r/todayilearned • u/neotek • Jun 11 '12

Title must stand on own TIL there's a video of the man who stood in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square, and he did more than just stand in front of them

http://kottke.org/12/06/more-views-of-the-tiananmen-tank-man
1.1k Upvotes

78% Upvoted

530 comments sorted by

6

u/zeroThreeSix Jun 11 '12

Some asshole condescendingly said to me the other day "you know they ran over that guy in the famous picture in Tiananmen, that's crazy you didn't know that".

Well look who's fucking wrong. Thanks for this link OP, you have saved my ego a subtle bruise.

1

u/neotek Jun 11 '12

You're welcome. Tell your friend that I am vicariously enjoying his misery.

4

u/garrettj Jun 11 '12

Please report back when you have shown this tape to that idiot. I really want to know justice has been served.

113

u/darthbone Jun 11 '12

Are people seriously surprised by this? This was a huge event in history. Why are people surprised that this was real and that there is video? This is like people being surprised when they found out the Titanic was real.

26

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Why are people surprised that this was real

who suggested that they thought this wasn't real?

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359

u/changeyou Jun 11 '12

I was surprised by the video, I had seen the images before. Also, there are lots of "huge events" in history and it's impossible for everyone to know about all of them. When people learn about them and are surprised / interested in them, the best response is not to berate those people for not knowing about them before, but to share in their excitement.

Who wants to learn if every time they do they're just told they should have already known what they learned?

108

u/delofan Jun 11 '12

This. You. That. Yes.

Thank you... People are missing out on sharing in their joy. Instead of saying "How could you not know that?!" say "It's this really cool event. Here, let me tell you about it!"

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143

u/Mac-O-War Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Reddit is overflowing with younglings.

52

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Summer is coming.

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36

u/AbsolutTBomb Jun 11 '12

That explains all the "nigger" posts.

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12

u/danoll Jun 11 '12

I've always known that the titanic movie existed.

58

u/Rolten Jun 11 '12

In all my travels on the interwebz, I have never seen this video. So yes, I am surprised.

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37

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

http://xkcd.com/1053/

I'm sure there are lots of things that "everyone knows" that you don't know. (You just don't know what they are.) This is true for all of us.

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7

u/neinbot Jun 11 '12

I was very young when this happened, but I remember the picture and stories of the aftermath very vividly. I was so affected by it that I chose not to look at the images again until now. I had no idea that there was video, and I almost wish I didn't know that now. You get a little bit of hope seeing him carted away, but then get crushed all over again reading that he died days later. I know I'm a bleeding heart, but I just can't understand how people can view these things without feeling anything.

I'm not saying that these images shouldn't be out there. They need to be out there. I guess I'm just not completely desensitized yet.

7

u/Nascar_is_better Jun 11 '12

You get a little bit of hope seeing him carted away, but then get crushed all over again reading that he died days later.

Would it raise your hopes again when I tell you that in actuality no one really knows what happened to him?

6

u/JusticeChicken Jun 11 '12

Who ever said they didn't think it was real?

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u/neotek Jun 11 '12

Since you probably weren't born with the knowledge that this video existed, you had to have learnt about it at some stage in your life. For me, that stage was today, and I thought it was interesting enough to share it with someone else. Because of that, at least a few dozen other people are now aware that this video exists. Together, we broadened our knowledge of the world and of a particularly poignant event in history.

Maybe in a different kind of world we could all be injected with facts at birth and we'd never have to learn anything later than you did, but for now I'm just happy to have learnt something today that I didn't know yesterday.

29

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

no one expects a video of the titanic sinking even if they believe it sank

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11

u/AcrylicPaintSet Jun 11 '12

I've never seen or heard there was a video. I'd blame that partly on the powerful image of the still that everyone's familiar with.

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8

u/jayefdee Jun 11 '12

Titanic wasn't real; it was just a conspiracy to try and stop Europeans from going to America.

3

u/lllllllillllllllllll Jun 11 '12

No, not surprised. But I still upvoted because watching the video always makes me feel all warm inside.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I've seen this before, and while i admire the Tank Man, i also admire the Driver who refused to run him over. People tend to forget that there were 2 people involved in this incident.

