Michael Phelps Apologizes to China?!

Hi pete

Haha, looks like that Japanese "Mary Jane" is much more healthy than "MJ's Last Dance"!

Hi changye

There is also at least one American song, by Tom Petty-- "Mary Jane's Last Dance."

"Last dance with Mary Jane/ One more time to kill the pain..."

Hi daizi

At first I thought Mary Jane was an American "Joan of Arc" or the tile of a song, no joke, haha. Actually, there is the song with the same title in Japan. Anyway, I think Mary Jane (MariJuana) is a cleverly conceived slang!

Changye, perhaps that's because Westerners are more lawsuit-prone. The word has been around awhile, coming from late Middle English by way of Old French and Latin.

If more people got better acquainted with Mary Jane (cannabus sativa, for all you lawyers) , they'd be too mellow to sue.

Changye

glad I could help. You have helped me so much. I cant even imagine cpod without you. Any time you have english question feel free to pm me. I love the chinese translation of litigious.

Hi rjberki

Thanks a lot! I had no idea that there was a word (one word) that means "lawsuit-prone" in English. Fortunately or unfortunately, there is no such convenient word in Japanese. "Litigious" is translated as "爱打官司的" in Chinese, which literally means "love to file a lawsuit".

Hi Changye,

let me offer a better way to present your sentence in english. Instead of

"Yeah, this kind of "paranoids" in a lawsuit society are just rambunctious"

I would say Yeah, this kind of paranoid behaivior in a litigious society is just ridiculous.

Litigious comes from litigation and is a common way of referring to out society. Rambunctious makes me think of a bunch of unruly children jumping around. The word is not used much.

Sorry to correct you but I know you are here to learn. Its depressing to know that I will never know Chinese this well. Language is so complex.

Hi sebire

Yeah, this kind of "paranoids" in a lawsuit society are just rambunctious.

@daizi,  the word for 'to have the munchies' is 馋 (chan2).  See the CPod lessons 'Snacks' and 'Introducing Oneself to the Family'.

A very handy word, even if you aren't baked.  I use it all the time... unfortunately I'm always a bit 馋，and thus increasingly 胖.

Lawsuits like that just increase racism, in my view. If you're constantly checking what you do and say because you're hanging around with someone who is faintly yellow or brown or whatever, then you're modifying your behaviour purely because of their race. Surely that is racism in itself. I blame the media and guilt-ridden baby boomers...

Looks like Chinese is not the only people who have easily-bruised "sensitive" ego in the world. Some east Asian guys in USA seem to be making a prey of an American female music star.

Ms.Kim allegedly says that she represents 1 million Asian Americans in LA (without their permissions), but I'm not sure if she kindly includes Japanese Americans in the 1 million.

I just hope she would exclude my fellow people in LA. Western guys, be careful not to provoke/anger certain east Asian peoples/communities!  houguozifu

Is Miley Cyrus racist for slant-eye photo?
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/118/story/515916.html

A personal photo of Miley Cyrus star and her friends making slant-eye poses has surfaced on the Internet, arousing the ire of an Asian organization that claims the image "falls within a long and unfortunate history of people mocking and denigrating individuals of Asian descent." Cyrus, 16, appears in the photo with six of her friends, one of whom is of Asian descent and was the only one not to pull his eyes sideways.

Lucie J Kim sues Miley Cyrus: Kim vs Cyrus for racism
http://celebgalz.com/lucie-j-kim-sues-miley-cyrus-kim-vs-cyrus-for-racism/

Lucie J Kim’s lawsuit asked for a minimum of $4000 for each of the estimated 1 million Asian Americans in LA. That would exceed $4 billion. Kim alleged that Cyrus was aware that her conduct showed racism.

Hi sebire

The PRC government imposes a very severe punishment on drug dealings. For instance, if you sell/produce 50 grams of heroin, it's highly possible that you will be sentenced to death in China. Conversely speaking, there are a lot of drug addicts/dealers in China.

What's the attitude to drugs in China? I am assuming it's an "off with their head" approach to dealers?

Just send Phelps to Nimbin - those hippies and their addled brains are pretty weird.

RJ,

I couldn't agree more about what we should teach our kids.I decided from the start that it was going to be much easier and more important to empower my kids than change the world.Not that we all shouldn't at the same time try and do all we can to make it a brighter happier place for all.

bababardwan,

Of course you are right but moderation is the key to life. what we should teach our kids is responsible decision making, critical thinking, and maybe that hero worship is not such a good idea. Then you wouldnt need drug laws that do more harm than good anyway. It boggles the mind that the govt can tell me what I can do to my own body. Its as if self abuse were illegal. How would that work? At least a lot less people would be wearing glasses. ;-) or have big wrists.

Hi sebire

Yeah, few Chinese people care about such a "trivial" incident........ as long as it has nothing to do with a Japanese (or French?) company. A lot of bored young Chinese guys are lurking on the Internet, just like me, trying to make an accusation against "evil" foreign countries. I know it's a precious pastime. Man cannot live by bread along.

I think he may have put the bong in the cupboard for the olympics.

RJ,

There was also a drug scandal here in Australia a few months ago when one of our greatest ever footballers [rugby league] was caught with ecstacy.While not wanting to specifically comment on him or Michael Phelps,I would say that oils aint oils.That is ,each drug is different,but for some of these drugs the damage is more in mental health [which may take some time to manifest itself] rather than in physical health.Outstanding achievement in the world of sport,IMHO,does not preclude the increased risk of future health problems with ongoing use.While I certainly am not one for persecuting anyone,and I hate the tall poppy syndrome,at the same time I think it's important that impressionable hero-worshipping kids gain an understanding of the risks involved in recreational drug use,lest they model the behaviour and jeopardise their health.

