Naomi Wu and the Silence That Speaks Volumes

> […] and is a US citizen […]

From 2017, according to Wikipedia.

I’ve been following the rise of Naomi Wu, for a long time. I’ve seen her skills, and abilities, called into question by Dale Dougherty, of Make Media/Magazine - simply because she was a woman, who didn’t fit the dowdy/frumpy stereotype, en vogue with the supposed “community”. In fact, they went so far as to claim, there was a hidden man/husband, controlling her, behind the scenes. Now it transpires she’s gay, they have even more to answer for - in their quest, in trying to gatekeep, who does, and doesn’t, fit the approved imagery of hackerdom.

For the record, and despite the handle, I’m not “white”. A “quadroon”, if you must!… Furthermore, I’m politically neutral - abstaining from voting, fully. I’m not American, either…

Apparently a lot of people in this thread are, yes. Because a bunch of people are all talking about "nuance" and how it is good to hear from a real perspective of someone living in China.

It's not a real perspective, and never was. It is instead one only optimized for saying what needs to be said to not get arrested.

It colors everything that she has said or not said, and makes it impossible to take any argument or statement that she says at face value.

> Why would you expect to have an honest debate with someone subject to rule by an authoritarian regime?

Although this may seem obvious to us, it was never obvious to her fans and her huge social media following.

Along with all the people who did get into debates and fights with her online (of which there were many!), who didn't realize that they were not engaging with honest good faith statements.

People liked her for the things that she said, taken at face value, and not because of the real truth of the matter which is that all of it was written within the context of a culture of fear of arrest.

Let's don't forget about the real-world context here which includes the on going large scale trade war against China, and there are US generals floating on a boat nearby ready to fight and won. Not to judge what's right and wrong here, but under this situation, you just don't think a Chinese, who's probably has good relationships with many of the negatively impacted, to further support the western narrative that (as many Chinese views it) too promoted the trade war.

The medias wants a perfect movie, a great story that they can tell and sell. Hero v.s. monster, good v.s. evil, this kind of things. And under this influence, many people views the world with this expectation. But reality is more complex, and everybody move based on their interests, including political ones.

The real question the media should be asking themselves is, why should Naomi Wu take the risk? She mostly already living her dream life, all is well for her and everyone she cares, why change it and diminishes her future opportunities?