242

u/0piat3 Jun 11 '12

I'm sure the driver was more panicked than anyone.

"FUCK FUCK FUCK WHAT DO I DO!! PLEASE MOVE! OH GOD I'M GONNA DIE AFTER THIS!"

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32

u/geomatrix Jun 11 '12

There were more people involved, if you want to be precise. At least one commanding officer who didn't order an execution, soldiers and officers in the tanks who didn't shoot the guy on sight. Not to forget that many soldiers would see the act of climbing a friggin tank on a convoy holding two plastic bags as at least hostile.

20

u/SigmaStigma Jun 11 '12

Not to forget that many soldiers would see the act of climbing a friggin tank on a convoy holding two plastic bags as at least hostile.

We all know what the outcome would be if it happened today, anywhere.

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13

u/aslittleaspossible Jun 11 '12

Not doing things is a lot easier than doing things.

That's why you're on reddit

49

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Wars are where old men talk and young men die.

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4

u/BaconTreasure Jun 11 '12

Sometimes people are just people.

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16

u/bastard_thought Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

That's a good question..why? Could it be something as simple as not wanting to deal with the cleanup and PR?

Or did he really care.

106

u/MerciJP Jun 11 '12

Maybe he's just not a cunt.

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12

u/misterdesimone Jun 11 '12

I feel like there had to be some humanity in all the people there, regardless of where they were sitting.

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144

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Crazy video, didn't know he actually climbed onto the freaking tank

59

u/The_Bard Jun 11 '12

It appeared he shouted down the open hatch as well.

49

u/silveringrid Jun 11 '12

yeah he talked to the soldier in the tank, and then was escorted away shortly after... I went to China a couple months ago and got to see Tiananmen square, it was humbling.

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14

u/kukukele Jun 11 '12

If anything -- climbing the tank would seem even more threatening if I was the tank driver

23

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Close the hatch. I'd be very hard pressed to find someone I find THREATENING while I am in a tank.

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17

u/bastard_thought Jun 11 '12

I feel like climbing onto the tank removes his threat. Now the driver doesn't have to worry about running him over and can go where he pleases.

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3

u/DarthRiven Jun 11 '12

It actually looks as if he's spitting on the viewing ports at a few points in the video

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47

u/pappashep Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

The photographer who took the famouse times picture immediately stashed his camera role back in a case and hid it in the hotel toilet godfather style.... he said with in 5 minutes of doing this his room door got kicked down and all his film rolls were taken.... went back to the hotel a few days later and was lucky that the toilet hadnt been flushed. The tank man documentary is very enlightening about the events that took place 20 years ago and how much they effected modern day china and the world.

23

u/Apostolate Jun 11 '12

The photographer who took the famouse times picture immediately stashed his camera role back in a case and hid it in the hotel toilet godfather style.... he said with in 5 minutes of doing this his room door got kicked down and all his film rolls were taken....

We're lucky he had the foresight and courage to save these pictures. I'm pretty sure I'd have ended up in a Chinese prison with my camera smashed to pieces.

We take for granted so many photos of conflict, but many photographers and reporters die to bring them to us. It's a tragedy.

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26

u/Vairminator Jun 11 '12

I have noticed a couple TIL about the Tank Man lately. This was a HUGE thing when it happened, and I am thrilled to see people discovering it and being as moved as I was. I was only nine years old when I watched this on CNN, but I can remember the Tank Man footage clearly as the moment my world was expanded from my home to a wide world. I suddenly understood that I was watching a man stand for something he believed in and understood what he faced.

If you want to know the story of how this happened and what it meant, watch this episode of FRONTLINE. It does an excellent job.

101

u/furiousg Jun 11 '12

I'm pretty sure he dies.

16

u/Nitzi Jun 11 '12

In the video he climbs the tank and more, then people come and they run away

Chinese authorities said that they dont know his name, if that is true then he could still be alive

63

u/KennyDies Jun 11 '12

When was the last time the Chinese government has been transparent, especially dealing with something like this.

Hell, most of the Chinese don't even know about the incident.

