Disney’s latest film Christopher Robin has been banned in China. While no official reason has been given, government sensors have previously blocked images of Winnie the Pooh after bloggers used him to parody Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A particularly widely-shared post, which first popped up in 2013, shows a photo of Xi Jinping and Barack Obama alongside an image of Pooh and his friend Tigger.
It takes a special breed of thin-skinned, humorless coward to be so upset and afraid of being compared to a fictional bear that he must prevent a country of 1.3 billion people from ever seeing a film featuring the bear.
It’s also so incredibly stupid. Banning the movie from China only brings attention to Xi Jinping’s resemblance to the lovable bear. I had no idea that he looked anything like Winnie the Pooh, nor had the resemblance ever occurred to me, but now I can’t not see it.
So dumb.
People who are unable to laugh at themselves are sad and weak, and if they have accumulated power, they can be very dangerous.
We’ve witnessed this unfortunate truth in our country, too.
People like the Chinese President and Donald Trump do not understand that strength is not demonstrated through bravado, hyperbole, the strong arming opponents, the censoring of criticism, and an unwillingness to apology.
All of these things are signs of weakness and insecurity.
Truly strong people are capable of honesty, authenticity, and vulnerability. They are willing to make fun of themselves and are not afraid to speak about their flaws, foibles, and weaknesses.
They don’t ban films, dishonor men and women of greater accomplishment than themselves, denigrate opponents through name-calling, and erupt into angry tweet storms every time someone criticizes them.
People of great strength are able to criticize themselves. Laugh at themselves. Admit fault. Apologize. Ask for forgiveness.
They might not like the fact that they look like a cuddly Disney bear, but they don’t shrink from the comparison. They laugh along with us and move on.
It’s tragic that the leaders of the most power countries in the world do not understand this.
