New York City Loves Brutal Totalitarianism
September 30, 2009 · By Jonathan McLeod
According to the official website of the Empire State Building, the grand edifice will be lit up with red and yellow lights today and tomorrow in honour of the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic of China.
Do we really need to go over all the reasons that no one in the West should celebrate this anniversary: Tiananmen Square, Falun Gong, Tibet, Taiwan, the Cultural Revolution, Daoxian Massacre, the one-child policy, the suppression of dissidents, environmental degradation, economic oppression, forced relocation, etc. etc.? One might be stumped as to why anyone would choose to honour the birth of this international menace, but I’m sure New York is going to get some favourable trade initiatives and maybe some increased tourism dollars thanks to their kowtowing.
One would hope that a city whose most recognizable landmark is a symbol of liberty would not turn its second most recognizable landmark into a symbol of all that liberty abhors.
One would be wrong.
(H/T: Greg Pollowitz)
We celebrate China every time we purchase something made there. So why not be up front about it?
btw, doesn’t New York already have a tradition in totalitarianism. Do you think Rudy Giuliani cleaned up times square by asking politely?
Jonathan, your reasons are all good.
But money talks and the Americans need the Chinese to continue to underwrite their debt or else America will go bankrupt.
My 2c: The red and yellow Empire State Building is not a celebration of the Communist Revolution, rather a gesture intended to encourage China to keep underwriting the out-of-control US debt.
Symbolically, the location — near one of America’s largest financial districts — is excellent. A red and yellow Empire State Building should prompt Americans to wake up and realize that unless they DRASTICALLY change their ways, they will be debtors of China for generations. As we all know, indebtedness is not a position of power. America is no longer in complete control of its financial destiny and one might question the extent to which America’s foreign and domestic policies will now start to be influence by China.