The controversy over the title of "Southern Little Potato" seems to have become the first scoop of cold water faced by Harbin after the explosion.
In Harbin’s overwhelming overtures and propaganda against “Southern Little Potatoes”, some netizens believe that the so-called “Southern Little Potatoes” are stereotypes about the region, and some people also refer to them as gender issues. I think this is the same as advocating "white, thin and young", which is discriminatory and offensive to the female community. Opponents believe that this is a step forward and that it has failed to live up to Harbin's good intentions.
Baidu entry shows that the meme "Southern Little Potatoes" originally came from a funny video. In the video, a man with a southern accent holds a small potato and excitedly introduces to everyone: These are the small potatoes of the South, and they are particularly delicious. Some media also discovered that in earlier videos on some social media platforms, some southern netizens had already joked about themselves.
It can be seen that this title is not a "first" for no reason in Harbin, but has a basis for the actual situation. To criticize this kind of title is to label someone with evil intentions, which is obviously difficult to be logically consistent. What's more, if this statement is true, then many regionally based meme cultures such as "little sugar orange" and "big dumpling flavor" may not be able to withstand inspection.
As a cultural genre, healthy meme culture itself should be almost neutral in nature. Even if there is some joking, the premise must be non-malicious and a common denominator acceptable to all parties. Whether you are an onlooker or a participant, you should abide by the boundaries and should not add too much personal experience to the "hazy" meme culture and try to impose personal subjective annotations for it.
At the same time, it should be pointed out that even if is just for fun, these concepts and words should not be given specific personification and gender. If "Little Potato" is purely a nickname based on southern tourists, even if it is a well-intentioned ridicule, it will not be harmful; if it is given a gender and made concrete, it can even be said from a wishful thinking standpoint. Words like "raising a little southern potato" ignore the personal feelings of the group being trolled, and just regard them as a tool of expression from the perspective of one's own gaze in order to coordinate with the carnival of personal subjective imagination. This kind of meme culture is not No matter how pure it is, it is obviously offensive.
What public opinion should condemn are those who distort the meme culture and appropriate it for "private use", but there is no need to condemn the meme culture itself.
Humor is sometimes ridiculing, and this applies to everyone. The existence of some Chinese and foreign art forms such as cross talk and talk shows depends on this. In the context of the Internet, meme culture itself carries some emotional value that contemporary people need. Being good at teasing and making memes is also a manifestation of social vitality. If frequently causes "criminals for speech" in the public opinion field, it will not only suppress the creativity of meme culture and bring about artificial depression, but also make some creators tremble. On the other hand, if there is "suppression" there will be "resistance". If things go on like this, it will inevitably arouse deeper divisions between the opposing parties. The
action is the best proof of this. Judging from the various measures that Harbin has frequently introduced to treat tourists well, local officials and people spontaneously call southern tourists "little potatoes", which is more out of love, which is related to the passionate and unrestrained folk customs on the black soil. Direct relationship, which is a sign of hospitality. If the purpose of Harbin is questioned in this regard, it will obviously be difficult for the local people and its supporters to accept.
At present, the most economical way is to narrow the scope of use of this meme by the local society in Harbin to show the humble host's all-round respect. However, if netizens in the public opinion field are required to keep silent, this is a transgression and offense. After all, it is also a stereotype to confuse well-intentioned memes with malicious meme makers.
Commentator: Li Ming
(Source: Jinan Times)
