Purgatio wrote:
Race and culture are linked, in theory of course its possible to separate the two but in practice most people who talk about one really mean the other. When people in China talk about the threat posed to them by "Western culture", they mean white culture, and when people in the West talk about the threat posed by "Chinese culture", they mean Chinese people. No ifs or buts about it, it's just a layer of subtlety because you can't openly say you despise a race of people anymore in this day and age.
Okay, well I'm a person in the west and I definitely don't mean Chinese people. I've found Chinese-Americans to be some of my most fanatical allies when it comes to talking about the danger the PRC poses to the rest of the world. I grew up being friends with a Chinese family that owned the local Chinese restaurant, and they told me they fled the PRC because it was totalitarian and terrifying.
Purgatio wrote:Most of the criticisms of China arise out of racial and tribalistic fears, the notion of a non-white country rising in economic power.
I think that's debatable. Why is it that I'm bothered by China growing in power but excited by India growing in power? I think India is a responsible country ... Sure it has flaws and can be repressive too, but not anywhere near the scale of the PRC.
As a matter of fact, I actually love China if we're talking about pre-communist China. If China became a Republic tomorrow (and stopped the organ harvesting ETC) I'd be glad to see them doing well.
Purgatio wrote: I'm not saying this is a bad thing, racial tribalism is a normal human instinct, in fact I believe its human nature and centuries of global, international racial conflict have bred a comeptitive spirit in all of us, encourages us to improve the species and our societies and not grow slack or complacent, so don't get me wrong I'm not using 'racial tribalism' as a slur to dismiss accusations against China as racist. Quite the opposite, I'm trying to reflect the reality of international politics. Lots of the accusations against China like human rights or military aggression tend to be hypocritical because the real fear about China stems from fears about a competitor on the global stage, a rival, because its human nature for tribes to compete for scarce resources and that triggers a fearful instinct when another tribe is growing in power or influence in any field. The fact that you claim China's very existence poses a threat to "your culture" is proof of my point because you believe the very existence of Chinese culture is in and of itself a threat, which is at its core a racially-tribalistic instinct of yours, no different from when a Chinese blogger rants online about "Western culture" invading China. It's the same racial instinct there too.
I don't think the existence of Chinese culture threatens mine though. There's a reason I said China is a threat, not Chinese culture. The NATION of China poses a threat to my culture.
The core of the issue here is that my culture is a melting pot culture, and we can (and have) handle plenty of Chinese immigrants. They add their cultural genetics to ours and the competition makes us stronger. There is no reason to fear Chinese culture in that context.
Should I fear a nationstate which has the stated goal of reshaping the world (which would include my culture) to be favorable for a Han Ethnostate? Yes, I think that's rational.
I differentiate between the State of China and the People of China ... And not because somebody is going to come hit me with the naughty stick if I say I don't like Chinese people. I view Chinese who assimilate as one of America's best strategic assets at this stage of our history.