Friday, July 28, 2006

 

Let me see if I can do this right...

Here is a pic of a typical temple scene down in Tainan City. It's one of my favorites because in the foreground, you can see the giant urn thingee where they burn incense sticks. I tried to get all CNN-Time magaziney by taking the shot right through the urn with the sticks burning and the people kneeling inside the temple with the gods looking on benevolently.

Note the Swastikas on the urn (bottom of photo). Unlike the Ch'mokmanuk (Anglos), people in Asia still regard the Swastika as sacred. Long, long ago, it was universally revered among my people (the American Indians) as well. Of course, Druids and Celts and Trojans and Hindus and Nordic tribes also used it as a symbol of good luck and a reminder that we should behave with benevolence. Later when the Nazis stole it, they turned it backwards and gave it the evil connotation that lasts to this day --at least in the so-called "West."

Now there is an even deeper downside to all this. Here in Asia, Nazi bumper stickers, T-shirts and posters sell like, ummmmmm, egg tarts. Hence, you can often find people riding around with Hitler's flag stuck on their scooters, helmets, and whatnot. Some folks say the locals don't know any better because they weren't directly exposed to the horrors of European fascism. Others say they are simply reclaiming "stolen property." Whatevet the case, it really gives my Jewish friends the heebie-jeebies.

But let's get back to the subject at hand. Isn't this a marvellous photo of everyday Taiwanese life? This picture was taken on the night of Saturday, July 8, 2006 with one of those cool 6.6 megapixel Besta cameras. I believe this temple is on Cheng-Gong or Minzu Road. I will do my best to stick more photos and discussions in this blog as the summer days go by.

posted by Dr. Wei 5:56 AM