Things that make you say WTF (original) (raw)
July 10 2009, 00:22
I saw a scooter with a Nazi flag sticker on it today...which is at least the second one I've seen here in Taiwan. And I can honestly say I'm baffled.
I'm aware of the swastika as a symbol of Buddhism and other religions, but this is definitely not it. Which leaves two possibilities: 1) the sticker-putter doesn't realize what the symbol stands for, or 2) the sticker-putter endorses what the symbol stands for. The second option barely makes any sense, given the setting, but I'm finding it hard to believe the first option. While thinking about it, I began to wonder: Was I insulting Taiwanese people by thinking they might be ignorant of such a potent symbol of World War II? Or was I being Euro-centric by assuming that people the world over would necessarily recognize the symbol and attach the same historical importance to it as people in the West?
Any thoughts, O wise flist?
This actually ties in with something I've been thinking about on and off since being in Taiwan, which is the balance of responsibility when countries like Taiwan borrow imagery from countries like America. Prime example from Taiwan: Darkie Toothpaste. You can read about it here. Note that although the name has since been changed to "Darlie", the Chinese (which literally means "black person") remains unchanged. (This toothpaste, which is very common in Taiwan, is super embarrassing for the white foreign teachers who come here, especially Americans.) I've seen some pretty exoticized Native American imagery around, too, and what I'm wondering is: Can you even call it racist imagery when it's used by a people who don't have the history and the context around it? (See also: stereotypical images of black people in Japanese manga.) That's not to say it's OK to use that imagery, or that we shouldn't be bothered by it, but we should also understand it in context, instead of just assuming that people in other countries are backwards and crazy racist.
(Note: This is definitely not to say that other countries can't have racism in their history, just that it's not the same history, and it's likely to look different from Western ideas of racism.)
Should Taiwanese people be more aware of the origins of the imagery that they use? I can't help but think so. But Americans shouldn't be patting themselves on the back, either. Most Taiwanese people have never encountered an actual black person; where do you think they get their stereotypes from? Does it matter if they're getting our imagery fifty years late, after we've already abandoned it? We still own it. So...how do we, as a country, take responsibility for that? How do we clean up after ourselves without being officious?