When I found out I was moving to the other side of the world, it didn't dawn on me right then that I would moving to the other side of history as well. And, to me it is incredibly eye opening to be on the other side.
On the world stage, America is probably the popular, flashy jock. He's pretty good at a lot of things, he can be a good guy, everyone wants to be on his good side (even if they don't really like him), but there are a lot of people who just don't like the bastard. Mongolia would be the quiet Asian girl who is smart, older girl, who mostly flies under the radar, has seen a lot of things, made some mistakes, and is trying to get back on her feet. She's proud of who she is, she's opinionated, but she gets along with most people, even if she does have a few weird hang-ups.
It's interesting to go from the US where there are people who still consider Communism a threat to Mongolia where it's simply part of their history. There are buildings with Marx and Lenin on them. There are giant monuments celebrating Russia and the Russo-Mongolian friendship. Here, Russia is the good guy because he chased out the Chinese. And, although China is not exactly our favorite country in the US, I don't know if anyone could hate China as much as Mongolians. In a way, it's understandable - Mongolia is a sparsely populated, small, mineral rich country. China is a very large, hungry, densely populated giant with the political and man power to take what they want without being stopped. In many ways it seems to me that the Mongolian hate for China is just fear that turned sour. But, it also has something to do with a long, bloody, angry history between the two. Should the Mongolians hate the Chinese? Probably not, because hate is never the answer. But, then again who am I to judge I'm from a hungry superpower, not the country whose land and resources get poached by the hungry superpower...
Mongolia is also one of the few countries in the world with an open North Korean presence. There is a North Korean embassy. There are North Korean restaurants, and North Korean people who work in them. This would be pretty much unheard of in the US. As far as I know, in most places in the US, it just wouldn't happen. I still remember Freshman year of college I had a t-shirt on that was pro-human rights activities in NoKo (not pro-NoKo), and I was angrily approached by some of the ROTC kids in the dining hall. Once they realized I wasn't a Kim-Jim-whatsisface supporter, they backed off (one even apologized). But, still, it's just a country that is not really tolerated in the US. But, here it is.
But, the one thing I'm still trying to wrap my head around is the Mongolian appreciation Hitler. As in, Adolf Hitler. The fellow who is responsible for WWII. Yeah, same guy.
I've seen several people throw up the Nazi Salute for pictures the way I use the thumbs up. And two seconds later they're putting up a peace sign. I've seen several people with swastika earrings or gear. These are people I know, friends, students - people who seem sane and peaceful. There is a blossoming anti-Chinese, Mongolian purity movement. I think it's something akin to a KKK movement. It's not super large, but it is definitely present. I'm pretty sure that the two are linked to a mis-seated sense of Mongolian pride. Not, normal pride. But, the kind that spawns hatred, fear, paranoia, and a twisted desire for absolute purity. Although, of course the desire for purity only seems to be concerned with the behavior of Mongolian women, not Mongolian men, and the activities of foreign men not foreign women. (How convenient.) Anyways, I want to know where this fascination and approval of Hitler came from. Is it taught in schools? Or just passed through families? How can a family be pro-Hitler, pro-Mongolian exclusivity, and yet still be interested in learning several languages, still encourage their children to learn languages, still want to travel outside of Mongolia? It's okay for Mongolians to infiltrate the rest of the world, but it's not okay for the rest of the world to reciprocate? I can understand national pride. I'm not really very patriotic, and even I can summon my heart to feel a twinge of pride when America does something right. I can understand being afraid of your neighbors. (It makes me wonder how Mexico and Canada feel about the US). But, I can't understand idolizing Hitler. I just don't get it.
I can't really rectify the two different Mongolia's. There's the Mongolia who has a relationship with NoKo (which I don' really think is a negative thing, just a thing), and fond memories of the Russians. The Mongolia who has decent relations with most of the world. The Mongolia who will be a significant presence in the global mining industry. With the key word being "global". There are a lot of countries who are going to be dipping their sticky fingers into Mongolian mining as this business takes off. The Mongolia who has been growing, and internationalizing rapidly over the last decade. Then there's the Mongolia who hates China almost more than it loves itself. The Mongolia who fosters fond feelings for Hitler. The Mongolia that is dangerous to foreigners simply for being foreign... I could understand if these two Mongolia's were manifested in different people, it's when I see both of them represented in the same individual that I'm confused.
It also makes me wonder what conflictual ideology is leaking out of America. At least Mongolia is fairly small and homogeneous. America is neither. What kind of wonky rhetoric are we spewing forth for the benefit and confusion of the world?
I do know that even children whose English is patchy at best, American vocabulary is being slowly dispensed through music. They know what umbrellas are - thank you Rhianna. They know terms from various Lady Gaga and Beyonce lyrics. At least one person I know contributes her interest in English to her love of boy-bands in the 90s. And, oh yeah, they know, and use with ease - nigger. As does the rest of the world apparently. From what I've gathered from different people from Mongolia and Europe and maybe a few other places that America is one of the few, if not only, places where this word still has a huge stigma. And, I'm okay with it having a stigma. It's a nasty word with a vulgar history in the US. And, it seems to me that most people who use it with ease are from places with little racial heterogeneity, and little history of racial violence and discrimination. So, I don't really expect them to understand the gravity of that word because they don't have a history to accompany it - just a library of vulgar rap songs. Fantastic.
As always it is interesting to see which parts of history make it into circulation, and which parts do not. What bits of information make it around the world, and which get stuck in their country of origin. I wonder if we all took off our rose colored glasses a long time ago and replaced them with those shiny mirroirized sunglasses. Because I'm pretty sure that no one can see anyone else clearly. But, it is interesting to see how different interpretations of history manifest on the other side of things...
