I’m not a huge fan of the NBA but I think you just threw an elbow or two while the referee was blind-sided. Liberals would never engage in such foul play.

@ tdaxp:

I understand that “China” and “China’s government” can be and is often used interchangeably without any malicious thought. Usually context is sufficient to discern what they mean (Cafferty anyone?). However, I can definitely agree with Jeremiah’s preference for “breaking down the monolith.”

LOL. My comment, although sincere, was in part intended to get a rise out of my old pal Pffefer. And to my great surprise and delight it was Kai who stepped up…

“…did stuart just self-righteously say that? Oh, I’m so tempted…but this isn’t the place. I shall refrain.”

Oh but it IS the place, Kai; we’re on neutral territory – you can’t delete my comments here.

Spelling is important because transliteration of terms demonstrates an awareness with literature on the subject. If somebody was writing about the US and spelled the president’s home as Wite Hoose, you’d worry.

Agreed: most civilizations think of themselves as “central,” which is exactly why essentializing China for doing so perhaps isn’t the best argument.

The issue is not PRC versus China, but “China” versus “Chinese government.” It may seem a small point, but it’s not a mere grammatical ’snark,’ rather it’s an issue of breaking down the monolith.

Hence we have the Middle Earth Sea and the Middle Yard [1].

Much of this post strikes me as needlessly snarky. Attacking spelling is a cheap way of attacking someone when you don’t have something substantive to say. Attacking someone for referring to the PRC as “China” is just bizarre.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midgard

Overall, I think the whole “liberal” vs “conservative” self-identification thing is a bit unnecessary. Most people I know have values that peacefully coexist in both “camps”.

Hang on, I’ve got Satan on line 2, wants me to send down some firewood and a decent space heater.

As a liberal myself, I’d have to agree with you.

You’re assigning liberals a predisposition “against” self-righteousness? That’s easily the funniest thing I’ve ever heard. Easily…

In Jeremiah’s defense (not that he needs it), sure the vast majority of Americans, both liberal and conservative don’t know much about China, however I’d think the liberals are much less likely to make this kind of nonsensical, self-righteous judgment. Wouldn’t you think?