Video summary
The speaker addresses a recurring pattern of comments he receives regarding Chinese culture and language learning, specifically targeting a mindset where Westerners claim to understand Chinese traditions better than native speakers do. He reacts to a video featuring a Chinese man who advised against studying characters first, arguing instead that children learn naturally through sound alone, a view the speaker strongly disagrees with based on his own experience. The speaker finds it bizarre when non-native speakers or even natives who have been influenced by Western perspectives insist they know the "true" way things are done in China, often dismissing the insights of those who have lived there for years. He points out that this behavior stems from a dualistic view where people assume native speakers must be enlightened while outsiders are myopic, ignoring the fact that natives do not remember learning their own language and may hold misconceptions just like anyone else.
The core issue highlighted is the tendency of some commenters to project mystical or overly complex meanings onto simple cultural practices, claiming that Chinese logic operates differently from Western logic in ways that require special defense or explanation. The speaker shares a personal anecdote from a language festival where a white man interrupted his conversation with a Chinese friend to correct him for using the word "Chinese," insisting on the term "Putonghua" and implying the speaker was ignorant or racist. This incident illustrates how individuals feel compelled to defend their cultural superiority, even when they are not native speakers themselves, often stepping in to push aside actual natives who simply want to share their perspective without judgment. The speaker contrasts this with the straightforward nature of Chinese culture, noting that real differences between cultures are often trivial, such as a direct comment about someone gaining weight, rather than deep philosophical misunderstandings.
Ultimately, the video concludes by criticizing the habit of mesmerizing oneself over the "finger pointing" at cultural nuances while missing the actual target of reality and truth. The speaker emphasizes that he speaks Mandarin fluently, is married to a Chinese person, and has lived in China for over fifteen years, yet still faces these strange interactions where his knowledge is questioned by people who have never been there. He encourages viewers to look beyond the surface-level arguments about language learning methods or cultural mysticism and to recognize that such behaviors are not unique to Chinese culture but can be found anywhere people feel the need to assert their own version of truth over others. By sharing these real-life stories alongside internet comments, he hopes to show that the phenomenon is a universal human tendency to defend one's perceived understanding against those who challenge it, urging everyone to stop focusing on the finger and start looking at what it is actually pointing at.
Read the full video transcript
What's up grinders? Welcome back to the
channel. Today I'm going to be making a
react to a type of comment I've seen on
this channel. I've got this comment a
fair few times before, but it's never
like specifically a type of comment.
It's a mindset that goes with the
comment that I find [ __ ] fascinating
because honestly, I do not know how
someone arrives at this point in their
life and starts thinking like this. Like
I really do not understand it, okay?
It's It's It's [ __ ] bizarre to me.
So, we're going to check out one of
those comments in a second and again
came under this video here, the worst
Chinese learning advice you will see
today. Now, what was this video about?
Yeah, it was a little bit of a spicy
video. I was reacting to a Chinese guy
who was providing you his ideas about
how to learn Chinese and one of those
ideas I fundamentally disagreed with and
another one of those I was like, "Eh,
it's more black and white. There's more
nuance to this matter." Uh but
definitely the first one, which is
around tones, his advice there I was
like, "Fucking terrible advice. Do not
take this, okay?" Now, obviously, I'm
going to get a lot of, you know,
comments. Lots of people agree with me.
Some will disagree with me for whatever
reason, okay? Uh some people will
strangely always agree with the native
because well, the native must know
everything about his own language, which
is kind of a strange position to take
because well, the native doesn't
remember learning their own language.
So, sometimes it's good to get the
insights of a non-native such as myself,
you know, someone who's learning the
language. Uh but it's also good to get
both sides. Like why not get both native
and non-native and then make your
judgment based on that. Why just always
assume the native is correct? But this
video's not about that. It's actually
got nothing to do with that at all. This
is to do with the type of comments I
only ever see under my videos about
Chinese. But I swear to god, this can't
be just a something related to Chinese.
I I want to see if you guys get similar
comments to this or you see these types
of comments maybe regarding certain
languages and cultures. Let me know down
in the comment section and make sure you
hit that sub button. We're going to
scroll down. Here's the video. We're
going to scroll scroll scroll scroll
scroll past hundreds of comments. Here
we go. And the comment at first, quite
normal, nothing special going on right
now, okay? So, it says, "Everyone is
completely missing what this guy is
pointing at. He's pointing at how
children learn naturally and almost
effortlessly. Come on, guys, have some
nuance and try to see the truth he
pointed at. If you want to learn to
speak the language, there is a
difference between studying with only
sounds and studying with symbols
attached to the sounds. Chinese
characters are assessed by the different
parts of the brain than Western spelling
languages. It is especially unnatural to
learn Chinese with characters first and
the tones used to get corrected by your
own experience learning and others
telling you. The important part is just
using and hearing the language and not
stopping until you can speak it. Then
you learn the characters for those
words." So, at the moment, someone's
opinion, nothing special going on here.
This is how Chinese learn all while us
Westerners think we somehow know better.
