Here are my thoughts.
On Nathan Chen, all Chinese people who represent America, and even all Asian people who represent America, they are a disgrace and a terrible burden on the public views of Asians. First of all, while they might be the ones on that podium, after the event is done, nobody cares who won what. The medals just become numbers and they count to prop up numbers for Caucasian countries rather than Asian countries. In other words, after they walk home with that medal, people digging up wiki think white people beat Chinese people when they see, for example, the US top the medals list above China. Very rarely do people analyze and figure out that of all the gold medals between the US and China, Asians took most of them. So despite winning, because they represented the US instead of China or Korea, they perpetuate the myth that Asians are unathletic. Secondly, even if people see Asian Americans on that podium and realize their athletic talent, it is absolutely nothing compared to the negative influence this has. It tells society that Asians are too mentally weak and leg-hugging to go back home and stand up; even if you commit hate crimes against them and send their grandparents to the hospital, they will still do your bidding as loyal servants and they will do it against their own blood, because they have no love or respect for who they really are. This is far uglier an image than being unathletic, especially in a world where brains increasingly defeat brawn in all aspects that matter.
On Ailin Gu, I have neither affection nor disdain for her. She's half Chinese; this year, she brought China a gold medal and set American haters on fire. I appreciate what she did and recognize her as a positive influence overall this year (who knows where she goes in the future), but I judge heroes by their intent, not just their result. I don't believe that her family is patriotic or that they cared to serve China. I strongly believe that they are smart people who realized that this girl could be a bigger hit in China than she could ever have been in the US, and that simple calculation could not possibly have been more correct. Ailin would never have been a bigger celebrity than any NFL/NBA/MLB MVP in the US no matter how may gold medals she can win, but now, she is the biggest trending star in China and likely the world. These people chose to go to China because it served their interests, and I believe that if they thought she would be richer/more popular in the US, they would have done that.
My name has an exceptionally rare character. It is
. Literally, it means bird of prey, most commonly an owl, (as it is a pictogram of a bird perched upon the tip of a tree) but the word is sometimes interpreted ominously and associated with evil. My father insisted on this character against the wishes of everyone else in the family. The name-rater they hired quit in frustration saying that he could be of no use if my father was this stubborn. Only when I became an adult did he explain to me why he made that choice. He explained that the
character was used to describe the Dark Warlord of Feudal China: Cao Cao. Expanded, it was
, which was the opposite, in some respects, to the hero. As best I can think of, there is no suitable English translation. He said he chose this word for me because he wanted me to achieve my goals like a
, successful, but selfish. While a hero would sacrifice everything, maybe even his life to achieve his goal, a
would succeed while preserving, maybe even enriching himself. Right now, I can think of no better people who fit the description of
than Ailin Gu, her mother, and grandmother.
