Two days ago I was tutoring my
5-year-old Taiwanese student. She is just beginning to read and write English
and has discovered that she can Google Image certain animals. She was able to
type in foxes, pigs, fishes, and bugs.
“This is cute, this is cute, this is not cute. What is the best cute?”
“What do you want to look up now, Mandy?” I ask.
“Hens!” Mandy types in hens and several photos of chickens pop up. Then, she looks at me with wide eyes and says:
“Did you know, Mai dang lao (Chinese for McDonald’s)…” She points to the hens, then makes a severe chopping motion with her hand.
I say, “Yes, I know.”
“Why?!” She stares at me with wide eyes.
“Because you have to eat them.”
“I very don’t like!”
Mandy then shows me that some of the Google images have an ‘X’ mark, so we cannot see them. She asks why. I tell her because China won’t let us see them. She asks why. I tell her I don’t know.
“I very don’t like!”
It’s Mandy's first exposure to animal slaughtering and internet censorship.
“This is cute, this is cute, this is not cute. What is the best cute?”
“What do you want to look up now, Mandy?” I ask.
“Hens!” Mandy types in hens and several photos of chickens pop up. Then, she looks at me with wide eyes and says:
“Did you know, Mai dang lao (Chinese for McDonald’s)…” She points to the hens, then makes a severe chopping motion with her hand.
I say, “Yes, I know.”
“Why?!” She stares at me with wide eyes.
“Because you have to eat them.”
“I very don’t like!”
Mandy then shows me that some of the Google images have an ‘X’ mark, so we cannot see them. She asks why. I tell her because China won’t let us see them. She asks why. I tell her I don’t know.
“I very don’t like!”
It’s Mandy's first exposure to animal slaughtering and internet censorship.
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