moomoo, Don't be a tool. You would be grossly mistaken (not to mention naive) if you thought American education was any less biased...
that's why i find him somewhat hypocritical. for example, in one instance he's disparaging "capitalists," or at least it's an implied disparagement. in the next, he's praising how China is recognizing the importance of the individual. Yao doesn't seem to be connecting the dots here. and you don't see as even slightly anti-American his example of a hero being a Chinese soldier on suicide mission who runs into the middle of a group of U.S. soldiers with a bomb? now i know that is not Yao's intent, to be anti-American. but just the fact that he is without knowing it as a result of his background, just that glimpse into the kind of Mao-juice they were or are drinking over there, i find a little unsettling.
Exactly, I am always amazd to see how people are educated in different world. "We are all good, you are all bad". This is the main reason I like to take my kids back to China every summer so that they can see by their own eyes. These are two different worlds, I like to have my kids see and experience different world through their own eyes, not biased education.
Exactly, I think Yao would be well served to heed this advice. He should give his future kids exposure to all different points of view. Of course, your kids, assuming they are American citizens, have a greater opportunity for this than his ever will.
This is where you should your naive. The capitalism is not perfect just like any other 'isms'. There are enough ugliness in capitalism which people can criticis. Besides, the U.S. is not pure capitalism itself just like China is not pure communism or even socialism. You were brain washed for too long by the anti-comminism propoganda.
Yao Ming and Brian Skinner are both centers. Neither of them are perfect. Therefore, they are equally good centers.
The title of the book is '2 worlds'. Yao can certainly criticis flaws as an outsider even if the 2 worlds are not equally good or equally bad.
Buddy, you are not going to get it, don't you. Yao has different point of views already. You are the ONE that does NOT.
moomoo, Got 2 questions for ya. What is your definition of 'anti-American'? And according to your definition, what Yao should have done or said would make him NOT 'anti-American'?
Funny that even though you believe Yao was subconciously anti-American, he jumped at the chance to come to America and has had nothing but good things to say about it, including throughout his book. All Yao meant by his comment about the Korean War was that he had been educated very little about the U.S. in school. Now, I'm a college graduate, and I can tell you that I learned more about China from Yao's book than I EVER did in school. His ignorance shouldn't be surprising. His comment on heroism was EXPLICITLY given as a reason Yao said he isn't too pleased with being labeled a hero in China, as the Chinese concept of heroism carries a connotation of self-sacrifice and death. He then gave a military example of the popular Chinese concept of "heroism" from the Chinese perspective. As far as I'm aware, the Korean conflict was China's most recent war, and therefor that's why Yao used it as the setting for his example. Americans happened to be on the other side of that conflict. Now, if you find the Chinese concept of heroism and its attendant self-sacrifice and death to be anti-American, well, I guess that's simply how it strikes you. I find it to be different, but not anti-American, myself. And after reading his book, I'm quite certain Yao doesn't., either.
What's "american". Is Yao "somewhat anti-american" or "total anti-american", i.e does Yao think "american is not perfect" or "american is evil"? Then what's wrong with "somewhat anti-american"? Are americans "somewhat" anti-chinese, british, french, german, russian or japanese too? Actually I am "somewhat anti-human being" because I am sick of so many ignorant and arrogant people. Then I find so many sefless great persons doing great things for the rest of the world. I must be a hypocrite now. Is that not allowed, Mr american?
And for certain americans, of course the rest of the world dont really understand what America is really about. Somehow those certain americans also think they understand what the rest of the world is really about. They think they understand what Iraqi, palestinian, chinese or french thinks, sometimes more than those people themselves.
given your explanations, i can see that that's a possibility. maybe i did read more into it than was actually there. i'll need to give the book another read and try to catch myself if i start doing it again. thanks yo.
Just bought the book at Costco for $14.49. I didn't read all the rest of the thread. I've read the intro and about 20 pages into it. It's actually very good. I'm chinese and I can relate to what he's feeling. He's is a good guy. Really.
LOL. The thread has been derailed so many times. But it only takes one more interesting tidbit to get it back on track. How about that 37" vertical.
Jut get the book, can't stop reading. There is a funny remark on Earl Boykins (Yao comparing a former team mate to EB due to his size): "The first time I played against Boykins, I thought a fan had run out of the stands to try to take the ball from me."
