All I can say is, wow!:
http://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/ar...te-guide-after-shanghai-disneyland-is-trashed
http://m.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/ar...te-guide-after-shanghai-disneyland-is-trashed
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Chinese Govt to the people of China "This is why we can't have nice things"...
- Thread starter MrPromey
- Start date
No Name
Well-Known Member
Yeah, I saw this a week ago, Orlando weekly is a bit slow on the draw here.
But I don't see "this is why we can't have nice things" implied at all. It's just an etiquette guide to tell the visitors how they are expected to behave at a place like this. This park is in many ways different than any park China has had before, and so steps like this are fine and even neccessary. Sure, it's a response to the Day of Trashing, but I would actually be annoyed if they didn't respond.
I also don't consider SDL park or any of the resort to be a "nice thing," people are paying. It's not a free gift that the people are taking advantage of. I could take that view if the place was run by a non-profit, but Disney is a for-profit company (and, in reality, the government is too
). On the Day of Trashing, most paid for parking and train rides, and many thought they had wasted their time and money since nothing but a popsicle stand was open. It's the cheapest Disney park in the world (in terms of admission price), but many still think that SDL, particularly the food, is too expensive. And people will behave how they behave, so in the end, it's the owners' job to handle or try to change that behavior (which they're doing) rather than whine about it.
I believe the owners of the park are reacting in an appropriate way, they aren't stomping their feet and crying. Now, maybe Disney should've issued it rather than the government, but that's another topic. I think the actual etiquette guide is fine.
But I don't see "this is why we can't have nice things" implied at all. It's just an etiquette guide to tell the visitors how they are expected to behave at a place like this. This park is in many ways different than any park China has had before, and so steps like this are fine and even neccessary. Sure, it's a response to the Day of Trashing, but I would actually be annoyed if they didn't respond.
I also don't consider SDL park or any of the resort to be a "nice thing," people are paying. It's not a free gift that the people are taking advantage of. I could take that view if the place was run by a non-profit, but Disney is a for-profit company (and, in reality, the government is too
). On the Day of Trashing, most paid for parking and train rides, and many thought they had wasted their time and money since nothing but a popsicle stand was open. It's the cheapest Disney park in the world (in terms of admission price), but many still think that SDL, particularly the food, is too expensive. And people will behave how they behave, so in the end, it's the owners' job to handle or try to change that behavior (which they're doing) rather than whine about it.I believe the owners of the park are reacting in an appropriate way, they aren't stomping their feet and crying. Now, maybe Disney should've issued it rather than the government, but that's another topic. I think the actual etiquette guide is fine.
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No Name
Well-Known Member
Yes, but I don't agree with that comment at all. It makes it sound like SDL is some kind of gift, when in truth, it's a business. The false quote makes it sound as though the government is whining and stomping their feet like a baby, rather than handling it in an appropriate way, and I believe they're handling it very well.
So basically, I would've been okay if MrPromney stated that as his opinion or interpretation, but to put those words in the government's mouth (and put in in the title of the thread, as if reporting it as news or fact) is just not fair.
First of all, I'm sure whatever the Chinese government said to their people, it was in Mandarin and the exact translation wouldn't have fit a common english meme.
Second of all, it was a joke. Anyone who actually clicks through and reads the article will find out what it's about pretty quickly. If you feel you've somehow been tricked by my sleazy link-bate title because you for some period of time actually believed the Chinese government used this phrase before reading the article, feel free to send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll send you a dollar for deceiving you (actually not a joke - if you were that offended that you felt the need for a back and forth with someone on this, I'll send you a crisp US $1).
I realize that for some, these forums should be held to the same editorial standards as the New York Times but since I'm not a reporter and the people in charge of moderating here at WDW Magic don't expect any of us to be and you may not think that is fair but I sure do.With that in mind, I'd like to suggest for you that if your horse is over 4.5 feet tall, you should maybe step off it.
Third, I don't know your familiarity with that line but for me, it was always something parents said when kids break stuff - not when they are given "gifts" but like, "Hey we just got a new leather couch and little Suzie just took to it with crayons. This is why we can't have nice things."
If you think I'm crazy for thinking of it that way, here's a few links describing it's usage in popular culture to back me up:
knowyourmeme.com
urbandictionary.com
tvtropes.org
And finally, I think that the Chinese government needing to provide an "etiquette guide" to their public so they know not to crap on publicly accessible sidewalks in the park, trample bushes and signs that ask people to stay out of said bushes, and graffiti the place because without being explicitly told not to, they will, makes the my total parody title (want to be clear on that so I don't confuse or vex anyone else) funny and appropriate if you know what's actually going on over there or you read the article.
