South Park China Band, Five Star Flags, Decoupling, New Groups of Kiddies, … Celine … , Watching S23E02 in Public

• My son Tony's favorite TV series, South Park, has been banned in China. He loves South Park for swearing and the humor. I worry about exposing him to the show's vulgarity and toilet jokes, but I do like the fact that the show parodies everything, so that the reactionary in me can watch it and get some chuckles. I want Tony to grow up with no illusions about the world and South Park is no better way to help with this goal. As soon as I heard about the show's creators' mock apology to the chicoms after being banned, I had to download and watch the episode that lead to the banning. Episode S23E02 mocks the brutality of the chicom regime but it also mocks the cravenness of westerners coming to chicom China to make money while sacrificing their values of decency and the livelihoods of their fellow countrymen.

• As I walk about Wuxi, I pass video screens showing images of Chinese happily (or obediently) waving five star flags.

• Decoupling: the ending of China being part of America's supply chain. I have been teaching this word to the few students I have in Speakers Corners. I can't see it not happening. The NBA kowtow and the Southpark banning surely represent a point from which there is no turning back. The reaction to the NBA kowtow was bi-partisan, and the Southpark China Band episode is sure to get a lot of viewership in America and China.

• I have some new groups of young kids to teach. In one group, one of the girls had been brought to tears by a male classmate, and I felt sorry for her. But as the class went on, and the girl cheered up, I saw that my first impression of her was not at all correct. The girl revealed herself to be, pardon my English, a bit of a bitch. I have seen a lot of kids in my time in China, and there are kids with general likable dispositions and kids who are preternaturally malevolent. If the latter are female, they have a truly bitchy disposition. One can only hope, they have a good level of English so you can at least joke with them.

• I am reading Celine … Paul Grant … Is that his name? … Anyway, the Canadian Philosopher who wrote Lament for a Nation … He says the trilogy Celine wrote after WW2 is classic … I think of Celine as the ultimate Misanthrope … What is the antidote to Racism or whatever it is that gets people think racism is a bad thing? … Misanthropy … Hate people because of whatever they happen to be …

• One more thing about Southpark. I put the episode on my Iphone and made a point of watching it in public when I was on the bus and on the metro.