Baizuo

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Baizuo (/ˈbaɪˌtswÉ”ː/;^[1] Chinese: 白左 báizuÇ’, literally "white left"^[2]) is a derogatory Chinese neologism used to refer to Western leftist liberal elites.^[3][4][5] It refers to the left faction in the culture wars in Western politics,^{[original research?]} implying support of multiculturalism,political correctness and positive discrimination. In more than 400 answers submitted by Zhihu users during 2015 to May 2017, the term is defined as referring to those who are hypocritically "obsessed with political correctness" in order to "satisfy their own feeling of moral superiority" motivated from an "ignorant and arrogant" Western-centric worldview who "pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours". A related term is shèngmÇ” (圣母, 聖母, literally "holy mother", title for the mother of an emperor), a sarcastic reference to those whose political opinions are guided by emotions and a hypocritical show of selflessness and empathy, represented by celebrities such as J. K. Rowling and Emma Watson.^[6]

The term baizuo was apparently coined in a 2010 article published on Renren Network, entitled The Fake Morality of the Western White Left and the Chinese Patriotic Scientists (西方白左和中国爱国科学å®Â¶Ã§Å¡â€žÃ¤Â¼Âªé"å¾·). No further use of the term is known until 2013, with only isolated use during 2013â€"2015.^[7] Substantial use in Chinese internet culture begins in early 2016, at first at MIT BBS, a bulletin board system used by many Chinese in US, during the United States presidential election of 2016. Baizuo was here used to criticize to the policies of the Democratic Party with regard to "minorities", perceived as granting advantages to African-Americans and Mexicans, but not Asians.^[7]English-language reception of the term begins in 2017, with a definition posted on Urban Dictionary in May of that year.^[8]

After the United States presidential election, the term came to be more widely used, e.g. in reference to the policies of Angela Merkel in the European migrant crisis,^[9] or in reference to the perceived double standards of liberal Western media, such as the alleged bias on reporting about Islamist attacks in Xinjiang.^[10][11]

Posted by: Mike Rooney at November 30, 2024 02:15 AM (bh+F4)

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