Interesting but perverse humor if you are right.
Of course, I’ve seen Chinese peasantry laughing and mocking the death of someone whom jumped off a bridge in China.
No connection (meiguanxi), perhaps just makes the entire issue cross cultural empathy an appropriate topic for a Ph.D. dissertation.
I think CKVk is right, an awkward moment, weird but not malicious, of course / thanks for the feedback – DAN
: "I’d like to go back to the original question… a number of Taiwanese do snicker when they say words Bin Laden. Certainly not always, and but more than just one, at least among my students and Chinese acquaintances. It doesn’t seem malicious, just inappropriate. So the question was, does the name sound funny in Chinese or Taiwanese (kinda like “Tora Bora” sounds kinda funny in English)?
I talked to one Chinese friend of mine about it and he said hadn’t noticed anything, so perhaps it’s just when saying it to an American - sort of an embarrassed laugh - covering an awkward moment of bringing up what might be a sensitive topic."
No, no, no, the Bin Laden joke/s are NOT connected to Bin-lang (betel nut). It’s a Taiwanese cultural thing, which I do not understand yet.
At the recent GOLDEN HORSE film awards in Hualien on Dec. 8, 2001, a famous TV star in Taiwan came to the red carpet dressed in a multicolored robe, and he joked to the MC on live TV that “I look like Bin Laden, ha ha, don’t I?” I failed to see the humor there, but that’s what my original question was all about …
Any more guesses ?
I was going to start a thread about Osama T-shirts in Taiwan but then I found this thread and so I thought I may as well give it a bump. I can make a separate thread if the mods think it necessary.
Last year I saw an innocent looking university student wearing a jacket with Bin’s face on the back in the style of that famous image of the Cuban chappie (Che Guevera - is that how it’s spelt?). Anyway, I doubt that she is a supporter of Al Queda or that she thinks Bin is ‘cute’. She probably thinks he looks ‘cool’.
I’ve also seen a male uni student wearing a longsleeve T-shirt with Bin on the front. It made me angry to see someone poncing about in a Laden shirt thinking he looks cool or funny.
I really wanted to go up to him and tell him what for, but I was on my way somewhere with the missus who didn’t want a scene and the moment passed. Why are they wearing these clothes?. It can’t be just plain ignorance - they know what he did and what he represents.
So what is up with these people? What would you say to them, if anything?
We just had the circus in town, and one of the tigers was named bin Laden.
[quote=“Spack”]Last year I saw an innocent looking university student wearing a jacket with Bin’s face on the back in the style of that famous image of the Cuban chappie (Che Guevera - is that how it’s spelt?). Anyway, I doubt that she is a supporter of Al Queda or that she thinks Bin is ‘cute’. She probably thinks he looks ‘cool’.
I’ve also seen a male uni student wearing a longsleeve T-shirt with Bin on the front. It made me angry to see someone poncing about in a Laden shirt thinking he looks cool or funny.
Why are they wearing these clothes?. It can’t be just plain ignorance - they know what he did and what he represents.
So what is up with these people? [/quote]
Easy. They are dickheads.
[quote=“Spack”]It can’t be just plain ignorance - they know what he did and what he represents.
[/quote]
I wouldn’t be too sure of that. Remember that this is Taiwan. Remember what their educational system churns out. Especially concerning all things foreign. Bin Laden is the newer, hipper Adolf Hitler, the latest fashion accessory for clueless youth.
A six-year-old girl I happen to know told a joke one day. “What kind of light is not bright”? (Shen ma deng bu liang?) (Sorry, I can’t type characters yet)
Answer: Ben La-Deng (Bin-Laden)
On behalf of the American people, I thanked her for her support.
I’m pretty sure that they really do think it’s funny, and they’re not just laughing to cover up embarrassment. This is the same island, remember, where it is considered perfectly acceptable to use Hitler in ads for German heaters.
One of my students (a high school girl) said she thought bin Laden was a great man. When one of the other students asked her how she could think that, after he killed so many people, she replied that 1. he had the balls to attack America, which shows he is great, and 2. no Chinese people died, so what difference did it make to her? (The conversation was in Chinese, which they thought I couldn’t understand.)
Right after the attacks, many of the students at my buxiban joked about it. The attitude seemed to be that it had nothing to do with Taiwan or China, so why should they feel sad? The fact that there were many foreigners about (ie., their teachers) who were upset didn’t seem to make any difference to them.
