As a lifelong Tolkien fan, it’s abhorrent.

Pretty cool that this is happening in Hebei, traditionally one of the poorest provinces.

HSR goes at 300 or 350km/h depending on the model of train I believe, not sure if they’re taking HSR or the regular train though since both are still available

How exciting! Safe travels comrade.

I hate the passive representation here. As if it’s all driven by some ineffable force of nature that no one can predict or control

I understand him but my family is from Hunan so… yeah. Compared to other Hunanese people I’d say it’s a moderately strong accent

Oh I hadn’t seen that. Idk how seriously trolling should be taken as ideological propaganda, but then again, if that weren’t the case there would be no reason for the bear site to exist

How is pastiching what you consider their failures of analysis not mockery? Whether you’re behaving dismissively is about expression, not intention.

The context was that there were already multiple comment threads with users piling in on XHS in previous days, something which you as the mod of this thread did nothing about. Instead, you joined in.

As I said up the thread, I think informed rebuttals and critiques are helpful, and expected in a communist forum. But your and others’ posts contained no analysis and only speculative pisstaking. All I ask is that users who are dedicated and well meaning be treated with collegiate respect rather than disdain, especially when they are absent, and especially by those who set the tone for this space.

Why would they? There’s no incentive to at this stage. The ideological superiority is evident in the material outcome.

Casa de Papel would have been so much better if the plan was to mint a room-sized coin instead though

Their game is just mostly internal.

This constant mockery of someone who a) put a lot of effort into informed analysis and b) doesn’t seem to be around to defend themselves is becoming increasingly distasteful

There might be some kind of definition somewhere but we all know that ultimately, western outlets will use definitions however they want and conveniently ignore whatever they can to keep their sense of smug superiority about “democracy” intact

I’m surprised at how many replies in this thread seem to be struggling with treating this pretty basic human interaction with empathy. Your grandpa wants you to be financially secure and have a good life. He’s old and people of his generation - even his children’s generation - are very much attached to the idea of home ownership and a steady income as a foundation for a prosperous life. People who have lived through hardship tend to be pragmatic about these things. We can be understanding of them without subjecting them to moral scrutiny over what’s obviously well intentioned, paternal advice, even if that advice is contrary to what we consider our principles to be.

2011 is when the rot started though, when 9gag and its ilk broke through to the Facebook dads

This is certainly one of the sentences of all time

Oh gross

There was no play other than at break times, it was a full schedule of classes. In the summer we got an extra hour for lunch though so we could have a nap. It was funny because you had to have a nap in that time - at home room after lunch everyone who didn’t have a nap had to admit to it and explain why they didn’t 🤭

We had art classes - it was mostly learning to draw as I recall. The school didn’t have a lot of money for stuff like art supplies back then. The classes I remember were: Chinese (learning characters, making words, reading texts, memorising poems, writing short essays); maths (we had to memorise the times table up to 9 and each recite it individually for the headmaster who graded us on it - most terrifying moment of my life at the time! Also I remember doing basic algebra); civics (actually my favourite, it was mostly about learning to contribute to society and not being selfish); art; and PE. I’m sure there must have been science, history, and geography but I can’t remember them at all.

We had little red neck scarves made of silk which were a sign of your pride in the country / communism. I remember being so chuffed the day I got mine as I’d heard a rumour that you wouldn’t get one if you weren’t a good student and I didn’t know if I’d make the grade since I had moved home from abroad and was behind in everything. We also learned how to use an abacus to do arithmetic and calligraphy. We had flag raising every week and outdoor stretches every morning. There were ~50 kids in my class I think!

Our teacher was strict but super caring and kind. I remember every time when we got homework back from the teacher, she would ask everyone who got 100% to stand up and everyone else would admire them. One time in Chinese class she did that and I was the only one who stood up! Proudest moment ever. She then remarked to the rest of the class “this kid only started learning to write this year, y’all have no excuse” lolll suckers

I went to elementary school in China for two years, in grade 2 + 3 (age 6-8). I arrived at school at 7:45am for pre-class prep, and left at 5:30 usually. I think classes were until 4:30 or 5. This was back in the mid 90s and I’m fairly sure it got worse after I left