I read a comment on a blog somewhere -- might have been Hot Air -- about a protester who'd been spotted wearing a Free Tibet button on his Mao T-shirt. The commenter added something along the lines of "That guy was a living, breathing oxymoron". Great line...
Posted at 2008-04-10 13:03:31 [PermaLink]A good question? Maybe in the sense of "there's no such thing as a stupid question", but as with most questions with conveniently hypothetical premises, not really.
I've been scouring photos for pictures of 60 year old Mao fans at the protests, but can't seem to find them. Maybe someone else can spot the old hippies, but the average age seems a bit younger to me.
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As for trendiness, Tibet is a 12 year old cause in San Francisco. The Beastie Boys Tibetan freedom concert drew 100,000 people and $800,000 there in 1996.
Maybe the senior citizens with Mao buttons in their hope chests were more inclined to leave the La-Z-Boy back then with 10 less years on their hip joints?
"As for trendiness, Tibet is a 12 year old cause in San Francisco."
That tends to support his point, no? It's certainly striking how 60's and early 70's embrace of Eastern religion largely ignored Tibetan Buddhism in favor of more far-left-friendly locales like India.
At any rate, the very first photo I randomly clicked on in your links shows this charming gentleman:
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He may or may not be a Maoist but do you want to give me odds on his ownership of Che paraphernalia, at the very least?
Otter,
The reading I get is that since a bunch of old hippies didn't catch on to Tibet 40+ years ago, the current crop of activists, most of whom weren't even born then, is a bunch of trendy hypocrites.
There's no logic in that unless the protesters are old and gray, which they aren't. (Maybe that guy does have a Che poster in his room, but he likely wasn't writing any manifestos until at least the late 70's)
Look through those photos again and tell me what you think the average age of the protesters was in 1996. Maybe university age? 12 years is a bit more than a trend if you're under 30.
I think that even today there is comparatively little information available regarding Tibet's struggle thanks to China's information control policies, which are only now starting to fail. It's become a bigger issue as more people have heard the story but most of the telling has happened outside of Tibet, and has happened relatively recently.
Just because its convenient to lump everyone left of centre activist into a giant decade spanning straw man doesn't mean that it's a valid classification. It can lead to braindead questions if you aren't careful.
Gosh, you just can't win. If you *don't* demand that the Chinese get out of Tibet, you're being a hypocritical leftist. And if you *do* demand that the Chinese get out of Tibet--you're being a hypocritical leftist. I think I'm beginning to see how conservative "analysis" works.
Posted at 2008-04-10 16:49:31 [PermaLink]Dawg,
"I think I'm beginning to see how conservative "analysis" works."
I welcome Lefty participation in pressuring China out of Tibet. I would also welcome their help in getting China to back away from rattling their sabres towards Taiwan.. or enabling genocide in Darfur, polluting the planet, oppressing their own citizens, etc.
The only question I have is...is the Left participating now?
"or enabling genocide in Darfur, polluting the planet, oppressing their own citizens, etc."
Stopping that stuff? Yeah, I'm down with that. Let's start with Gitmo, Kyoto, paying back dues to the UN...
Oh, sorry, not *those* guys? Just the Chinese? How terribly...selective of you.
By the way, never did get behind Maoism much, and it's been all downhill since for the "People's Republic." How about that "constructive engagement," eh?
"Let's start with Gitmo, Kyoto, paying back dues to the UN... "
Kyoto - cough, cough - great joke. Don't get me started on the UN. Hell, Al Capone would admire that organization.
Dawg
"Yeah, I'm down with that. Let's start with Gitmo, Kyoto, paying back dues to the UN... "
Changing the subject, I see. Now why would that be? Uncomfortable?
Equating Gitmo with Darfur reveals the poverty of Dawg's America-is-evil bigotry.
Posted at 2008-04-13 08:06:45 [PermaLink]The United States government recognizes China's control over Tibet. It must be that radical leftist Republican Party, formed to counter the rightist Democrats. Remember?
Posted at 2008-04-13 18:24:16 [PermaLink]