Absurdity, Allegory and China

The US Department of State, aka the State Department, has today (March 21, 2008) issued a Fact Sheet concerning the Olympics 2008. It is a document that anyone coming to China for the Olympics should read. One paragraph seems to have gotten the most attention as well it should:

All visitors should be aware that they have no reasonable expectation of privacy in public or private locations. All hotel rooms and offices are considered to be subject to on-site or remote technical monitoring at all times. Hotel rooms, residences and offices may be accessed at any time without the occupant’s consent or knowledge. Many hotels and apartment buildings may be of substandard construction, lack emergency exits, fire suppression systems, carbon monoxide monitors and standard security equipment (locks, alarms, and personnel). Americans traveling abroad should be reminded to review fire evacuation procedures for hotels, apartments or offices.

But there is a much shorter passage, a single sentence, that many who are planning the trip need to pay particular attention to.

The Department of State or the U.S. Embassy and Consulates General cannot have an American released from prison.

Is that clear? Can it be any clearer? What this says is that there are no get-out-jail-cards in this game; there’s no stopping at Go to give Dad a call; no one’s going to make your bail before the sun goes down. That’s a fact. And another fact is that if you end up being hauled off to jail, there’s a very good chance that it will permanently alter your perceptions of basic human nature, and it won’t be for the better.

All you folks who have visions of “making a statement” – from unfurling politically sensitive banners to setting yourself on fire atop the Water Cube – think again. This is not Kansas, and, truth be told, it never will be. In fact, it has never had any desire to go that way at all, since not only do the Chinese disagree with Kansans’ views on intelligent design, they also think that all US police forces in Kansas and elsewhere are wimps when it comes to dealing with youth who want to shake things up. They have a history of dealing harshly with that sort of thing here, and if you are unfamiliar with those events, bone up before getting on the plane with your high-minded ideals. They may not beat you to a pulp in front of the camera, but they’ll have you shitting your skivs when the door closes and the world’s on the far other side. And that will only be the beginning. This is something that everyone with an axe to grind and enough money to come to Beijing during an Olympic year needs to know. The State Department has warned you that they cannot get you out of jail. They’re not lying. No matter what you think of George Bush, Dick Cheney or Condoleeza Rice, you must understand that the State Department is not crying “Wolf!” This is China coming-out, and if you want to wreck it for them, then they’re going to make you pay. And the price may be a lot dearer than you can even imagine.

If you think you’re tough enough, think again, because odds are you are not. But if that’s not enough to convince you, and you believe that you’re the one in the bunch who can actually take it, and you truly believe that you can imagine how this might go down, then it’s time to move to the next level of practice. Go to the nearest big city street in the middle of a night (leave all your clothes at home), pry open a manhole cover and climb on down. Make sure there’s someone topside with a club who will slam your hands as you try to hold on, since you’re not going to be crazy about slipping down into that steamy dark. But climb (or fall) you will, and your pal with the club will slip the cover back into place. Yes, it smells, but in about twenty minutes you’ll block that out, since there will be several other. more pressing distractions. Continue climbing down. The last step puts you ankle deep in the middle of the soup, but there’s nowhere else to go, so you’ll just have to somehow deal with it. Sorry, no Wellies. Yes, there are rats! But don’t worry; eventually you’ll block them out too. The real problems haven’t even started yet. You’re still in the on-deck circle.

What you’ll notice next after your heart finally stops pounding in your head is that there are voices, other voices, more than just a few, and you won’t understand a word they’re saying. But don’t worry, it doesn’t matter. They’re going to beat you anyway, whether you understand their words or not. Don’t take it personally; they beat all newcomers, and some they even beat to death if they’re not tough enough to take it. Later, if you’re already not dead, you’ll probably wish you were. And this, let me remind you, is just practice.

The voices you’ll hear will be the whispers of your fellow inmates who’ve got a pecking order going and you’re now the number one lowest in it. Number two is happy to see you. This is when the rats get a little less … irksome. In groups like this there is always a boss, and depending on how you suit him, you might find yourself on your hands-n-knees, squealing like a pig. And the funny thing about it all is that your eyes haven’t even adjusted yet, and you can’t see a thing while all one bad thing after another just happens. It’s a bad dream with real blood. Go figure.

I could go on about the indignities, but there is no real point, other than to tell you that this may go on for about two weeks, during which time there will be moments when you’ll wonder if you are any different than the animals you’ve seen in a NatGeo special, especially the smaller hungry ones at feeding time. Twenty people and enough gruel for ten. This is all part of the weight you must be ready to carry. Think about this before you tell China what it is you so deeply think. Trust me, they don’t care about anything that’s in your head that they haven’t successfully put there. They just want your money. It’s business and there are rules, and if you decide to break them, then they’ll do their best to break you. And if they can’t get you, then they’ll get the Tibetans, who are a lot easier to grab up and throw into a prison hole. But don’t worry, they’re tougher than you, and they’re used to all manners of indignities and suffering. Even as I write, most of them or their children are under some form of official lockdown.

If your plan is to make a scene, I am asking you to review your reasons for coming here. If you are coming here to free Tibet, don’t bother coming. More often than not those who do the loudest wailing have no idea what that means to the lives of all the poor Tibetans in China who have no idea why things just got worse. All they really know is that things just got a whole lot worse. They don’t need your self-righteousness being played out in China. They don’t need your Olympic plans to make the world a better place. What may sound like a good idea in a well-lit meeting room in a comfortable Student Center, may, in fact, be the absolute worst thing you could possibly do.

To exacerbate an already bad situation, then hop on a jet and fly back home, is not helping anyone at all. No one needs false ‘heroics’ now, especially the indigenous Tibetans who are, more often than not, disregarded by everyone when it comes to promoting outside agendas. That there is acute abuse and discrimination does not call for actions that will bring on more. The reality of life in the countryside is a lot more difficult than what you can possibly imagine it to be. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s always about them, so learn who they are and how their lives go down every day, which, at the moment, is difficult, to say the least. You should ask yourself if what you are planning to do would make life any more difficult for the lives of those who you believe you are helping. The saying, “First do no harm,” is actually not a cliché. Pay it some attention. There are other, more effective ways to make your voices heard. Breaking eggs in the Bird’s Nest is not the way to go on this one.

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