Chinese musician Sheng Zongliang's dereliction of duty: After reversing the chain of discrimination, who is the real top predator?

Recently, sheng Zongliang, a well-known Chinese musician, lost his teaching position at the University of Michigan and left the campus in the face of harsh accusations from students and colleagues. The reason was that he played a 1965 version of Othello in class. The subject of that class was the relationship between Verdi's opera and drama. It is a classic film adapted from Shakespeare's plays, and the male protagonist Othello is played by British national treasure actor Sir Lawrence Oliver. This mundane teaching activity made Sheng Zongliang's job unsafe, because Sir Oliver was white, and he was the dark-skinned Moorish protagonist General Othello. This commits a newer crime under the great crime of "racial discrimination": "cultural appropriation".

The so-called "cultural appropriation" refers to the use and adaptation of people from one race or cultural background to something that constitutes "offense" and "racial discrimination". For example, a university in Canada canceled yoga classes because yoga is considered Indian culture, and white people taking yoga classes is "cultural appropriation." For another example, the ATLANTIC reported in May that a white female high school student posted some photos of her wearing a cheongsam to a graduation ball, which turned out to be a victim of Internet violence, also on the grounds of "cultural appropriation."

If "cultural appropriation" becomes a universal principle in society, it will undoubtedly lead to the recurrence of "apartheid". Cross-ethnic cultural exchanges become taboo, and cultures of different ethnic backgrounds do not interact with each other, carefully keeping their distance from each other. Would such a deliberate emphasis on racial identity help to dilute or eliminate "racial discrimination"? Obviously, it is impossible, and it will only create a "god clan" that cannot be touched or said, and let people retreat.

What is even more absurd is that only black people playing the role of white people will not be accused of "cultural appropriation". In the past two decades, Western film and television works have been "black" to an incredible extent. In Hollywood comic book blockbusters, the replacement of white characters in the original with black characters has become popular, and even the Valkyrie goddess derived from Norse mythology is no longer blonde since ancient times, but has been replaced by black skin. This set of "white to black" tricks even the historical theme is not spared, the most famous queen in British history Anne Boleyn in the latest version of the TV series replaced by black people, tudor court inexplicably appeared a large number of black nobles and noblewomen. In fact, "white to black" has been quite mandatory, and any film and television project that does not meet the "racial quota" ratio will be scolded and boycotted.

Under the infinite retrospection of history, Sir Oliver's "black to white" play of Othello is regarded as "racial discrimination" and has become a highly sensitive taboo. The "white to black" of the goddess and queen is seen as "progressive", encouraged, and even mandatory. The so-called "affirmative action movement" has gone in the opposite direction today, and in the name of "anti-discrimination", a new chain of discrimination has been established.

In the new chain of ethnic/racial discrimination, in name only, Afro-descendant is at the top, with other minorities at the bottom and whites at the lowest level. As a result, the Chinese Sheng Zongliang was discredited for "offending" the African-American Othello, and the white female student in the cheongsam was exposed to internet violence because she was considered to have offended the Chinese.

This new system of discrimination in the name of "equal rights" is obviously not about "equality", only about "power". The real supreme, king, and top predator of this chain of discrimination is the white liberals, who have the right to define, interpret, and enforce accusations and judgments of "racism", "racial discrimination" and "cultural diversion". Bai Zuo can arbitrarily put these charges on the heads of members of society, and the "public opinion pressure" formed can directly hit the victims and make them pay a heavy price. Judicial and administrative procedures are powerless against this, neither pre-emptive prevention nor ex post facto relief is helpful. Victims face "social death", which goes beyond the traditional social order.

The wayward power to be given and seized in this way is beyond the reach of the emperors. And this is the real reason why the contemporary "affirmative action movement" is absurd and creates segregation, everything is for power, and "public opinion" is the result of political mobilization, not the cause.

How many black people care whether Othello is played by a white man or a black man? How many Chinese people are upset that white girls wear cheongsams? Would Indians oppose white university students studying yoga? These trivial things have nothing to do with the real rights and interests of minorities.

Therefore, the noisy "cultural appropriation" accusations in the field of public opinion have never been truly representative. In the midst of racial antagonism and strife, minorities have never really benefited. The only beneficiaries are the political ambitionists who covet power, who have successfully used the technological conveniences of modern media to achieve incredible success in challenging and subverting the social order, and the absurd "cultural appropriation" has become rampant.

The famous black economist Sawel sharply pointed out that for many politicians, the vote of black people is more important than the lives of black people. That's why these politicians are always trying to make black voters feel fearful, angry, and dissatisfied. For these politicians, racial harmony will be a political disaster.

This may be the best explanation for the absurdity of the "affirmative action movement". It is not necessary for Sowell's wisdom to see the truth, but only Sowell, who is a black man, can express it so bluntly. This is a modern version of The Emperor's New Clothes, with a procession under the banner of "anti-discrimination" raging, and a respectable old black gentleman says, "They wear nothing."

(The author is a historian and economist)

(This article is only the author's personal opinion and does not represent the position of this newspaper)

Jiang Dongyu