I read the OP as a quirky little tongue in cheek story. It sounded to me like he was poking some fun at the rumors and innuendo he had heard and I don't think the ton of bricks that were dropped on him by some of the respondents was justified. Some of people just need to lighten up a little.
Thanks Dan.
I wonder whether people would suggest that the works of Fitzgerald, Faulkner and (this really would be a riot!) Umberto Eco should be revised with emoticons to remove any chance of misunderstanding in their writings? Give me a break people. The day that words are insufficient to express one's self is the day I stop bothering to read books.
The title of the thread referred to a "funny/disturbing" story. And at the conclusion of the post I even spelled out that people should feel at liberty to take the story in either of two ways: as a humorous story or a dire warning. Perhaps it was foolish of me to expect that people could read the story and make up their own minds. Perhaps I should be less humble, and realise the people need me to tell them explicitly how I reacted to the story and subsequently what they should think about it. I'll think about changing my attitude. Regardless, I can't for the life of me see how an emoticon could help me make it any clearer that I may not have been totally serious.
Hmmm...I just thought about things. And I decided that I didn't want to change. As far as I'm concerned the story is a story and you individually can judge for yourself whether to place any credence in it. If it makes you laugh, then I'm glad. If it makes you nervous, then you're probably either the type who is constantly searching for conspiracy theories, or the type searching for ways to rationalise your xenophobia. And I'm glad I had a chance to satisfy your neurotic cravings.
As for the notion that one could boycott a firm like Cayin as a stand against the threat that Chinese government policy poses to the American way of life, think about this. Every day the US Treasury, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and other quasi-government agencies sell securities to the Chinese government. Lots of securities. Should the Chinese government ever wish to liquidate this stock of securities, without a doubt this would destroy the US mortgage market, the US financial markets in general would be destabilised and the whole US economy would likely be undermined. If you're worried about a threat from China, it's pure melodrama to imagine that the threat comes from a nuclear attack, and foolishness to imagine that your personal audio purchasing decisions (or even the collective decisions of all audiophiles) will have any impact on anything.
Again, I'll let you make up your own minds as to whether this financial issue is a threat about which you should care. And again, I'll eschew the opportunity to litter my words with the Walmart mascot and his crazy shenanigans. I make no apologies for the ambiguity this leaves regarding what you should think.
Chad
