Comment on The Fake Xinjiang Allegations Caused me to Lose my Job & Friends
DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
Sounds rough mate. Do I understand it correctly that you are of Chinese origin?
I can understand what you mean. I support China too and I'm more and more vocal about it as well. What works for me when engaging in discussion is that I try to remain as calm as possible while also stating the facts I have at my disposal. A lot of people can't argue their way around actual facts as they can most of the time hear themselves rambling. If it doesn't work I just agree to disagree on it and leave it. I never get angry.
On the one hand you don't want to become a pariah, on the other hand you also don't want to just accept the lies people tell you all the time. It's a difficult balance to find. Especially when you're not the one being hostile. Remaining calm and collected and convinced of your point of view is important here. I know it's hard, but don't let these people beat you down. Stay strong, but vent if you need to.
Weyland@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
I'm as white as they come, that's part of why it is so infuriating. I too try to remain calm, it has been months since I lost my temper and that was when someone (not an elderly person) laughed in my face while telling me that Iraq deserved the invasion and that it didn't matter that a million people died in the desert because these people were and will always be savages.
Often asking people what they know about a topic and what they've read. Asking who after Xi Jinping is the most powerful man in China when discussing the CPC and asking some geographical questions or even bringing up Adrian Zenz/Falun Gong when discussing Xinjiang gives me enough of a window into their lack of understanding and often that they're often proud of not knowing more when compared to myself who in their eyes is completely brainwashed. In their eyes, their ignorance wins over my brainwashing.
DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
Some people are just wilfully ignorant or simply don't care. I don't want to give them too much attention.
But some people are just misinformed. Think about it. If all you hear about a country is that they oppress minorities or even genocide them, you'd be mad as well. It took me hours of digging through sources to figure out what was really going on. These people often don't do that. That's why I try to remain calm and let them get used to the idea of it not being all bad.
Unfortunately this takes a lot of time and patience, something I don't always have. I can't judge them because they are misinformed. I can judge them for not wanting to listen though.
Weyland@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
Yeah. Today I have decided to no longer care about how these things affect my personal relationships with people. Rather if I'm going to spend any of my time debunking or fighting against these hateful machinations I will do so in a way that reaches more people. And I feel like the people in the West are set in their ways. First, the people in the global South need to reach a comparable standard of living before the masses here can ever have a political awakening. Seeing as even my local communist party doesn't support China, or at least the recruiters I have talked to don't, why even try to become involved with them if they treat any non-Western socialist movement with dismissal?
DankZedong@lemmygrad.ml 2 years ago
That's what sucks about joining western social organizations, they sometimes don't support AES. I'm lucky I joined a marxist party that actually supports China and goes against the Uyghur genocide narrative (and they get blasted for it constantly).
But the thing is, as long as these people don't actively fight against China, they might still be worth a shot. If they really are a communist party with communist vision, good things can be achieved either way. And you might be able to change the POV from the people there. Or if there is another organization that does support China, you might consider joining them (or create one yourself but that's a lot harder).
I know it sounds counterproductive but you can't always have it be perfect 100%. It's important to still organize when possible. If there's a thousand people with the same opinions as you not joining because of this stance, you guys might never find eachother.