Inconsistent logic
Rehage has complained online that his weibo posts often provoke criticism, and his critics are eccentrically inconsistent in their logic.
When he noted in posts that China is imperfect in some ways, he got called a chou lao wai, or rank foreigner; when he argued that China's development is on the right path, he was cursed as a yang wu mao, or foreign hack.
Perhaps the conflicting, schizophrenic stances are not that hard to understand. Many Chinese grow up being taught that their country is not perfect but it's none of foreigners' business to point this out.
That said, Rehage did uncover the unpleasant side of weibo's splendid success, that extremism makes it hard for reasonable, civilized discussion to take place on weibo.
Once in a while I surf the comment section of websites of newspapers like the Guardian. There the arguments are often strongly yet politely expressed. However, in China, decorum deteriorates fast.
Rehage understood this to be a result of frustration with life.
Some people wake up every morning already angry at the world and they find the Internet an outlet for stress.
This observation is true, up to a point. Lack of education and abuse of web freedom are more to blame. Many behave less rudely offline but the anonymity of the Internet encourages them to insult others.
Of course, weibo isn't just a tool for letting off steam.
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