Hey Folks,


So the other day I am driving along in my car, listening to NPR. It is a story about China, and its youth, and the polarization between them and their parents. Nothing hardcore, but I was bored and I tend to not listen to music much, and it was coming in good. Besides, you can always learn something.

The story goes on, the narrator's passionate voice (all NPR narrators sound passionate: "This is Freeeaasssh Air" ), and the young Chinese woman responds to a question about Americans. Ah, I think, Americans. I'm one of those. So this twenty-something starts talking about what a divide there is between America and China (she is laughing, giggling; cute, I imagine, with a stylish French boyfriend) and she says that Americans don't know much about China. Fair enough, I think. I nibble on some cauliflower. Watch the flow of traffic. They all think we still bind our feet, she says, they seem so innocent.

Whoa whoa whoa, I think. Americans think that Chinese women living in modern cities are forced to bind their feet? This girl is coming to us out of Shanghai; she is obviously not some farmer's daughter who just might be forced to do whatever her father wants, bowing to ancient customs and so forth. I was sort of irked. Here is your chance, interviewer, I thought, call her on this. Otherwise, stone dumb Americans are suddenly going to realize that all Americans think Chinese girls living in Shanghai -- with a French boyfriend -- still bind their feet. Mmmm, says the interviewer, and how do you think Americans will overcome that innocence?

Ugh. There were a number of things that bothered me about that piece. Maybe NPR has done some poll to discern that Americans think modern Chinese women still bind their feet. If so, I haven't seen it. The other thing that bothered me, is the interviewer doesn't explore this girl's own "innocence", instead accepting her hypothesis. Next, I wondered how many Americans would think, Man, we Americans sure are ignorant of the Chinese, as we all think they bind their feet!. The last thing that bothered me, was that I was eating cauliflower, and not a fudgecicle.


Regards, with mock sincerity,



F!


Here be Myth