The P-Word

Just because it amuses me, I will add more to the story on the t-shirt. No it isn’t a fake or a photoshop thing, it’s a real t-shirt that I purchased by the Master of Nets Garden. I bought it because I thought it was too funny (after Tammy haggled with the guy to get him down to 25% of his original asking price). Matt bought one as well.

There were questions to be answered. What did the Chinese think about Obama? What did the t-shirt say (it didn’t say anything, you had to read it)? How would think Chinese react to these questions? All things had to be considered…notice I didn’t ask the question about “What would someone in the US think about this shirt (especially if they voted for Obama)?” Honestly, not because I don’t care but I really don’t think that it matters. Some people will be offended, since that seems to be the standard response to anything and everything that someone doesn’t like. Others may find it amusing and still others that voted for Obama might act like they like the shirt (and secretly hate me for wearing it). Oh, c’mon folks! I know that some Obama voters read the blog, lighten up a little (ALL Presidents are lampooned and in many cases, it is deserved). I don’t hate the guy, I pray for wisdom in our leaders regardless of class, race, religion, party affiliation, what team they root for, etc. I just hope that wisdom will come, although I believe that following the same path as many other nations and expecting different results doesn’t really make much sense to me (but I’m not Wil E Coyote – Supra Genius). Isn’t that the definition of insanity?

Anyhow back to the story, I asked two people at work to explain the words on the t-shirt. First interesting point, neither even noticed that the image was of Obama. They immediately looked at the saying and told me what it meant. In fact, one thought the image was of a Chinese soldier named Lei Feng. The story that Jerry (a Chinese colleague) told me was that Lei Feng made personal sacrifices and gave of his time and money to help others. He didn’t ask for thanks or recognition, he just gave “service for the people”. So he is considered a role model and his image is found on many posters that illustrate this “sacrifice” theme. He said that this saying is so engrained into their minds that he made the assumption that the image was of Lei Feng until I pointed out that it was the US President Obama. While they may know of Obama, they didn’t seem overly impressed with his image (unlike Chris Matthews, they don’t get goosebumps just hearing the mere mention of his name). I thought it was a little strange but I have to remember where I am and that this market isn’t saturated by stories about the US President. So, Matt turns to me and says “Still feeling good about that t-shirt?” I mean the story was compelling and made it sound like the message that Obama would want to portray, so perhaps the t-shirt wasn’t what I was looking for after all (Curses!! Foiled Again!).

To quote Lee Corso;“not so fast my friends”. Here is some more information about Lei Feng that sheds more light on the subject. Keep in mind that this information is not readily available to the Chinese people so what I got from them is how they see the image and the quote. Read on and decide for yourself (obtained via Wikipedia).

Lei Feng was a soldier of the People's Liberation Army that was characterised as a selfless and modest person who was devoted to the Communist Party, Chairman Mao Zedong, and the people of China. Lei became the symbol of nationwide propaganda; the youth of the country were indoctrinated to follow his example.

After Mao's death, Lei Feng remained a cultural icon symbolizing selflessness, modesty, and dedication; his name entered daily speech and his imagery appeared on t-shirts and memorabilia. Owing to relaxation of political controls, Lei Feng's life became more openly questioned by scholars and the public in the post-Mao era.

A campaign in his name began in 1963 with the publication of an illustrated diary purported to be his. Critics believe that the text was a fabrication. The purported diary contained over 200,000 words and was written in flowery language, much of it praising Mao and the Communist Party. The photographs of Lei Feng doing good deeds for the working people are believed to be staged. The campaign began at a time when the Chinese economy was recovering from the Great Leap Forward campaign. During 1964 the Lei Feng campaign shifted gradually from doing good deeds to a cult of Mao. The diary exhorted the youth to "submit... unquestioningly to the control of the Great Leader".

So, after reading that and seeing both sides of the story….what do you think of the t-shirt now? I think it fits even better now that I have obtained more information and understand the true nature of the quote. It goes hand-in-hand with the saying that “knowledge is power”. Be thankful that you have access to the knowledge IF you choose to not always accept what you are told is 100% true (cough, cough, global warming).