I think that one of the differences between Western and Chinese cultures is that Chinese people are less empathetic. (I’m talking about average attitudes, not individuals, who of course vary.) I’m not Jewish, but images of the Holocaust upset me. I didn’t know anyone who died in the 9-11 attacks, but was horrified as I watched those buildings collapse. I did know someone who died on Bali, and so did my buxiban’s students (because he was their teacher), but the fact remains that some of the students joked about his death. None of the foreigners were laughing.
Tell her she’s wrong. At least 1 Taiwanese and 2 Chinese died, according to this website. I remember hearing that two Taiwanese died - perhaps he/she was a dual citizen.
[quote=“bababa”]One of my students (a high school girl) said she thought bin Laden was a great man. When one of the other students asked her how she could think that, after he killed so many people, she replied that 1. he had the balls to attack America, which shows he is great, and 2. no Chinese people died, so what difference did it make to her? (The conversation was in Chinese, which they thought I couldn’t understand.)
Right after the attacks, many of the students at my buxiban joked about it. The attitude seemed to be that it had nothing to do with Taiwan or China, so why should they feel sad? The fact that there were many foreigners about (ie., their teachers) who were upset didn’t seem to make any difference to them. [/quote]
Tell the pricks you think the Nanjing Massacre, 228 and Tiananmen to be simply hilarious. Especially the funny expressions on the faces of the raped women and children’s corpses. :fume:
[quote=“blueface666”][quote=“bababa”]One of my students (a high school girl) said she thought bin Laden was a great man. When one of the other students asked her how she could think that, after he killed so many people, she replied that 1. he had the balls to attack America, which shows he is great, and 2. no Chinese people died, so what difference did it make to her? (The conversation was in Chinese, which they thought I couldn’t understand.)
Right after the attacks, many of the students at my buxiban joked about it. The attitude seemed to be that it had nothing to do with Taiwan or China, so why should they feel sad? The fact that there were many foreigners about (ie., their teachers) who were upset didn’t seem to make any difference to them. [/quote]
Tell the pricks you think the Nanjing Massacre, 228 and Tiananmen to be simply hilarious. Especially the funny expressions on the faces of the raped women and children’s corpses. :fume:[/quote]
Actually, lynching blacks and using them as slaves were pretty hilarious for the whitemen in the south too
[quote=“YJaeger”]
Actually, lynching blacks and using them as slaves were pretty hilarious for the whitemen in the south too[/quote]
You’d know better than me…I’ve never seen a lynching or known anyone who did. Why don’t you tell us about it? By the way, the last hanging I my county (and it was a legal hanging) was in front of the count courthouse sometime in the late 1880s / early 1890s. My Grandmother saw it.
create your own visited country map
or write about it on the open travel guide
The last lynching in my state was in the 1920s. Let’s compare what was going on in your part of the world at that time, judging by your Aryan name
[quote=“bababa”]I’m pretty sure that they really do think it’s funny, and they’re not just laughing to cover up embarrassment. This is the same island, remember, where it is considered perfectly acceptable to use Hitler in ads for German heaters.
One of my students (a high school girl) said she thought bin Laden was a great man. When one of the other students asked her how she could think that, after he killed so many people, she replied that 1. he had the balls to attack America, which shows he is great, and 2. no Chinese people died, so what difference did it make to her? (The conversation was in Chinese, which they thought I couldn’t understand.)
Right after the attacks, many of the students at my buxiban joked about it. The attitude seemed to be that it had nothing to do with Taiwan or China, so why should they feel sad? The fact that there were many foreigners about (ie., their teachers) who were upset didn’t seem to make any difference to them.
I think that one of the differences between Western and Chinese cultures is that Chinese people are less empathetic. (I’m talking about average attitudes, not individuals, who of course vary.) I’m not Jewish, but images of the Holocaust upset me. I didn’t know anyone who died in the 9-11 attacks, but was horrified as I watched those buildings collapse. I did know someone who died on Bali, and so did my buxiban’s students (because he was their teacher), but the fact remains that some of the students joked about his death. None of the foreigners were laughing.[/quote]
After reading your post, I feel very lucky. When 911 happened, I met several very nice Taiwanese who expressed their deepest sympathy to me
when they found out I am an American.
I think is it indeed very sad to hear the callous remarks people can make. These same people would probably laugh at a very serious automobile or motorcycle accidect so what can we do? (Actually, I think a good smack upside the head may be appropriate but, wait, no that is not a good solution 
).
I really think that perhaps a mini lecture on how not only Americans but many people lose their lives to terrorists may make an impact. However, I could be wrong.