Note to the founder of "Save That Fire Union"

Dear Ted:

Thanks for your initiative of establishing this group. It is a great idea, and the action is right in time.

I have invited each and every one of my facebook friends, altogether 185, to join this group. Many of them are not Chinese, but I want them to see how we Chinese see these protests and the broader picture, and our solidarity (and yes, our diversity too).

We want to make friends with as many people in the world as possible, regardless of nationality, race or age. We certainly don't want to create a "China vs. rest of the world" impression, which is untrue: most of the people, at least all my facebook friends, are very friendly. And we want them to see beyond the biased, filtered information provided by the "free" media, and have some reality check.

Your description of the purpose of STFU is wonderful. However, some language do not seem to serve our broader purpose ideally, like the sharp opposition of "You" and "We". Many of the foreigners who are going to see this group in the coming hours and days don't have the least intention to protest the Torch Relay or boycott the Olympic Games. They want the Games to be successful as much as we do.

I understand it would be hard to make this literal change. To back up one step, can you at least change the title of the group to "Save That Fire Union -- Chinese and all PEOPLE in the world backing the torch relay"?

Thank you very much for your consideration. And again, I applaud your initiative of setting up this group.

Best wishes,
Lawrence

Some follow-up exchange between Teddy and me -- I like what Teddy said.

Hi Lawrence,

I appreciate your suggestions and they are really well said. I can change the description but the change in group name has to go through written request made to facebook people, it's a technical issue. I thought about the "China v.s. rest of the world" thing when writing the description, and I did have concerns you have. But the thing is, it is unlikely that we can be too friendly in such condition. Confronted by such hostility, are we supposed to react like Gandhi? By choosing the wording of "You" and "We", I really meant to groups of people on rivalry. "We" are those who are going to protect it, "You" are not the rest of the world, but those who are disrupting the relay and damaging our dignities. I truly believe the kind of wording would not offend those who believes in goods. Please keep that passion ('save that fire') for the on-going event and write to me again when any idea pops up. You can also write to savethatfireunion@gmail.co

m. The email address is valid.

Thanks again,
Teddy Yang


Hi Teddy:

I appreciate your quick response and I do echo with your thoughts. The subtle changes you made, such as keeping only the acronym of S-T-F-U, do make our group look more civilized, in keeping with our nation's core value. I'm not familiar with Gandhi's deeds nor do I necessarily identify with his ideology as described in the textbook, but I think it's in our best interest not to offend people of good will. It's OK for a person to be outraged at violent behaviors, but as a group we need more rationality in order to maximize our long term appeal. The Torch still has a long way to go.

Just my two cents, kudos to you for doing this for all of us!

Take care,
Lawrence