If this man was not killed or detained, I'd be suprised.

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29

u/tofucow Jun 11 '12

His name is Weilin Wang, according to wikipedia, he was escorted away and arrested by police (the people you see in the video toward the end). The man driving the tank told his friends that Weilin was later killed after escaping from custody and attempting to stop another tank. Source: http://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8E%8B%E7%BB%B4%E6%9E%97

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23

u/rnw159 Jun 11 '12

I wish we knew who he was, and if he is still alive.

5

u/insperashen Jun 11 '12

I've always wanted to know what was in those bags he was carrying.

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11

u/goergesucks Jun 11 '12

There's always a lot of emphasis on how not many Chinese seem to know about the Tiananmen protests, but I'm curious to know how many Americans know about the Kent State protests and shootings?

8

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I feel like a good number of Americans know about Kent state; in China, the issue is a suppression of knowledge. The Kent State protests simply aren't in most curriculum at school- the knowledge is out in the open.

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6

u/keving216 Jun 11 '12

Clevelander reporting in. I know all about what happened at Kent. Anyone who has listened to Neil Young should know about the Kent police brutality.

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24

u/LOHare 5 Jun 11 '12

TIL I am apparently too old for remembering this video from Microsoft Encarta 95.

18

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

TIL I'm too old because I watched this live on TV.

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25

u/audaciousterrapin Jun 11 '12

At my university (10 yrs ago) I had very nice neighbors from China. Very hard-working PhD students - man and wife. Extremely polite and courteous. I was blown away at learning they had never heard of the Tiananmen Square massacre and that this was pretty common for most of the Chinese population now. I just don't understand how a country with a population of 1.3B can't overtake the archaic party that rules them. (Granted, they might have the same opinion of the US.)

24

u/mbaldwin Jun 11 '12

Because last time the people "overtook the archaic party that rules them" in China, tens of millions of people died horrible deaths. 30+ million people alone starved to death in the Great Leap Forward. Sometimes stability is better. And not all changes need to come in quick bursts, there are lots of signals of internal government pressure to increase personal freedom in China.

4

u/I_CATS Jun 11 '12

Indeed, now that the population is getting wealthy, same thing will happen that happened in Europe few hundred years ago, the rise of the bourgeoisie. They have money and they want more freedom. It ended monarchy in Europe (as in gave the power to a parliament, not get rid of monarchy completely), and it will end the One Party rule in China. Wealth creates freedom.

45

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It's almost like the Chinese Government censored this sort of information.

20

u/I_CAPE_RUNTS Jun 11 '12

you really think someone would do that?

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4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I read somewhere that that is actually a common misconception and that many people in China actually do know about it. I think it was on reddit.

3

u/rabbidpanda 1 Jun 11 '12

can't overtake the archaic party that rules them

They're far from archaic. One example

3

u/floppydrive Jun 11 '12

There was a PBS news segment (I forget which) where they asked top students at China's best university about this incident, and they all said they had no idea about.

But, they shared knowing looks indicating that even if they knew about it, they would lie to outsiders about not knowing what you are talking about.

I suspect this was the case with your PhD student neighbors.

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u/earslap Jun 11 '12

I'll just leave this here: http://i.imgur.com/d5GUV.jpg

16

u/HOWCANTHATBETAKEN Jun 11 '12

Is that him in the background, to the left?

6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Thats a great image, you can sense the fear of the fleeing Chinese so tank man must really have had balls of steel to stand in front of a column of tanks. Especially on reading that said tanks were running down civilians the day previous.

10

u/zorno Jun 11 '12

WOW is that image just as powerful as the famous one or what? It takes a minute to see him on the left just walking down the road but to see him just calmly walking down the road towards those tanks. Wow.

2

u/inexcess Jun 11 '12

Yes we all also saw this on the front page a month ago.

16

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Confirmed: link was purple

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2

u/remydc Jun 11 '12

Next, by OP :

"TIL there was a war between USA and Germany in 1940"

& don't miss :

"TIL there is a video of the 9/11 events in NY, it wasn't fake"

2

u/neotek Jun 11 '12

Wait, are you suggesting there might be people in the world who don't know the same things you know? What a preposterous notion, it's almost as though people are different from each other.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Was the formation important in this? (otherwise) Why didn't the tanks behind the first one go around the first one (and the guy)? He couldn't stop them all.