This is where I'm like, "Wait, what's
going on here? This is how Chinese learn
all while us Westerners think we somehow
know better?" Either way works, but
let's not be dualistic fools. So, this
is a Westerner with a Chinese thumbnail,
a Chinese title, talking on behalf of
Chinese people about how it should be
done, and they put themselves in a
position that's separate from their
Western brethren as the more enlightened
ones. Now, I'm not sure if this person
is aware because I clicked on their
profile and I saw absolutely no other
comments from them on my channel, and
it's usually those are the types of
commenters who make this mistake. I'm
not sure if they're aware, but I
actually speak the language, married,
you know, a Chinese person, I've gone to
China so many goddamn times. I know
[ __ ] pretty much everything there is
to know about the culture from a
perspective of someone who's been
married into it for 15-plus years.
Anyway, there's a comment that goes
under this. Like, I didn't have to do
anything, okay? You have no idea what
you're talking about. Chinese children
also get drilled in hanzi from a young
age. Maybe not immediately when they
start learning to speak, but that's
because they would be literal toddlers.
Now, it goes backwards and forwards here
about their disagreement about what
Chinese people do, okay? And then it
gets down to this comment. And this this
really sums up what I've seen a lot of
in the comment section under my videos
about Chinese and then also in real
life. And trust me, I'll get to a couple
of those real life stories in a moment.
So, this one right here. You are
completely missing the point still. It's
going above and below your head, yet is
right in front of you. He's not saying
one is truly the best style. Our Western
minds do have a hard time accepting
opposites go together, don't they? So,
he's looking like for an agreement with
the other Westerner about the fact like
we don't think like them. They they have
this mystical type of [ __ ] in China
where they can see opposites fitting
together, you know, some type of [ __ ]
Taoism voodoo type of [ __ ] happening
over here, okay? We are naturally the
more myopic, but that's fun to realize.
Anyway, keep enjoying your style and
your feelings for it. You don't have to
understand what the guy was pointing at.
And I've explained enough for my taste.
You are ironically thinking about this
very literally and extremely like a
child would lol. Listen, just like what
the guy quoted in the video. Understand
what he was pointing at and then move
on. So, basically take it is for what it
is. Stop trying to find the point of the
points because you're missing it by
staring at the finger pointing. Only the
fool is mesmerized by the finger over
its target. Good luck. I love the
wording here, okay? Cuz it it fits very
within like this kind of you're being
misdirected by what's really happening
over there in China. And this this just
kills it, okay? The person reacts, our
Western minds
lol, basically. I'm not a citizen of the
People's Republic of China, but I am a
native Mandarin speaker born and raised
in Asia.
>> [laughter]
>> Don't try that projection [ __ ] on
me.
Maybe stop lapping at some half-baked
guru spouting nonsense sayings that
could only sound deep to a 14-year-old
and try learning a language with these
methods instead. See how that works out
for you. And the great part is there was
another reply from him. I swear to god,
I didn't touch it. He must have deleted
himself. Dude went on a full [ __ ]
rage and he's like, "So, what you're
telling me is you've been [ __ ]
brainwashed by us Westerners?"
It's I I find this fascinating. He
he's battling with a Chinese person over
what Chinese people believe and what
they do over there as if he understands
them better. And then when they're like,
"Bro, I'm literally Chinese." Then he's
like, "Well, then clearly you've been
brainwashed by us."
Now, if this was just comments on my
channel, I would just say that this is
just the internet being the internet,
okay? You know, [ __ ] it, you got to love
the internet for the type of comments
you see. But I've had this in real life
happen to me about a year ago, and then
again 6 months ago. And it always
happens under videos where I disagree
with something some Chinese person says,
okay? So, when I [ __ ] on like Chinese
like government stuff, obviously you get
all the Westerners in the comment
section are like, "Yeah, [ __ ] the
People's Republic of China." And I'm
like, "Bro, hey
they've got some good [ __ ] over there.
What are you on about? Like it's not all
bad. Yeah, there's some bad aspects to
it, but like can't we just [ __ ] on the
bad parts and like still congratulate
the good parts? Why do we have to like
dump on the whole thing, okay? But then
when it's like me disagreeing with a
Chinese person about something, it's
like suddenly I do not understand their
mystical ways over there. You know, it's
like when like a Westerner gets a tattoo
and it it's like a Chinese tattoo and it
says like tiger, and you're like, "Oh
yeah, what's that mean, bro?" And he's
like, "Oh, it's Well, on the surface it
means tiger, but deep down it actually
represents the heart of the mountain and
what people feel as they go through that
specific period in life where they're
not sure what to do next." And I'm like,
"Bro, it literally says tiger." It's
like when you go to China, me and my
wife have done this again. You go to
China, you find Chinese people in the
countryside wearing like shirts that
have got English words printed on, but
the [ __ ] English sentence makes no
sense. I don't know why they print these
shirts. There's like three words, and
it's like
cheese burger car. And it's on the And
you're like, "What What does this mean?
