the older i get and the more i know about some things, the more i realize how much i don't know. i'm quoting a lot of philosophers, including socrates. i've studied theater, art, photography, the art of travel, and so on, but lately i've discovered topics of which i was totally ignorant.
take the transgender transformation, men turning themselves into women and vice-versa, the whole process laid out on youtube, many individuals outlining their experience along the way, doctors describing what to do and how. i even watched a film of male genitals changed into female, vagina and clitoris included. it was fascinating and i didn't wince once. obviously own equipment has gotten me into a lot of trouble over the years.
really, though, i want to talk about china. of course, i read the headlines, the trade war with china and so on. i simply assumed our government paranoid, as it is about everything else. then i stumbled onto many videos of life in china, the taming of the population since Tiananmen Square (1989), the extreme measures of surveillance taken, the development of technology, the thriving sex trade, and so on
it really i BRAVE NEW WORLD as the population happy with the chance to make money and send it back to the village. owning cars and tv sets they don't seem to care about censorship, no social media from the west tolerated, everything substituted by the government, little news of any account distributed. the education must make everyone react to the same signals. in a day all foreigners enemies, another day all friends.
i recommend this site first: https://www.youtube.com/user/serpentza/videos done by a south african with a chinese wife who's lived in china for ten years. he talks very quietly about almost all aspects of the life there. i'm amazed he's been allowed to operate. he wears a formal suit and maybe that's why.
other videos show the manufacturing developments, especially shenzen. i was blown away by the wealth and progress of technology. with government sponsorship and control the system is working to put them way out in front, especially in robotics. some commentators tell us not to worry, as we can take the new knowledge from them and apply it in exciting ways. here's the video to watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taZJblMAuko&t=1275s if you don't know any of this, you may be as blown away as i was.
the picture of chinese people, themselves, basically shows a bright and happy population. and i don't think we're so different from them, except in certain instances. for example, they run from people who need help. if they do help, they may be arrested!! and if you want a real expose of china, look at this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eViswN602_k&t=1324s
i've always loved ancient chinese poetry and art. alas, as in japan, the good old days are not like today. i feel wiser, but not consoled. is understanding an action?
