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Hong Kong cripple writing | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Cultural Experiences in Foreign Languages |  | |
| SueK Groupie United States Joined 4545 days ago 77 posts - 133 votes  Studies: Mandarin | Message 1 of 22 12 February 2012 at 12:41pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm hoping someone might know something about what I just saw, as I thought it was quite touching.
I just got back from the Ladies Market in Hong Kong. On the next street over, which I think is an electronics market, but didn't pay it much mind, there was a crippled man in the street. He was kneeling on long black cloth or paper of some kind (it sort of looked waxed, or tarred maybe) that had white lines laid out in a large grid. He was writing a beautiful character in each box of the grid with chalk. Each character was different and I didn't notice any repetition. He was using three colors of chalk, writing two rows of purple, two green, two pink, two yellow and repeating that throughout. The poor man looked as if he'd been in a fire. He had no thumbs, his fingers were stubbed and twisted. He had no earlobes and his poor face was ruined with the skin stretched tight across it. As he worked, he backed down the paper/coth stuff, the still blank part rolled up behind him and his work laid out in front of him. He worked studiously, rarely looking up and pausing only to nod to the many people throwing money in the 2 red buckets he had set on either side of his work. His hands barely worked and he had to push and shove the chalk, rather than pick it up, but his work was beautiful. The work had to be around 20 feet long when I arrived. I was touched by how dedicated he was to the work and by the generosity of the people, as there was a steady flow into the mans buckets. As the flow in was about 50/50 change and paper money, I'd say I was not the only one touched by his efforts. Does anyone know if there's some tradition or something like this? It felt like there had to be meaning beyond the writing itself, though I would so love to know what it said. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6346 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 2 of 22 12 February 2012 at 12:54pm | IP Logged | ||
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I know it wasn't him but you might be interested in the king of kowloon another street graffitti artist of Hong Kong.
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| dbag Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4816 days ago 605 posts - 1046 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish | Message 3 of 22 12 February 2012 at 3:51pm | IP Logged | ||
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Im 100% sure you dont mean to cause offence, but is the term "cripple" still considered acceptable in the U.S?
Many in the U.K find it highly offensive, although I am certain thats not your intent. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6346 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 4 of 22 12 February 2012 at 4:10pm | IP Logged | ||
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Is it offensive? Depends on use and context.
I guess Nancy, the cripple, never got the memo. My personal opinion, to which no one need adhere, is that the use of these terms, which might make one wince today, are sometimes appropriate and taking offense might just highlight cultural over-sensitivity in a few situations. Certainly, if the noun might be offensive to some, the verbial form as "he was crippled by the fire" is acceptable and in this case - I read it as a descriptive adjective of the writing. Edited by zenmonkey on 12 February 2012 at 4:16pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Northernlights Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4469 days ago 73 posts - 93 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 5 of 22 12 February 2012 at 4:47pm | IP Logged | ||
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This is such a minefield, and I'd hate to offend someone with a poor choice of vocabulary but I'm sure I have done and will unfortunately do so again in the future.
Nancy chose the word for herself, could that be the important difference? I mean like the word "nigger" which is apparently fine for someone to say about themselves but completely unacceptable for a white person to use. In that document from 26 years ago - perhaps also relevant as these things change - Nancy does write this
She's happy with the "wincing" but I can't imagine everyone would be. Not that I'm saying the OP should or should not have used the word, I honestly wouldn't know what my view would be on that. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6346 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 6 of 22 12 February 2012 at 10:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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And so we go for the nuclear option of language and try to compare a term that is clearly not acceptable with something that is still in common use in several English speaking countries (for one example see the Wikipedia entry for the word) - Also the quote from Nancy's document is taken out of context - yes, people should wince when it is used as an epithet. But she makes a strong case for its use - not as a defining noun but as a descriptive element.
But epithet? This is clearly not the case here, the original poster meant no disrespect. And the word "crippled" in no way can be compared to the "n..." word. A quick look at Amazon.com shows 280+ book titled that use "crippled" from "The Crippled God" to "The Case That Crippled the Chicago Mob". Oh, wait - vs 2000+ works for "n..." -- hmm, I'll let the reader define their own level of comparison from that and other current use. We still see articles in the English press using the adjective here and thousands of articles in the verbial form (crippled economy and all that). So, I would just ask that rather than finger-wagging on some imagined offense someone suggest how to better communicate the idea that someone was "crippled by a fire" and please keep the richness of the English language in mind. Edited by zenmonkey on 12 February 2012 at 10:22pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Northernlights Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4469 days ago 73 posts - 93 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Italian, French | Message 7 of 22 12 February 2012 at 10:56pm | IP Logged | ||
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Nancy is one person writing from her own personal perspective, 26 years ago and in the US. dbag stated that many people in the UK find the term offensive. The OP clearly didn't intend to offend, and nobody here has suggested that s/he did. Now whether Nancy found it appropriate and acceptable in regard to herself or not, and you can make accusations of finger-wagging or whatever you like, but if there are people who are hurt by a word it would seem kinder and more respectful to avoid using it. I also think we should stop discussing it any further as we are unlikely to reach agreement, and let the thread return to the original topic about the gentleman in Hong Kong. 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| zenmonkey Bilingual Tetraglot Senior Member Germany Joined 6346 days ago 803 posts - 1119 votes 1 sounds Speaks: EnglishC2*, Spanish*, French, German Studies: Italian, Modern Hebrew | Message 8 of 22 12 February 2012 at 11:38pm | IP Logged | ||
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That's fine, Northernlights, let us stay on the subject, now that you've had your say. Why did you post if it was not to stray?
If you notice I was the only one responding on the thread subject in the first place, specifically about Tsang Tsou-choi, a Hong Kong visual artist, differently-abled, mobility-impaired, shuffle-footed and dis-gated but who liked to also be known as "the crippled pen" (it is what made me think of him) or "King Kowloon". 
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