Images posted on the campus of George Washington University have raised the hackles of some Chinese students and student groups who say the images are racist.
According to The Spectator World, “The posters depict Winter Olympic sports while revealing the crimes of the Chinese regime: blood drips from a figure skater’s blade, a biathlete points his rifle at the head of a Uighur prisoner, a competitor rides not a snowboard but a CCTV camera.”
The GW Chinese Students and Scholars Association complained that the images amounted to an “attack on the Chinese nation,” had “serious racist views,” and constituted “extremely vicious personal attacks on all international students.”
The Chinese government frequently uses these student groups to spy on other students and keep them meek and docile.
George Washington University President Mark S. Wrighton was appalled.
Please know that I am personally offended by these posters. I treasure the opportunity to work with talented people from all over the world, including China. Your reaching out to me directly is much appreciated, and we are working to have all of these offensive poster removed as soon as possible. I, too, am saddened by this terrible event and we will undertake an effort to determine who is responsible.
The problem for Wrighton is that the images were posters created by the celebrated Chinese dissident, artist Badiucao, and were a protest against the Chinese government.
Genocide Games as shown by Chinese dissident @badiucao pic.twitter.com/dXy7LeNaGO
— Bill Gertz (@BillGertz) February 2, 2022
The posters depict Winter Olympic sports while revealing the crimes of the Chinese regime: blood drips from a figure skater’s blade, a biathlete points his rifle at the head of a Uighur prisoner, a competitor rides not a snowboard but a CCTV camera.
Not everyone agreed.
It's actually disgusting how @Badiucao portrays Chinese athletes as committing murder among other atrocities. This 'Art' is racist atrocity propaganda, and is not far off from the yellow terror propaganda in the days of old. pic.twitter.com/kZUNtu1TXP
— Ludo 🇬🇧🇨🇳 (@ludo_line) February 6, 2022
Badiucao was interviewed by National Review and called it a “huge scandal and a shame” that George Washington University’s president is “so ignorant” that he could be “personally offended” by the artist’s cartoons.
He said his series is not abstract expression that requires a deep understanding, but is meant to be understood after a second of seeing them.
“So it is really, really absurd that an intellectual president of a university is saying he doesn’t know about it, he has no idea of the content and rushed into judgment,” he said. “That is definitely not acceptable.”
It’s not surprising that a president of a major liberal university would respond with reflexive ignorance to art. This is especially true of art that depicts the Chinese Communists as anything but perfect.
Related: China Scores Propaganda Triumph at Opening of Genocide Olympics
Wrighton had a hard time climbing down from his ledge and admitting a mistake:
I want to be very clear: I support freedom of speech—even when it offends people—and creative art is a valued way to communicate on important societal issues. I also support the many students and faculty at our university who are engaged in researching, and actively advocating against, all forms of discrimination, marginalization, and oppression.
Never underestimate the stupidity of a radical-left educator.
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