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Food for thought on the power of art:

“One day Dostoevsky threw out the enigmatic remark: "Beauty will save the world". What sort of a statement is that? For a long time I considered it mere words. How could that be possible? When in bloodthirsty history did beauty ever save anyone from anything? Ennobled, uplifted, yes - but whom has it saved?

There is, however, a certain peculiarity in the essence of beauty, a peculiarity in the status of art: namely, the convincingness of a true work of art is completely irrefutable and it forces even an opposing heart to surrender. It is possible to compose an outwardly smooth and elegant political speech, a headstrong article, a social program, or a philosophical system on the basis of both a mistake and a lie. What is hidden, what distorted, will not immediately become obvious.

Then a contradictory speech, article, program, a differently constructed philosophy rallies in opposition - and all just as elegant and smooth, and once again it works. Which is why such things are both trusted and mistrusted.

In vain to reiterate what does not reach the heart.

But a work of art bears within itself its own verification: conceptions which are devised or stretched do not stand being portrayed in images, they all come crashing down, appear sickly and pale, convince no one. But those works of art which have scooped up the truth and presented it to us as a living force - they take hold of us, compel us, and nobody ever, not even in ages to come, will appear to refute them.

So perhaps that ancient trinity of Truth, Goodness and Beauty is not simply an empty, faded formula as we thought in the days of our self-confident, materialistic youth? If the tops of these three trees converge, as the scholars maintained, but the too blatant, too direct stems of Truth and Goodness are crushed, cut down, not allowed through - then perhaps the fantastic, unpredictable, unexpected stems of Beauty will push through and soar to that very same place, and in so doing will fulfil the work of all three?

In that case Dostoevsky's remark, "Beauty will save the world", was not a careless phrase but a prophecy? After all he was granted to see much, a man of fantastic illumination.

And in that case art, literature might really be able to help the world today?”

Aleksandr I. Solzhenitsyn - Gulag Archipelago (Vol. 1 , Vol. 2 , & Vol. 3 )

A Hong Konger (u/aamici) made some stickers that you can get here: https://www.redbubble.com/people/AlefYodhAlef/shop
Note from him: Redbubble, as far as I can tell, doesn't produce in China. Although I make very little profit from the sales, I will put any I do make towards supplies here in HK :)

Some t-shirt suggestions: (credit to u/isaacng1997)

https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07T4L5HYV/ref=sr_1_95?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-95

https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07T5PHW2L/ref=sr_1_99?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-99

https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Extradition-Protest/dp/B07VWSCV1P/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481921&sr=8-24

https://www.amazon.com/Hong-Kong-Support-Democracy-Freedom/dp/B07XVZT6B4/ref=sr_1_27?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481921&sr=8-27

https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07VZZKN9N/ref=sr_1_53?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-53

Added bonus, the 1 Star reviews from CCP supporters are pretty funny.

Hey Taybyrd, I read an amazing book as a kid about Guillain-Barre. It might help. It was called Masks. http://www.amazon.com/Masks-Hatrick/dp/0531095142/ref=sr_1_89?ie=UTF8&qid=1336515493&sr=8-89

Do you have this or would you like this?

I'm all tied up with our toddler, but if you don't mind it, I can try and find this book for you and swing by one weekend with the toddler.

Are you in HK for the next six months?

Sorry to hear about your condition and I hope you're doing well.

Oh PS I am a dude too.

The world's a complicated place, my friend. No point arguing in a sandbox.

Thanks. Some food for thought in return: http://www.amazon.com/Why-West-Rules-Now-Patterns/dp/0312611692

It's an expansive and unifying theory about major historical developments in this world that took all this over-complication head on. Great read. Mind expanding. A different perspective at least.

May the Force be with you.

Cecil Clementi, Kai Ho, Robert Hotung, Noel Croucher

Some interesting HK figures.

Edge of Empires is a good read for some more personalities of the time..

Has your friend got the book "Slowly, Slowly, Slowly," said the Sloth by Eric Carle?

Here's the shirt in case anyone was interested

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07V7YTPQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_IvpPDbKB2W335

Free Hong Kong - Umbrella Revolution Protest T-Shirt https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YYZQH5H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lyZPDb5W5N481

Link to amazon page

Officially, they espouse state atheism, however, that have allowed them to prosecute practitioners of the religious/spiritual practice Falun Gong for promoting superstition and social unrest in the population.

They then decided to start harvesting their organs to profit from their genocide rather than pay for it.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1PrBwDoQVzA

https://www.chinaorganharvest.org/

Fascism in China takes a more direct approach in regards to eliminating an undesired cultural identity. They start tearing down it's religious, educational and general support infrastructure. This includes nurseries, schools and mosques.

https://www.npr.org/2019/09/26/763356996/afraid-we-will-become-the-next-xinjiang-chinas-hui-muslims-face-crackdown?t=1572281364941

China actively censor all negative news regarding their country and its past. Furthermore, the author Howard W. French argues in his book "Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power" that "the old imperial worldview in which China was the central civilization of Asia while its neighbors, who lived in its cultural and military shadow, paid tribute and acknowledged its superiority in exchange for trade. It was a position China held in the past through a mixture of bullying and benevolence, and Mr. French suggests that it once again underlies China’s ambitions for the future." (Wall Street Journal Article by Stephen R. Platt, Updated March 24, 2017)

Personally, I believe it also explains why they have been so aggressive towards more independent territories such Tibet, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Xinjiang.

