I know what you're thinking.
An "introduce yourself" entry? From someone who has been on Steemit for two years, and already did an introduce yourself entry 18 months ago? Surely this is abusing the tag, right?
At the risk of presumption, no. I think it's not.
I am Patriam Reminisci.
Except, that's not my real name. That's the nom de plume I've used for two years because a blogger who is this heavily critical of China cannot advertise his identity while living in China. Ergo, everything I've written in this blog, which I described once upon a time as "nothing more and nothing less than one man's all-out assault on Xi Jinping, and on the monster he has transformed China into," has always had to be posted under an assumed identity to protect me from disappearing into one of China's "black jails." But as I'm no longer living in China, there's little reason to hide my name from them any more. Frankly, it's much more satisfying to defy them openly, rather than from the shadows.
My real name is Robert Arthur Harris II. The screen name is derived from the Harris family credo, Ubique, Patriam Reminisci. It's Latin, and translates roughly into "everywhere you go, remember your homeland," though a more precise translation would be "in every place, remember the land of your fathers." It's an appropriate handle for an expat, obviously, but especially important for a man whose children are of two lands, neither of which is the one he lives in. Having said that, the meaning of the crossed flags on my profile should be relatively obvious.
Perhaps though, for me it might have been more appropriate to say "Ubique Filiam Reminisci (in every place, remember the land of your sons)," and I'll explain what I mean a little later.
So Why Did You Hate China So Badly Anyway?
I was never a huge fan of China. I once respected and maybe even feared the country, thinking (like most other Westerners did) that it was a rising superpower that would soon eclipse America. After living there for a few years I began to realize what a nonsensical notion that was, considering the primitivity of everything from their education system to their aviation industry to their healthcare system to their ability to verify credentials for anything. The idea that China is destined to lead, doesn't live long in anyone's mind once they land in China.
But it was not until I became a father that my annoyance at China grew into primal, vitriolic rage. Imagine witnessing the birth of your firstborn son in the Philippines, while his half-sister (a born and raised Filipino) holds your hand and comes to meet her new baby brother for the first time, then hopping on a plane to a smog-choked filthy shit-pit called Beijing and listening to snotty, pampered little Chinese brats about the half-sister's age, echoing the lessons their neanderthal parents have taught them; that all the nations of Asia other than the "Glorious Central Nation" were "filthy," "backward," and "dog-countries." Imagine again that this is followed by gleeful choruses by these same brats about how "all the dog countries will be destroyed by the 'invincible and victorious' PLA. I put these in quotes because they are, word for word, what I have heard from the mouths of quite literally hundreds of the students I have had the misfortune of teaching in China, whenever any Southeast Asian nation has been mentioned in class. What could anyone expect? I never knew it was possible for a teacher to feel the same sense of true, deep, abiding hatred for a group of children that a soldier feels for his enemy on a battlefield, until then. And the thought was never far from my mind: I'm supposed to help these little beasts improve their future, I'm supposed to educate THEM, while my own children are hundreds of miles away?
Remember when I said "one of these days I'll explain the real reason I subject myself to the nightmare of daily life in China?"
Well, the real reason was I wanted to record the experience and broadcast it, so the whole world could see the Chinese the way I do, and hate them the way I do... the way they deserve... the way they hate the rest of the world.
I will admit I never encountered this when I was working in an upscale private school in Chaoyang District of Beijing. In those days, it was easier to have some respect for China because I interacted daily with the rare element of Chinese society that deserves any respect. But after I left that and transferred to public schools because I wanted more free time, I started noticing a different side of the country: the side they didn't like the world to see (though they don't mind letting the world see it now). In short, seeing China's smug sense of self-superiority on display made me view the Chinese the way China views my children's homeland (and all other nations, to be honest): as inferiors; as as a pestilence; as something to be controlled or eradicated.
Of course, transferring to public schools contributed to my disgust at China in another way.
It was not until I started working in public schools that I had enough time to start reading heavily, and that's exactly what I did. I started reading China's political treatises, their literature, and commentaries by their academic community. And I have to say, no Western China-bashing propaganda could ever have filled me with as much disdainful loathing for China's entire society as China's own works began to do, once I started reading them. Seeing my son's birth, and resolving "this child is not going to grow up living in fear of China's constant expansionist aggression and criminal predations," was the final straw. That was when I made the decision "if Rodi Duterte hasn't got the balls to stand up to China, then someone has to," and if that was to be me, then so be it.
So began my proud career as a dissident anti-China crusader.
I took on the entire nation of China by myself, and it took them all combined two years to overcome just me.
So Now What?
Now? Well, it is a new year, and for me, it may well be the beginning of a new phase of life. I am no longer in China, so there is no longer a reason to hide, since I am now beyond China's reach. It may also represent a paradigm shift in the focus of this blog.
Obviously, as long as China remains as unabashedly evil as they have been from their genesis, there is still a need to fight them. Ergo, there will still be political analysis of issues pertaining to Southeast Asia and China, though my focus will probably shift away from China slightly, and onto the rest of East Asia, now that I'm not looking at the dragon from inside its belly (and perhaps, as the backwardness of Chinese society ceases to be an everyday headache for me, the burning and vehement attitude toward them will cool a bit). Book reviews too, will be a staple of this blog and they may become more frequent. Though as for blog entries detailing life in China... well, obviously there will be less left to tell there.
But most importantly, there is no longer a need to post incognito.
I'm Robert Harris.
I've left the dragon's den behind.
But I'm still 100% dragonslayer.