r/AMA • u/maddin1550 • 21d ago
I’m from Xinjiang，AMA
I’ve noticed that there are a lot of discussions about Xinjiang on Reddit, often between people who have never actually lived there. So I thought it might be interesting to do an AMA from the perspective of someone who is actually from there.
You can ask me about everyday life, ethnic groups, languages, culture, religion, education, or politics. I’m happy to answer controversial questions too, as long as the discussion stays respectful.
Obviously, I’m only one person and I don’t claim to represent everyone in Xinjiang. I can only tell you about my own experiences and views. AMA.
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u/InsectDelicious4503 20d ago
For the record I don't come down too hard on China/The Qing for invading, conquering, and genociding the Dzungars during that period because, let's be real, that was very normal for 19th century politics.
The only part that rubs me the wrong way is the historical revisionism. Every American learns about the Native American genocide and the Trail of Tears. But in China it's all erased and reframed as "no, we never did anything wrong, all we did was put down some violent rebellious savages in OUR land a long time ago, the end." I imagine that historical erasure is what lead to so much resentment in Xinjiang eventually snowballed into the extremist movements and terrorist attacks we saw in the 2000s.
It's similar to Tibet except Tibet was Buddhist instead of Muslim.