https://www.amazon.com/Everything-Under-Heavens-Chinas-Global/dp/0385353324

https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-chip-on-chinas-shoulder-1490388803

China has ALWAYS had a rather severe social hierarchy. This article from Foreign Policy argues that there today exist nine tiers of well defined social classes in China: https://foreignpolicy.com/2014/04/25/chinas-new-class-hierarchy-a-guide/

Additionally, strong nationalism and general racism is rampant in China. (Not going to source that. A quick search on your search engine of choice should do the trick)

*So, yes, I think we can conclude that they do have all of that.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WS9GSZ1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o02_s00?ie=UTF8&customId=B07535Y9T6&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WS9GSZ1/ref=cm_sw_r_fm_apa_i_gVg4Db0R3NH7T

Anyone read Ghetto at the Center of the World: Chungking Mansions, Hong Kong?

http://www.amazon.com/Ghetto-Center-World-Chungking-Mansions/dp/0226510204/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1341548993&sr=8-1&keywords=Chungking+Mansions

Wait til u guys hear about this book

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07YYZQH5H/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_lyZPDb5W5N481

I don't think that's reason not to worry...it only takes one

https://www.amazon.com/Spread-Nuclear-Weapons-Enduring-Debate/dp/0393920100

All protesters should read this book

https://www.amazon.com/Utility-Force-Art-Modern-World/dp/0307278115

https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07VZZKN9N/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=Free+Hong+Kong&qid=1566074379&s=apparel&sr=1-5

these comments are so funny... and a little bit sad.

Should pick a shirt that doesn't have the flag. Hong Kongers hate that flag, but donated. Some suggestions:
https://www.amazon.com/Stand-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07T4L5HYV/ref=sr_1_95?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-95

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https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07T5PHW2L/ref=sr_1_99?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-99

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https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Extradition-Protest/dp/B07VWSCV1P/ref=sr_1_24?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481921&sr=8-24

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https://www.amazon.com/Hong-Kong-Support-Democracy-Freedom/dp/B07XVZT6B4/ref=sr_1_27?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481921&sr=8-27

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https://www.amazon.com/Free-Hong-Kong-Democracy-T-Shirt/dp/B07VZZKN9N/ref=sr_1_53?dchild=1&keywords=hong+kong+tshirt&qid=1570481992&sr=8-53

> historical revisionism

Most of the contents of the article are factual and discussed elsewhere. More than half of the article is about post-occupation government.

The fact that some Canadians feel they are "betrayed" by being sent to Hong Kong with little training and equipment and be blamed for their performance is the topic of some books[1].

Even HKFP had a mention of it, but as far as I know it's not bought out by Jack Ma. Curious.

But then I understand the hate against poor titles because there are a lot of people out there with knee-jerk reaction to the what is now advertisement instead of summary for the articles.

[1] Betrayal: Canadian Soldiers Hong Kong 1941.

Also, one of the chapters of Transitional Justice in Established Democracies: A Political Theory (International Political Theory)

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190513-it-only-takes-35-of-people-to-change-the-world Here is a better article.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005SZEEXQ/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1 Here is the book if you are actually interested in the subject.

Violence is a shitty alternative. Those revolutions you listed? The French revolution involved the slaughter of political dissidents by revolutionary governments, ended in a dictatorship, then the restoration of the monarchy. France didn't get a long lasting Republic until 80 years later, after decades of political instability. The communist revolutions ended in brutal regimes being installed into power. Haiti ended in two genocides.

Nonviolent revolutions? Philippine people power revolution, Taiwan, South Korea, Color revolutions, Arab Spring, decolonization of India, end of Apartheid, goes on. Perfect? No. But a much better record than violent revolution.

Just want to shoot my mouth off here for a minute.

Incarcerated, Ted Bundy gave a number of interviews in the misguided hopes of being deemed a valuable contributor to law enforcement, and thus spared the death penalty. In several of these he went at length on the "hypothetical" origins of serial killers, and why they enjoyed such success in 1970s America and onwards.

One of his insights was society had become depersonalized, with communities disintegrating, and people traveling across the country, surrounded by strangers who didn't necessarily notice or care that someone was here one day, gone the next. While Bundy disregarded advances in law enforcement technique, it's also true many of those technologies and sciences emerged from high profile cases like Bundy's.

That's part of the nature of serial killers, being predators of populations requires vulnerable targets, or at some level society having a blind spot. The most prolific serial killers targeted so called victim populations- homeless, prostitutes, homosexuals, those society generally didn't address or concern itself with.

THe other part goes back to the nature of societies- Gladwell's seminal work makes a case for differences of culture between east and west dating back to agrarian roots-tight knit cultures of rice paddies developing societies intrinsically different than the labor intensive but individualistic trends that emerged in the feudal fields of Europe.

The consequences for these among predators is the nature of the victim pool-simply that in an individualistic, privacy minding and impersonal society, there is less watchfulness( bearing in mind generalities, not absolutes across all communities or ethnic groupings, but as broad strokes of cultural influence). What impact this may have for criminals preying on targets can probably be discerned from instances like Hong Kong's scarcity of serial killing.

TL;DR: Whether from tight knit community awareness, government crackdown on 'deviants' that catches would-be killers early in their development, social factors like Triad protectionism, or a greater sense of community vs western individualism that readily identifies problems with individuals relating to the group, Hong Kong is not prime real estate for budding psychopaths.