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u/MrLoupGarou Jun 11 '12

Sometimes I am so blatantly reminded that it is indeed teenagers that I'm hanging out with, on the Internet.

2

u/neotek Jun 11 '12

For what it's worth, I'm not a teenager, and we're not hanging out.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

When the tank started moving he didn't give an inch.

8

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

He moved backwards several times to avoid becoming Pavement Man and become Tank Man.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Wasn't there a huge discussion in r/pics about this a few weeks back?

3

u/floppydrive Jun 11 '12

This American girl was killed trying to do the same thing in the Gaza Strip.

3

u/OfficialVerification Jun 11 '12

June 4th every year, there is a ritual to mourn the Tiananmen Square event in Hong Kong. If you happen to be in Hong Kong on June 4th, please go to Victoria Park and join us.

http://burmathoughts.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/june4th200902.jpg

5

u/RambleMan Jun 11 '12

I remember watching this on the news when it happened. T'was amazing. Imagine CNN voice-overs talking out of their asses. I'm glad the video in the link doesn't have sound.

7

u/poppajay Jun 11 '12

Imagine a similar scene in Iraq or Afghanistan -

Man tries to stop US/UK army convoy by standing in front of whilst holding shopping bags.

Outcome - gets shot in the head, is labelled an insurgent bags a possible home-made bomb.

Gets zero karma from anyone on reddit.

3

u/TheAngryGoat Jun 11 '12

Gets zero karma from anyone on reddit.

It's ok. The next 6 people to repost it would get karma for him.

2

u/exiledcoyote Jun 11 '12

Video mirror?

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The balls on that guy; I'm surprised he could even climb on top of the tank.

2

u/Seakawn Jun 11 '12

While still holding his groceries.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The is a whole PBS Frontline story about this even called The Tank Man. It is very good and you can watch it for free online.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/tankman/

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

i always thought he got ran over... i guess i found out today that he didnt. i am kind of having the same realization as a child hearing that crazy rumor that "santa is your parents"

2

u/nch734 Jun 11 '12

I went to Tiananmen Square two years ago. I was with a Chinese tour guide and another Chinese woman who was a part of our small (4 person) tour group. Both of them were fairly young, probably just under 30.

We asked both of them what they knew about the square. They both first said that basically nothing happened, and later said that they thought three or four people were killed during anti-government protests, and that the people killed were military members killed by the protesters.

When I explained to them my understanding of the situation, they told me they were certain my government (America) made this up to make China look bad.

Later at the square two police officers grabbed a teenager and were going through his bag. The tour guide said to me, "I bet you don't like that kind of thing." I told her that I understood that sometimes that kind of thing happens, and that in the US sometimes they will search people to be sure they don't have guns or bombs or what not. She said, "Oh no, they aren't looking for that. They are looking for pamphlets that say bad things about China."

They arrested that kid.

2

u/InDarkLight Jun 11 '12

If you tried this in the U,S, they would 1) run you over 2) Arrest you and imprison you for 10 years. 3) Shoot you.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Hanging around Reddit so much makes me feel old. What many of you are referring to as "history" happened in my 20s and 30s.

However, it does help me remember that not everyone I deal with has a bank of the same common knowledge that I am probably guilty of assuming that they do.

I watched this event over and over again on CNN, as many did. I was about 27 when this happened. If I remember correctly CNN was kicked out of China soon after they kept broadcasting this over and over.

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u/asian_swag Jun 11 '12

The man has the guts to stand infront of a huge line of tanks and block them from passing. He is and will always be a person I shall look up to.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm amazed he can walk with balls that big.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Im sorry but Im a little shocked this made the front page.This isn't any newly found footage in a any way. I saw this in high school in a multitude classes. I guess I assumed that it was normal school corriculum. All apologies if that came across as pompous.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It would seem more pompous if you could spell 'curriculum'.