What is cheese burger car?" Oh, or like
sometimes it's even like it literally
the order makes no sense. It would be
like burger car cheese and you the guy
is just rocking that shirt like it's the
[ __ ] hippest [ __ ] in town. Okay. Like
it's that type of stuff. But I've
encountered this in real life a year
ago. And it was the most bizarre
experience ever. Okay. Cuz I thought
this was just an internet thing. But I
was at this language festival here in
Sydney and I gave a speech in the Well,
not in Esperanto, about Esperanto. Okay.
And also how it's been modified and
impacted by different cultures around
the world. touched on, you know, uh the
impact China has had upon Esperanto and
Japan specifically cuz Japan's had quite
a big impact on Esperanto in a lot of
ways. So, I was speaking about that and
then after the event was over I met with
one of my friends who I'd not seen in a
long time and funnily enough was a
Chinese person. Okay. But he's also an
Esperanto speaker. And we were in this
like area where you could kind of just
like mingle with anyone around. Okay.
So, naturally we're speaking in English
so anyone wants to join the conversation
can. And I was speaking with him and
then this third wheeler came along.
Okay. Someone
I can't How do I say this? This is a
[ __ ]
Why do they make me look bad? It's a
white guy. Okay. White guy, hip looking
white guy, whatever. So, he's standing
there and he's just sitting there and
he's just listening to our conversation.
And I thought, you know, that's cool.
We're just talking. Okay. And at some
point in the conversation I mentioned
the word Chinese when I was talking
about the language. And he dead ass
stops the [ __ ] conversation and says,
"Uh excuse me." Like literally puts his
hand on my shoulder and goes, "Excuse
me. It's Putonghua." And I'm like, "I'm
So, sorry. What?" Like I was just so
confused. He's like,
"It's rude. You should say Putonghua."
And I was like,
"No one says that in English. It's just
Chinese." And he's like, "Yeah, well,
that's because you don't understand."
And like he was trying to imply I'm like
racist or something. Okay. For saying
Chinese. And I I dead ass look at my
[ __ ] mate here [laughter] who's an
Esperanto speaker, Chinese speaker and
I'm like, "Do you want me to say
Putonghua in Chinese?" Like Like I said
it in Chinese. Perfect tones, everything
to this guy. And he just looks at me and
goes,
>> [snorts]
>> "It's It's okay, bro. You can call it
Chinese. I give you permission. And I
was like, "Thank you. Thank you very
much." [laughter] It was the most random
[ __ ] thing, okay? And this guy
thought that he just won a [ __ ]
battle, okay? He was like, "That's
right. You have been enlightened." And
then walked [laughter] off as if like he
just educated me or something about
this. And then my mate just cracked out
laughing. We're like, "What the [ __ ] was
[laughter] that?" It was just so random,
okay? But like I thought that was like
that I still remember that to this day
cuz we still joke about that for like
messages. Like I'll talk with him and
like I'll say so I'll say Chinese and
he'll be like, "Bro, it's it's
Putonghua." Like we even spell it wrong,
okay? Just cuz it's so [ __ ] funny.
But anyway, like I've had this type of
stuff in an office before where I was
talking about something with Chinese
culture with some random person, okay?
And they were trying to explain to me
how Chinese people their logic operates
different to us. Like like they don't
have the same type of op- logical
operations to us and stuff. And I was
listening to it and I'm like, "Bro, have
you ever spoken to a [ __ ] Chinese
person before? Like if anything, those
[ __ ] are more logical than us.
And they're cold. They can be really
cold about their logic, too. What are
you on about? Like people got this like
mystical idea and then they feel like
they know enough about it that they need
to defend it. And hell, half the time
they'll step in and push a Chinese
person aside and be like, "Bro, I got
you. I got you. I'll I'll tell you how
it is, okay? I got you. Don't worry. I
understand your culture." Obviously,
this is not a one-way thing. I'm sure
this happens in other cultures. I'd love
to hear about the most random ones down
in the comment section. But yeah, every
time I drop a Chinese video, guarantee
you, especially if it's a little bit,
you know, ticklish, you see this type of
comment in the comment section. And
you're just like, "This guy doesn't
understand. I literally speak [ __ ]
I'm married to someone who's like a like
bro, the real differences between our
cultures is the fact that they just
don't give a [ __ ] They will just tell
you how it is. You want to know how
logical a Chinese person is? You walk
into a room. If you've gained half a
kilo, someone will come up and slap your
belly like a [ __ ] drum and be gone,
"Bro, you got fat."
>> [laughter]
>> Like, there's no mystical guru of like,
you know, the it looks like for you the
moon is half setting. You know, there's
none of that [ __ ] It's like, "Bro,
you're [ __ ] fat."
Like, it's just bizarre. Anyway, I'd
love to hear about your ones down in the
comment section and uh that's pretty
much it. I'll see you all in the next
video and if you're not there,
well, then I'm going to half set your
moon.
Make sure you watch the moon setting and
not the finger that's
fingering you.
[ __ ] is that on?