I know of nowhere else in the world where Disney has opened a park (including Hong Kong) where such measures have been required to educate the public in how to act... well... in public. Then again, maybe in urban parts of Shanghai, people know to watch out for piles of human feces on sidewalks in shopping centers and destroying private property is a socially accepted thing.
If so, sorry for my ignorance towards this refined culture. I have apparently offended an entire nation who simply chooses a different way to express themselves.
My guess though, is, a lot of people in China know better than to damage public and private property - it would seem that the people who did this just don't care. Again, if I'm wrong, I officially apologize to you and the citizens of China.
Of all the things I've ever written on these forums over the years, the headline of this thread is one of the last things I ever expected any controversy over.
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wdwhoneymooner
Well-Known Member
Sadly, the Chinese gov't has issued many, many etiquette guides for its citizens in regards to how to behave in certain situations both in the homeland and abroad. A great percentage of folks there have not been exposed to situations where they know what to do. It has to do with how the "old world" culture still heavily exists within the country's population. When China hosted the 2008 Olympics, the gov't spent a lot of resources in order to teach its own what is "not acceptable" to do, even though so many of the listed actions were deemed normal to the average person. Most of them are common sense to nearly everyone back here in the States, but not to many there, especially anyone over the age of 65.
No Name
Well-Known Member
First of all, I'm sure whatever the Chinese government said to their people, it was in Mandarin and the exact translation wouldn't have fit a common english meme.
Second of all, it was a joke. Anyone who actually clicks through and reads the article will find out what it's about pretty quickly. If you feel you've somehow been tricked by my sleazy link-bate title because you for some period of time actually believed the Chinese government used this phrase before reading the article, feel free to send me a PM with your mailing address and I'll send you a dollar for deceiving you (actually not a joke - if you were that offended that you felt the need for a back and forth with someone on this, I'll send you a crisp US $1).
I realize that for some, these forums should be held to the same editorial standards as the New York Times but since I'm not a reporter and the people in charge of moderating here at WDW Magic don't expect any of us to be and you may not think that is fair but I sure do.With that in mind, I'd like to suggest for you that if your horse is over 4.5 feet tall, you should maybe step off it.
Third, I don't know your familiarity with that line but for me, it was always something parents said when kids break stuff - not when they are given "gifts" but like, "Hey we just got a new leather couch and little Suzie just took to it with crayons. This is why we can't have nice things."
If you think I'm crazy for thinking of it that way, here's a few links describing it's usage in popular culture to back me up:
knowyourmeme.com
urbandictionary.com
tvtropes.org
And finally, I think that the Chinese government needing to provide an "etiquette guide" to their public so they know not to crap on publicly accessible sidewalks in the park, trample bushes and signs that ask people to stay out of said bushes, and graffiti the place because without being explicitly told not to, they will, makes the my total parody title (want to be clear on that so I don't confuse or vex anyone else) funny and appropriate if you know what's actually going on over there or you read the article.
I know of nowhere else in the world where Disney has opened a park (including Hong Kong) where such measures have been required to educate the public in how to act... well... in public. Then again, maybe in urban parts of Shanghai, people know to watch out for piles of human feces on sidewalks in shopping centers and destroying private property is a socially accepted thing.
If so, sorry for my ignorance towards this refined culture. I have apparently offended an entire nation who simply chooses a different way to express themselves.
My guess though, is, a lot of people in China know better than to damage public and private property - it would seem that the people who did this just don't care. Again, if I'm wrong, I officially apologize to you and the citizens of China.
Of all the things I've ever written on these forums over the years, the headline of this thread is one of the last things I ever expected any controversy over.
I'm a little late here, but I just want to reply because it'd be worse to ignore this. I just want to say that I was not tricked for a second (as I had read the articles befire seeing this post), I just disagree with how you worded it. Maybe I think of the phrase slightly differently than most people.
I made my case and you made yours, but clearly we got nowhere useful. So I'm not gonna try again, I don't think it's worth arguing over, and I don't think it'll end any better.
And lastly, I appologize if you think so (and it is quite the stinging insult), but I do not believe I am riding a high horse. In fact, I would not ride a horse, because I believe that our great great grandchildren will see animal captivity as the equivalent of slavery. And I would like to look good in the history books. And do the right and moral thing. Because I try to be a good person when I'm not busy arguing over thread titles.
Because I try to be a good person when I'm not busy arguing over thread titles.
You know, we're lucky that given the world in which we live, you and I have the luxury of being indignant over such things. If this is the most trouble either of us get in with another person this month, I think we're fortunate.
BTW, this wouldn't be the first time that I overreacted to someone on here. Long before these forums were redesigned, my little icon used to fit completely in the frame. There's a reason it is what it is.
Anyway, absolutely no hard feelings. I'll still write an overly wordy response to someone else when I see them attacking your opinion when I agree with you in another thread. It's what I do.