Americans Think Confucius Was A Communist
At first glance, after reading this story in Xinhua, I thought this was a joke. While I firmly believe that my own study of the Chinese language will eventually lead to premature sinility and/or a variety of nervous disorders, I never suspected it could be this insidious. Then I found confirmation of the conspiracy in a local newspaper in Southern California.
If nothing else, this is very strong anecdotal evidence that attempts to facilitate cultural awareness between China and other countries, while noble and sorely needed, will not always be successful. The reason? Unfortunately, some people are, at their core, completely bugfuck nuts and in need of medical attention. Even heroic attempts to facilitate greater China-foreign understanding, like the unprecedented multicultural communications forum called china/divide wouldn’t be able to reach these people.
This story is too priceless to let it go without the proper setup. So here’s how it all started:
On Jan. 28, the district’s school board voted 4-1 to approve an agreement implementing the Confucius Classroom at Cedarlane Middle School.
According to the agreement, Hanban will provide instructors, books, multimedia materials and money for the program. It states that the goal of the program is to “strengthen educational cooperation between China and the Unified States,” as well as facilitate mutual understanding between the youth of the United States and China and promote Chinese language education.
Hanban is the nickname for the The Chinese Language Council International, a government-sponsored group that puts together and funds Chinese-language and culture programs at educational institutions all over the world. Kind of a wonderful thing, isn’t it? Not so often that I can say unequivocally that this is a win-win for everyone involved, and whoever created this should be heartily congratulated. It would be impossible to find anyone who thinks this is a bad idea, right?
Think again. Some knuckle-draggers in Southern California set out to prove that humans with IQs of less than 25 can actually function in modern society.
Parents and community members who are upset by a Chinese language and culture classroom slated to open at Cedarlane Middle School next year say they’re planning to voice concerns at Thursday night’s Hacienda La Puente Unified School District board meeting.
They allege that the Confucius Classroom, which is sponsored by the Chinese Language Council International, will become a vessel for political propaganda.
“We are going to war on communism,” said Teresa Macias, a Hacienda Heights resident whose two children graduated from Los Altos High School.
I honestly don’t know whether to laugh, crap my pants, or hide under my desk.
No matter that the program in question has nothing to do with ideology of any kind. If China is involved, there must be brainwashing going on. The most startling, shocking aspect of this whole tawdry episode, though, is that this woman, this tireless champion in the struggle against Communism, actually has two children that graduated from high school. I guess there’s hope for everyone.
Well, perhaps I’m being too tough on Mrs. Macias. She is apparently some sort of investigative journalist whiz kid who cleverly connected the dots between Hanban and the CCP:
Macias said she plans to present the board with photos that tie the Chinese Language Council International, also known as Hanban, with the Chinese Communist Party.
“American people are going to be outraged when they learn the truth,” Macias said. ” … We won’t tolerate it. We have got to stand up and fight for our American soil.”
I think Obama should call in the Chinese Ambassador to explain this. How dare them Chinese folks try to take away American soil! Must be mighty fertile stuff to risk an international incident.
But seriously, Mrs. Macias must have done some research. She was obviously poised to break the news, supported by documentary evidence, that Hanban is a tool of the CCP. Congrats to her effort and energy.
On the other hand, she might have saved some time by visiting Hanban’s web site and doing a bit of cutting and pasting from the “About Us” page:
The Chinese Language Council International is composed of members from 12 state ministries and commissions, namely, the General Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Finance, the Overseas Chinese Affaires Office of the State Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . . .
I would just like to point out for the record that it does not appear that Hanban is doing much to hide its affiliation with the Chinese government. That doesn’t mean the consiracy theory is unfounded, of course. It always pays to be insanely paranoid, ’cause you’ll never be surprised when the guys in the black helicopters come looking for you.
I lived in that area for a while. Although I agree that us every day Americans are dumb enough to think a Confucius class will teach communism, I think the root of the issue is actually the China-Taiwan issue because many more people from the island of Taiwan live in the Hacienda/La Puente area than from ??. I would say 75% or more of the Chinese in that area are from Taiwan. And as we all know, some people in Taiwan strongly dislike the PRC.
I suppose it’s a possibility, although that doesn’t explain the nutjob quoted in the paper. Something tells me that there are plenty of yahoos living out there whose lungs are so choked from pollution that not enough oxygen is getting to their brains. Moreover, it would be even easier (from a language perspective) for Taiwanese folks to do some independent research of Hanban to discover that its intentions are quite benign.
Disclaimer: I spent four years of college in that particular neck of the woods.
This is a really stupid post.
Yes, the whole thing is idiotic. Thanks for playing.
Wish somebody would harmonize you.
anonymous might be on to something, but as another former resident of that area, there is actually a pretty seemless integration between the Taiwanese and mainlanders in that area (how is that for using software/manufacturing terminology in the human realm!).
Seriously, this is only surprising to people because southern california, for some reason, has a reputation as being open-minded and liberal. Well, there are a lot of folks there like that. However, with such a huge population, and a huge explosion in the % of Chinese residents from the SG Valley west (especially in the Hacienda Heights are) there is bound to be some ish like this.
This cannot and will not stop that area from being the epicenter of Chinese culture in the U.S. Resistance is futile, urflings!
Zorkon 6
The ignorance and insanity of my fellow Americans know no bounds.
Would you care to run a post on how Catholics are viewed as agents of outside influence in some countries?
The last thing I should be doing is writing a post about Catholics, or anything related to religion at all. Bad things will happen, trust me.