Re: scraggly tree

<anonymous@bogus_address.con> wrote...

<snip>

> Heh!  Your story illustrates -- in a minor way -- the tribalism
> that's inherent in all of humankind.  And the Asian cultures (as
> you know, since you've spent some time in Korea) are among the
> most tribalistic of all.
>
> Each and every one of'em believes that they're God's duly-appointed
> Superior People.


Who was it that said "If horses could dream, they would dream of gods like
horses"?

> The Koreans think the Japanese are inferior and lazy, and the
> Japanese feel that the Koreans are the 'niggers' of Asia.

This is, unfortunately, pretty accurate compared to what I've seen and what
I've studied.  Historically speaking, though, the Koreans are bitter against
the Japanese on account of having been occupied by them [, the Japanese,] from 1904-1945
(IIRC).  There are plenty of horrible stories about this time period.  The Koreans have a
phrase that translates to "when whales fight,
the shrimp between get squished".  This pretty much sums up Koreas history, settled
between China, Russia, and Japan.

> The Thais will barely tolerate the Laotians, but really hate the
> Vietnamese.
>
> And the Chinese, of course, look down on =everybody.=

I haven't spent as much time in these areas, so I can't comment here.

> Yep, it's a strange and inscrutable world, there in the land of
> rice and lidless eyes.

a.k.a "Land of the Morning Calm"

> Even the =Mexicans= believe that THEY'RE the Superior Race ('La
> Raza').  How's THAT for irony?! ;)

Well, ya never know... :)

> What the heck are you doin' in Korea, anyway?  You're not a
> Mormon or a Moonie, are you?

I'm not Mormon, and [if you'll pardon my ignorance] have no idea what a
'Moonie' is.  I'm going to school at Yonsei University at the moment, though
I really don't know what I will do with a degree in the Korean language or
Asian studies.  I just kind of, ended up here.  Maybe I'll take a year off
and go be a Buddhist monk. :)

Which reminds me - I still need to finish that "How to Read Korean Through
Ascii" thing...

ObAscii:
  .===.
 .'_ _'.
.'_ _ _'.
:_ _ _ _:
:%%%%%,.:
':%%%%%:'
 ':%%%:'
(It's my handy-dandy air-tight rice-holder!)

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