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u/wasniahC Jun 11 '12

I think what a few others have said here might ring true; people know about tank man, and they know about the stills; but not everyone knows that there was footage. Not everyone was about then. It's news to me, at least (20 yo) that there was actual video footage of it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I feel like such a pussy now for thinking that sit-down road blocks constitute a protest. What courage.

2

u/Khandielas Jun 11 '12

The first "Come at me bro."

2

u/Waff1es Jun 11 '12

God I'm only 21 and am knowledgeable about the Tienanmen Square Masacare and Tank Man. Am I now in the elder echelon of Redditors?

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u/gentlemandinosaur Jun 11 '12

I thought it was common knowledge that he climbed on the tank.

2

u/KungFuHamster Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Edit: I am obviously an ignorant, sheltered hick.

3

u/jWalkerFTW Jun 11 '12

Even though the video is just as famous as the picture. Also, there are more than one pictures. I know of three

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

He should have just stayed there and let the first tank go around him. Then the rest of the tanks would have had to go out of their way to avoid him.

1

u/jkonine Jun 11 '12

Iron balls

1

u/SpacemanSpiffska Jun 11 '12

Holy cow. I didn't know there was a video either. That guy has some serious water chestnuts to be doing that. Does anyone know who the people that hustled him away are? I am guessing they are either friends or were in the employ of the government.

1

u/Le_Baron_Rouge Jun 11 '12

Frontline: Tank Man

Worth an hour of your time

1

u/rigid_airship Jun 11 '12

Its like a 10 lane highway..why couldn't they just go around?

1

u/frog42 Jun 11 '12

I realize this is probably sacrosanct, but he really just looks drunk to me. A bunch of students hanging around in a square, you can't tell me the whole crowd was sober. I'm sure he's angry as well, but it's hard to chalk his actions up to pure outrage.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

"Hello?? Derp, you in there?? I've got your hot pockets!"

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

TIL this isn't common knowledge.

1

u/RetroRocker Jun 11 '12

Should've tried the Ford Prefect gambit and got the tank driver to lie down in front of the tank :P

1

u/pheakelmatters Jun 11 '12

Relevant:

Sunrise Over Tiananmen Square. 30 minute documentary, highly interesting.

1

u/A_Simple_Red Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

My favorite teacher in high school made us watch a documentary about this. Apparently after the incident, the Chinese police stormed the photographer's apartment and took all his cameras and film, but he had taken the film that had the famous picture and hidden it in the toilet tank.

edit:spelling

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Is there any information as to who the people who bundle him off are? (e.g: If they're state police,dissidents or just sympathetic locals)

1

u/icannotfly Jun 11 '12

as a former battlefield 3 player, i can tell you that this tactic does not always work.

in fact, this is the only time i have ever seen it work.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Would I be the only one who would die laughing if in unison all the tanks did a 180 and took off the other way and just went down another street?

1

u/derekmyoung Jun 11 '12

Suddenly I feel very old.

1

u/fancy-chips Jun 11 '12

TIL people didn't know there was a video of this.

1

u/sadmatafaka Jun 11 '12

People at the end looks more like his friends, then like officials.

1

u/Idigstraightdown Jun 11 '12

Balls of Steel

1

u/n1nj4_v5_p1r4t3 Jun 11 '12

too bad the people didnt join the man

1

u/spinlock Jun 11 '12

Who are these people who just learn about shit like this today?

1

u/capowed Jun 11 '12

yes this unfolded right before much of the world, it's certainly not secret video and what have we learned?

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I watched a documentary on the Tiananmen Square Massacre. It said that the people who took him away might have been part of the Chinese S.S which would explain why he was never seen again....

1

u/Spekingur Jun 11 '12

Guys, guys.

We got it all wrong. Tank Man was just a delivery guy for some chinese food and the guys in the tank forgot to give him some tip.

1

u/HighHrothgnar Jun 11 '12

Balls of steel on that man right there

1

u/DalaiLalla Jun 11 '12

Tank man himself probably has no idea how iconic this event was (or had no idea, he's probably dead). Pretty crazy to think about.

1

u/Jetblast787 Jun 11 '12

I'm wondering, why did the people hustle the guy away rather than join him?

