SOMETHING TO PONDER

As I was riding my bike to school today through the hutong* (胡同) I was interrupted in my daily apprehension of the battle for smell supremacy between the public toilet and the street stall of baked goods (wherein I wonder whether feces will triumph over sugary muffins or if they will continue to commingle in an eternal stinkfest). I recalled a sight from last weekend's errand running that had shocked and distressed me. It seriously 引起了我的震惊, if you know what I mean.

Waiting for Jessica at the grocery store on Sunday I saw a young Chinese man wearing a purple camouflage hoodie with large letters printed on the front spelling out RAPE. I first tried to get Jessica's attention to ascertain whether she was left similarly speechless by the sight, but when I could not, I just stood and stared and wondered. What possible reason could there be for this item of clothing to exist? Here are a few I have considered:

A) It is an intentionally transgressive statement about war and sexual violence [see also Mackinnon 1990; Enloe 2003]

B) It was intended to read "GRAPE" but is missing a G / intended to read "RAP" but with an extra E.

C) It was produced and retailed by a native English speaker who likes to play sick jokes.

D) It was intended as consciousness-raising technique. This isn't as far out as you might imagine. A classmate and I in Ann Arbor were once aghast to see a young man wearing a t-shirt that read "I heart Michigan vaginas", but it turned out to be promoting a rape crisis hot line (although, come to think of it, that still doesn't entirely explain the sentiment).

E) It is an intentionally transgressive statement about consumerism and the plunder of natural resources.

Geez, I don't know. I'm so confused. Maybe a nice massage would help...

Probably not. Yes, this is for what you think it is for. This sort of business card gets left stuck in the door to our place every few weeks or so, along with the endless take-out menus for Korean food or pizza with really strange toppings (mayonnaise, bulgogi, or peaches anyone?). We generally pass them on to 丁丁(Ding Ding) and 继磊 (Peter)，our classmates and neighbors in an adjacent building with an unexplained deficit of call girl flyers.

*a hutong is an old narrow alleyway lined with one-story brick buildings. It is the traditional type of housing in Beijing, but the majority have been razed to make way for wider streets and newer, taller buildings. They are now mostly home to Beijing's poorest residents and are sometimes used as shortcuts from the traffic-clogged, exhaust-polluted streets.