Date:         Tue, 4 Apr 2006 22:34:07 -0700
Reply-To:     monte merrick <montemerrick@SPEAKEASY.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         monte merrick <montemerrick@SPEAKEASY.NET>
Subject:      Re: Ebay CV "kit"....is it any good?
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regarding the racism or nationalism or insensitivity of ron salmon
me  - i tend to think that most people are kind of racist even when
they think they aren't.

that said - ron's objectionable conjecture -

"This is probably a thinly veiled way of saying that they are Chinese
made.
Be very, very cautious about using Chinese made parts on your Vanagon.
There
are some decent Chinese made auto parts, but so far they are the
exception
rather than the rule.  The majority (so far) are lousy, and nowhere near
German quality."

  - i am pretty sure was a response to a question about parts available
on ebay - a question of quality - the ebay ad stated that the part was
made in asia.

to state that the parts were made in asia is to obfuscate - which is
probabaly because the seller of parts knows that (fairly or not) the
exact country of origin is not well perceived.

it is a common perception that china exports a lot of junk. it is
probable that an importer would be more happy to say "made in korea"
than "made in china".

clearly there are national identities associated with products that few
regard as racist or condescending - it perfectly safe to prefer french
wines to german without incurring condemnation.

it is also perfectly safe to be thrilled by italian sports cars,
mexican beer, and brazilian music, and unmoved by english boiled
greens.

the bias against china in the west is long documented. anti-china
sentiment is powerful in the world now - and this sentiment seems to
come straight from the administration (although what they administer is
quite beyond me)

also there is a kind of blue collar frustration with global markets
that prefer what is routinely recognized as shoddier steel more cheaply
produced than us steel (remember the wto protests in seattle and the
steelworkers who tossed china-made bicycles into elliot bay?)

it is my opinion that ron's opinion on vanagon auto parts is what
counts here - on this he is quite right and even obligated by his
expertise to say what he said. i found nothing in his remark that
stated that the chinese were somehow inferior, but that in his
experience getting good parts for vanagons from china was not reliable
and that caution was required, and all of this advice qualified
temporally ("so far")and quantitatively ("majority").

the time spent on this is kind of silly - if you really want to argue
about something try this - how about the quality of democracy that the
US exports or as was once said, installs.


respectfully

monte merrick
84 gl - gas burning guilt ridden climate wrecking friend - i love it so


"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still
on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken to concerning
them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and
even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious
to recover them as if they had lost them themselves." - henry thoreau
"I long ago lost a hound, a bay horse, and a turtle dove, and am still
on their trail. Many are the travelers I have spoken to concerning
them, describing their tracks and what calls they answered to. I have
met one or two who had heard the hound, and the tramp of the horse, and
even seen the dove disappear behind a cloud, and they seemed as anxious
to recover them as if they had lost them themselves." - henry thoreau