Some more co-worker st00pid
This is the subtle sort of danger posed by stupid people.
You probably know about the Chinese infant formula scare. Or maybe you don't. Very recently, reports hit that a brand of Chinese baby formula was severely contaminated with melamine, a toxic substance. It's been causing kidney stone in infants, and at least one baby has already died from drinking the stuff.
Well here's a bit of Golden Stupid from my co-worker. I'll paraphrase, but it's pretty close:
"You know how there's that bad baby food that China's been making? Well, what about this. What if, just bear with me for a minute, what if they'r trying to kill American babies.
"Think about it! Seriously, what if this is some terrorist plot--I'm not saying that all Chinese are terrorists, but... but, think about it! Killing American babies with this bad formula! They're sending it over here to, like, kill us! It could be true! Just, what if?"
Right. Now this went on for a bit, and I didn't know whether to laugh at her, yell at her, or just cry from the st00pid.
First off, the infant formula wasn't exported, except a small amount that made it to Taiwan. Second, all of the affected babies have been--big shock here, considering it's a domestic product--Chinese babies.
I didn't know these details at the time, so let me point out some other points of Dumbness.
One, basic practicality: destroying the United States by poisoning it's babies? Um, highly impractical from so many angles. Too long term, too exclusive, and what about all those babies being raised on breast milk and formula produced domestically and/or in countries that are not China? It isn't like China's the only country that produces baby stuff. I think, from the way she was talking, that maybe my co-worker momentarily forgot that.
Two: consider the amount of subtlety and control necessary to orchestrate a plot of this scope. The food--and, as she pointed out, the toys and other baby products--exported to America, and only to America, are poisoned, while all other export products are pristine. Does China, of all places, have that kind of quality control? This country's manufacturing regulations and controls are known to be shite. They don't have the infrastructure in place to ensure quality production, and that's an old, well-known problem. Most likely, someone made a grave mistake, or was trying to cut corners, and it went badly. Human incompetence is almost always the more likely answer.
I could go on, but why beat a dead horse? Besides, Nate's growing restless.
Look, prejudice comes in many forms. This girl isn't "racist," certainly. If they're American. But she says things, sometimes, about other countries, people who don't speak English, and immigrants, that make me cringe. Xenophobia--fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign--is a form of prejudice too.
Sorry, but when something like this triggers a nonsensical rant about The Big Bad Chinaman Killing American Babies, that's xenophobia.
It also happens to be a prejudice that we seem to encourage in this country. Something bad happen? Irrationally blame another country for terrorism! And we have cause, too: Remember What Happened ONCE Seven Years Ago And Has Not Been Repeated Since!!!! It's like 9/11 is the perfect excuse for xenophobia. (Yes, she made the 9/11 *wink, nod* connection, too, even though I still can't figure out what China had to do with the Twin Towers.)
And it's st00pid, too.
You probably know about the Chinese infant formula scare. Or maybe you don't. Very recently, reports hit that a brand of Chinese baby formula was severely contaminated with melamine, a toxic substance. It's been causing kidney stone in infants, and at least one baby has already died from drinking the stuff.
Well here's a bit of Golden Stupid from my co-worker. I'll paraphrase, but it's pretty close:
"You know how there's that bad baby food that China's been making? Well, what about this. What if, just bear with me for a minute, what if they'r trying to kill American babies.
"Think about it! Seriously, what if this is some terrorist plot--I'm not saying that all Chinese are terrorists, but... but, think about it! Killing American babies with this bad formula! They're sending it over here to, like, kill us! It could be true! Just, what if?"
Right. Now this went on for a bit, and I didn't know whether to laugh at her, yell at her, or just cry from the st00pid.
First off, the infant formula wasn't exported, except a small amount that made it to Taiwan. Second, all of the affected babies have been--big shock here, considering it's a domestic product--Chinese babies.
I didn't know these details at the time, so let me point out some other points of Dumbness.
One, basic practicality: destroying the United States by poisoning it's babies? Um, highly impractical from so many angles. Too long term, too exclusive, and what about all those babies being raised on breast milk and formula produced domestically and/or in countries that are not China? It isn't like China's the only country that produces baby stuff. I think, from the way she was talking, that maybe my co-worker momentarily forgot that.
Two: consider the amount of subtlety and control necessary to orchestrate a plot of this scope. The food--and, as she pointed out, the toys and other baby products--exported to America, and only to America, are poisoned, while all other export products are pristine. Does China, of all places, have that kind of quality control? This country's manufacturing regulations and controls are known to be shite. They don't have the infrastructure in place to ensure quality production, and that's an old, well-known problem. Most likely, someone made a grave mistake, or was trying to cut corners, and it went badly. Human incompetence is almost always the more likely answer.
I could go on, but why beat a dead horse? Besides, Nate's growing restless.
Look, prejudice comes in many forms. This girl isn't "racist," certainly. If they're American. But she says things, sometimes, about other countries, people who don't speak English, and immigrants, that make me cringe. Xenophobia--fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign--is a form of prejudice too.
Sorry, but when something like this triggers a nonsensical rant about The Big Bad Chinaman Killing American Babies, that's xenophobia.
It also happens to be a prejudice that we seem to encourage in this country. Something bad happen? Irrationally blame another country for terrorism! And we have cause, too: Remember What Happened ONCE Seven Years Ago And Has Not Been Repeated Since!!!! It's like 9/11 is the perfect excuse for xenophobia. (Yes, she made the 9/11 *wink, nod* connection, too, even though I still can't figure out what China had to do with the Twin Towers.)
And it's st00pid, too.