 How dare he prove that someone who smokes pot can be healthy and disciplined enough to win multiple gold medals. What is this world coming to, the truth?

Tell me HE wasn't high.

i think in 6 months if u ask the average chinese person what they can remember from the olympics

they'll say phelps and that dude who flew around the stadium with the torch

大麻 dàmá - cannabis.

Do the Chinese (or indeed anyone) actually care in the slightest about Phelps? The News of the World has to rank as a true bottom feeder of the tabloids.

i second that! daizi! good call dude

come on poddies*

Clinton didn't inhale because he ate his pot. Mr. Phelps probably should stick to eating brownies as well; all that smoke can't be good for an elite athlete. And from what we saw about his eating regimen during the Olympics, a brownie or two might help him get the daily calories he needs, especially with the added benefit of the munchies.

Speaking of which, anyone have any clue how to say "the munchies" in Chinese? Or for that matter, any other pot-related vocabulary? Blunt, fatty, joint, stoned,nickel bag, etc.

Unless he really means it (the apology), and wants to admit guilt, I think Mr. Phelps should exercise his right to remain silent.  A situation like his could help shine the light on the absurdity of marijuana prohibition in the US. Groveling and apologizing doesn't advance anything. Surely this guy has a lawyer....

Hi calkins

a tiny bit of Chinese in the video would have gone a long way

I can't agree more. That's the best way to massage Chinese people's ego. Adding flavor of 东北话 (northeast dialect) would be more effective, I guarantee.

If Phelps' PR team was smart, they would have pulled a quote from Pres. Clinton and had him say "I didn't inhale."  :)

Even better if he had said it in Chinese “我并未吸入” ...apparently he's been learning Mandarin for a couple of years. 

Seriously though, a tiny bit of Chinese in the video would have gone a long way to impressing many in China.

Joking aside, I believe the video is a good precuationary measure for Mazda, who definitely knows how volatie Chinese people are when it comes to foreing companies, especially Japanese ones. If Phelps didn't apologize, it would be highly possible that some "patriotic" Chinese guys condemn Mazda for insulting Chinese people by using a marijuana guy for advertising in China.

I'm not kidding. Actually there were several such things in the past, including an advertisement made by a foreign company (ADIDAS...?), in which an American athlete defeated traditional Chinese martial artists. A lot of Chinese people felt insulted by the TV advertisement. Can you believe that? Believe it or not, it's real China.

I once read an interesting blog article written by a young Chinese guy. He sarcastically said that Chinese people have the most easily-bruised ego in the world and are "always ready" to be greatly insulted and disgraced by foreign guys, companies and countries. I must say his observation is very correct.

In the case of TOYOTA, one of their advertising posters in China featured a TOYOTA Land Cruiser and some traditional Chinese lions giving a salute to the car. And not surprisingly, TOYOTA was assailed in China for "disgracing" the Chinese icons. TOYOTA had no choice but to apologize, because it's  no use reasoning with a crying child.... or crying China. 

Laughably enough, this TOYOTA poster was created by a Chinese ad agency, haha.

I think it's absurd. In America, we're in the middle of our second "War on Drugs." The first one was called the Prohibition, and it strengthened organized crime, trampled on traditions and responsible drinking, and reduced people's respect for the law. 

If China wants to crack down on the opium of the 21st century, the best place to start would be the smoke-filled internet cafes. How many billions of human-hours have been frittered away at CounterStrike and RPGs? How much potential was wasted?

Screaming about pot, which is readily available in China and in fact has long been used ritually by some of the 55 harmonious minorities (especially those in Yunnan), is absurd. If only countries could summon as much energy when they confront uncomfortable skeletons-in-the-closet like selling guns to the Sudanese government.

It's absolutely necessary to apologize to Chinese people for keeping your business going in the most moral country in the world, haha.

Maybe some of it is jealousy.  I think a lot of it has to do with the role model question.  Julius Lester, a Civil Rights veteran comments on it in a similar vein: "What I do not understand is why Michael Phelps, or any athlete, is supposed to be a role model. A role model of what? Yes, the very best athletes are incredibly disciplined and committed, but they are also young. In the United States we glorify youth without recognizing that the majority of our lives are spent not being young. It is the rare athlete who can be a role model for anything except being young, physically gifted, and disciplined." He goes on to suggest that what we need to identify with is heroes.  "A hero makes us ask, what are the values by which you live your life? When I was in college, I read the dialogue of Plato's that describes the death of Socrates, and I remember talking with others in the class and thinking a lot about would I die for something I believed in? In 1956 none of us knew that in a mere four years that question would be made real when the civil rights movement began, and thousands and thousands of blacks and whites would have to ask that question - am I willing to risk my life, am I willing to die for the cause of racial equality?"

"As frightening as the question was (and is), those of us who had grown up with heroes found courage in their lives and works and answered, yes."

"Michael Phelps has the potential to become a hero."

I personally don't understand why this has become so important.  I'm not condoning what he did, and I know he's a role model for millions of people, but he is also a 22 year old "kid" who has a lot of weight on his shoulders.  It wasn't the smartest thing in the world, but let him blow off a little steam.

How many of these people, who have been pointing their fingers at Phelps, were sucking on a pipe when they were in college?  I would guess many of them were.