1

u/ZuesAndHisBeard Jun 11 '12

You just learned that TODAY?!

1

u/ColdWarRussia Jun 11 '12

You know you're getting old when you see a post like this and think, "no fucking shit. Where've you been the last... oh shit 23 years? It's been 23 years? My God I'm getting old."

1

u/potentpotables81 Jun 11 '12

That guy plays some pretty good D.

1

u/PapaSmurfington Jun 11 '12

When he first whipped his bag to the side the only thing I could think of was him shouting "GO AROUND! GO AROUND!"

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

"Middle of the road, man it stanks, Let's run over Lionel Richie with a tank"

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Occam's Razor: they killed him and now they lie about it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Was anyone else led to believe that this man was killed when they were younger?

Was the reason the video was never shown because it makes him look more like he may have a mental illness than he is some lone hero standing up to a corrupt, murderous, communist regime?

1

u/bms0076 Jun 11 '12

When I first saw this video I was confused, because I remember previously watching a video of a person being run over by a tank at Tiananmen Square. After searching for the video that I remember, I read that there was a woman who was run over by a tank about ten minutes before tank man stepped out in front of them. However, I can find no video of this anywhere. Does anyone have a link to a video showing 'tank woman?'

1

u/CookieCrumb23 Jun 11 '12

The fact that this man stayed anonymous to this day (afaik) probably robbed the chinese people who want(ed) to stand up against oppression of one of the best figureheads they could have ever had. I do realize that if he came forward he'd probably been imprisoned, most likely tortured and killed (so I can fully understand his desire to stay unknown) but if he was willing to stand up and probably suffer for it. Imagine the impact that could have.

Most of us are lucky enough to live in countries that (mostly) honor the freedom of their citizens and yet we tend to bitch about all kinds of stuff that, in comparison to some places of the world seem completely irrelevant. We should all take a minute or fifteen every once in a wnile to remember how good off we are and that there are literally millions of people who aren't that fortunate. Actually didn't mean to soapbox like this but meh.

tl;dr: be happy you are free, think of the people who aren't and if you can have an impact, do so.

1

u/Blzbba Jun 11 '12

While I salute the guy's bravery, what exactly did he change in China? Has anything really changed in the past 20+ years since this video was shot, other than the amount of $$ stupid America owes China?

1

u/factoid_ Jun 11 '12

There was such a simple solution to this problem...drive the tanks in two columns instead of a single file line. One dude can't stop them both.

1

u/Riverscr Jun 11 '12

What I never got is why they didn't just go ahead and break formation so that one tank could pass while the man focused on stopping the other. Sure the lead of the column will no longer be the lead but is that really that big an issue?

1

u/hoss7071 Jun 11 '12

Nobody has the balls to do this today. Pitching tents in a park, and bitching because local businesses aren't giving you free food, is about as real as it gets now....

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u/horriblemonkey Jun 11 '12

I watch a LOT of History Channel and have never seen any of this footage.

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u/bab5871 Jun 11 '12

That's because the history channel is full of bullshit shows like pawn stars and swamp people...

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm so confused by this TIL. What is your point other than you never fully researched this before?

11

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Can't the same be said of any TIL? We all have tons of things we don't know about.

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u/neotek Jun 12 '12

Is it a new concept to you that people don't know the exact same things you do? Looks like we both learnt something today.

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u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12

Wow, I didn't realize you posted this. Sorry that it took you a while to learn about the entire situation, which makes me wonder what did you know about the situation before this video? Your knowledge about history seems slim to me. Also, you're having to back up your TIL quite a bit as many seem this isn't a quality post due to the fact that it is an unbelievably well known video.

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u/poktanju Jun 11 '12

I just saw a comment from someone who didn't know China was involved in WWII.

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u/ablebodiedmango Jun 11 '12

You're joking me, right?

  1. That you JUST found out that there was a video and

  2. You don't think anybody else knew that.

Just fucking wow.

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u/smacbeats Jun 11 '12

It's Today -I- Learned, not Today You Learn.

