hunches over his PC screen, deciding what is, and what is not, deemed “suitable” for the masses. Many things make sense. Speaking out against the authorities, for example. And many things do not, such as any kind of material featuring nudity (We were all born nude, we make babies nude, isn’t being nude about the most natural state of being for all humans?) Many things that are “unshowable” make absolutely no sense at all to me. Let’s take a peek at a couple;

The portrayal of same sex relationships. Now, homosexuality in China has historical roots dating back thousands of years. Even a few emporors were rumoured to have dipped their toe in the rainbow pool and enjoyed a mouthful of the forbidden fruit. But nowadays we’re all meant to be under the collective agreement that it’s not natural/shouldn’t be seen/doesn’t exist. What absolute rubbish. Same sex relationships are as completely natural and “normal” as any other. Now, in the movies and TV there may be an occasional hint or wink at “Ooh is he or isn’t he?” but it’s not allowed to be made clear. There’s a distinct lack of gay clubs and literature. Even showing a man on TV with earrings is considered a bit too fruity. I have earrings, doesn’t mean I dance at the other end of the ballroom. And I have several gay friends who don’t have earrings, who regularly go to the gym and look buff, then go home and kiss their partners lovingly on the lips. And their partners don’t have earrings, either. The decision to not show same sex relationships in the media seems not only behind the times, it also seems rather ridiculous. Pretending something doesn’t exist doesn’t make it disappear. And with the lack of equilibrium in the male/female birth rates and general population, be prepared for a lot more joyous gay men to be running shirtless across the sun drenched beaches, hands held and white teeth shining, with Glenn Medeiros playing in the background.

Along with the “no men with earrings” rule, is another doozy. No tattoos. When I came here in 2010 yeh tattoos were not a common sight, but now they are everywhere. Tattooing in Chinese history also goes back thousands of years, even being referenced in Water Margin, one of the four classic Chinese pieces of literature. It’s even considered a pride of some minority cultures,such as the Dulong and Dai tribes, along with the Li people of Hainan Island. But nope, can’t show tattoos on TV either. Similarly to Japan, the main reasoning for this is the close association with gangs and criminality. But same as earrings, having a tattoo doesn’t mean you’re a criminal law breaker. I have tattoos, yet I’ve never felt the urge to rob and old lady or even park my car in a disabled spot. I’ve met and known a lot of bad people in my life, real hardened criminals, and let me tell you something. The most dangerous criminals don’t wear gold chains and sport body tattoos. They wear suits and ties and shiny shoes, and they’ll pull your pants down and bugger you with a smile on their face. But tattoos are not considered “wholesome” by those who will be obeyed. They “give the wrong impression.” So self expression and artistic individuality are “the wrong impression?” Seemingly so.

There’s tons more, and I’m sure most readers are aware of what they are. But ok, I get it, somebody somewhere thought these things might somehow possibly make for an “unbalanced or unhealthy” society. But, is that the same person that thinks showing violence to all is somehow acceptable? Am I the only one that thinks nudity is natural, and gun violence is not?! This mostly gets my goat when it comes to movies and TV series. Every year there are only a handful of foreign movies to be shown nationally, and what absolute shit they invariably are. We get to see the mindlessly pathetic Fast and the bloody Furious, yet we’re not allowed anything with any real substance. Transformers, but not transgenders. But in contrast, the TV series and movies here are locked on to the same redundant, exhausted and clapped-out genre like a moth to the flame. War movies.

Yes, there was a war. Yes, bad things happened, as they do in all wars to all people, from both sides, throughout human history. Do we need to keep harping on about them? No, we do not. The plot is rarely original, or even true. Factuality in history never gets in the way of war movie or inaccurate TV series. Same diarrhea script. Handsome young war hero, noble spirited and listens to his momma, against the evil tyrannical opposition. Us, good. Everyone else, bad. Come on TV&movie industry, grow a brain and create something original for once. Something with meaning and realism. Something that actually means something. Your tired stories are boringly predictable. But I know why they keep churning out this horseshit, and it’s because people love it. They seemingly love to know the entire storyline and outcome of a movie before they’ve even seen it. Don’t watch anything that actually challenges you intellectually or spiritually, oh no, that might cause you to use your brain and think, and thinking is dangerous. No, leave the thinking to us. Watch this drivel instead. You’ll like this. We win.

But more astonishing to me is not the fiction we get to take in, but the fact. The real stuff. The videos of car wrecks, endless violence, men publicly beating women. One reason I’m wholeheartedly against DouYin is the absolute lack of consideration for what our youth and our society is allowed to see. You can watch videos of animals being abused, tortured even, but you can’t see a man holding hands with another man. You can see security camera footage of stores being held up by gunmen and firing away at the shop clerk, but you can’t see two women spooning up on the sofa together. Street fights escalating into knife attacks and hacking somebody up are fine, that’s “wholesome.” But the naked human form? Oh no, that’s “wrong.” That is unacceptable. That might somehow disturb the balance of society.

When it comes to the news and media, any intelligent person knows to take it with a pinch of salt. We are hearing one rose-tinted side of any story. And any news not considered acceptable, we just don’t get to see at all. But when it comes to reality, it’s scary what we’re allowing our kids to take in. What the younger generation get to consume is part of what will form the people they will grow up to be. Do we want them to think that what happens in DouYin is “normal” life? Do we want them to grow up with these ridiculous war movies, and having blind racism ingrained in them? Recently China has allegedly initiated a “strong stance against racism,” but all it seems to me is that it’s a strong stance against racism towards China. Everyone else is still fair game. Just cast your minds back a few weeks to the disgustingly vile comments on the death of Shinzo Abe that were plastered all over social media. Where was the “strong stance against racism” then? How utterly predictable.

This weeks Sunday Scribble may be a little salty, but hey, my world isn’t all hearts and flowers. I wish it was. If I had my way, the entire worlds politicians would all be gloriously gay men and women, there would be no military, and all the money we waste on mass paranoia and weapons would be spent on education, healthcare, science and the arts. We don’t need war movies. We need open minded, forward thinking students. We don’t need inbred racism and prejudice. We need togetherness. We don’t need nuclear warheads. We need Phantom of the Opera.