Tell it to Steven Hawking. A person's physical stature does not limit his/her potential for work that does not rely on his/her physical stature (e.g., English teaching, as well as physics). The cultural attitude that those who are discriminated against because they do not fit the culturally desired norm should be outcast or should be provided for by special environments that can be sold as entertainment venues to those who will not deal with their own prejudices is a cultural attitude that perpetuates discrimination against all who are 'different'. The problem here, as elsewhere, is a matter of dehumanizing those who are 'different' - prejudicial culture that regiments anything that deviates from its standards, rather than dealing with the prejudice itself. Why not have a theme park within which 'foreigners', with all their funny habits, can be kept, so that they do not disturb the 'normality' of cultural prejudices? Actually, there could be many: one for 'black people', one for Tibetans, one for Japanese, one for gay people, one for Han Chinese people who have given up their 'traditional' clothing for 'western-style' clothing (e.g., the great majority of Chinese, over the past century or so) - in fact we could subdivide and subdivide until nothing was left but mutual nonrecognition. All these would help to maintain the narrow identities of 'normality' that can be relied upon to advance support the cultural attitudes that promote the continuing inability of people to recognize each other as human, and to celebrate and accept their differences - not as entertainment items, no matter how 'cute', but as full human beings. How different is all this from apartheid?
This effort to maintain prejudice can, of course, be profitable to those who invest in it, and convenient for social engineers and political elites who want to maintain an elite power status by reliance on it.
The place is an insult to our common humanity and a spotlight on cultural attitudes of exclusion. Those who find that they enjoy such displays should take a good look at the nature of the culture that has formed them so narrowly. Cultures change; cultures have always changed; cultures are presently changing and will continue to do so; there is nothing sacred about cultural attitudes. Our common humanity is an ongoing project, and those who imagine they are not part of such a project are simply contributing their own blindness to it, and limiting themselves in the process. It's not the 'dwarves' who are the problem, its the people who will not accept them as within the boundaries of 'us'.


And another one bites the dust...
发布者@szbruce: I think you're right about the article being more or less 'typical', but that's the weakness everywhere of factual reporting in the press, not just in China: even when the 'facts' are correct, the question still arises as to whether we're getting the important facts, as well as which facts are being left out. Investigative journalism and analysis is where more can be said, but there's not much of that in China that is independent - in short, censorship sucks, here and everywhere. Hillman's book looks like it does this, though it seems not to be oriented towards the issues you mention.
And another one bites the dust...
发布者Interesting thesis - the last statement, at least, strikes me as obviously valid.
And another one bites the dust...
发布者@Liumingke: safe to say that many are.
Around Town: Kunming Stray Dog Shelter
发布者India has homes for stray cows, most of which are milked, I think.
Around Town: Kunming Stray Dog Shelter
发布者I think there should be one for pigs too, although stray pigs are pretty rare.