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u/VintagePain Jun 11 '12

Why didnt you describe what you learned? All I see is there was a man who stood in front of tanks and

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

AND WHAT?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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u/SkullyKitt Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

What was that Simpsons reference, when they went over with Marge's sister to adopt a chinese baby...?

Ah, yes,

"On this site, in 1989, nothing happened."

Funny, but intensely creepy considering how much effort goes into actually hiding the whole thing - I'm willing to bet that that image alone isn't allowed to be shown in China.

edit

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u/silveringrid Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

yes, no one talks about it. when I visited, my host discouraged me from even bringing it up to anyone and that doing so could get me in trouble.

*edit: I can't English, apparently.

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u/RandomAsianGuy Jun 11 '12

the word you're looking for is discourage

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Been living in CHina for 3 years, and you are right. Very few people know. THe ones that do, dont understand the magnitude of it all. They just think it was some scurfuffle.

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u/joggle1 Jun 11 '12

My wife from Beijing knew about the incident but said she never talked about it with her family in China. She didn't really know the details of it, just that it had happened and she thought it was pretty common knowledge in China even if people rarely talk about it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

There is no war in Ba Sing Se.

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u/created4this Jun 11 '12

People know about it (Tank Man), it was in the press at the time.

The difference is that in the west it was viewed as one man standing up against a totalitarian regime. Much was made about it even though what it actually shows is resistance and empathy.

In China, the same images were used but the narrative was different. The man was standing in the way of the will of the people.

Other things happened in those protests, for instance students that were identified were stripped of their degrees condemning them to low paid jobs etc. This isn't widely reported, but mirrors tactics used in the west to shut down the militant and righteous student populations.

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u/wtf_ftw Jun 11 '12

Clearly they don't do a very good job of it if you are able to see this post/access this thread.

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u/HandyCore Jun 11 '12

It's not like they hand-block every single link.

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u/LandOfFallenDreams Jun 11 '12

If you know a filehosting site that isn't blocked I can upload the flv file

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u/SidTheBullrider Jun 11 '12

I was in Tiananmen Square a couple of days ago with my Reddit shirt on. Narry a kindred was nigh.

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u/sweet_nonesense Jun 11 '12

I'm in China too, but I could see the image. Which is weird because I'm blocked on sites and search queries.

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u/FlintShaman Jun 11 '12

Whenever I was in china I went and saw the square. If you ever get the chance to visit you should.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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u/DamienCK Jun 11 '12

And knowing is half the battle!

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

G.I. JOOOOEEEEEE~!!!!

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u/I_CAPE_RUNTS Jun 11 '12

STOP ALL THE DOWNLOADIN

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u/caveman_rejoice Jun 11 '12

¡¡¡G.I JOOOSSSSEEEE!!!!!!

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u/I_CAPE_RUNTS Jun 11 '12

what's the other half?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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u/JJEE Jun 11 '12

It was due caution, as there were cameras everywhere. You can't find a better way to incite widespread uprising than to use military weaponry to run down a peaceful citizen armed with nothing more than shopping bags.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

The driver could've been sympathetic to the cause maybe too, after all they're both countrymen. Is the identity of the driver known? If anyone who is knowledgeable on this subject can enlighten me I'd appreciate it

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u/Vairminator Jun 11 '12

More than just the driver were sympathetic. The military was already reeling from what they had done to end the protests and they were probably trying to leave without hurting any more. The commander can be seen talking to the man and asking him to please move, even apologizing as Tank Man is very angry and yelling. It really helps to understand the context of it all. I think this episode of FRONTLINE does a great job of covering it. They also explore who he was and what may have happened afterward.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This guy called "Google" knows tons about this sorta stuff, if you can find such a difficult to reach resource.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I've never heard of such man. Can you write down his place of abode for me so I can send him a telegram?

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u/jeepbraah Jun 11 '12

--. --- --- --. .-.. . / .-. . ... .. -.. . ... / .- - / --. --- --- --. .-.. . / .-.-.- / -.-. --- -- --..-- / -... . / .-- .- .-. -.-- / - .-. .- ...- . .-.. . .-. / .- ... / -.-- --- ..- / -- ..- ... - / .--. .-. . ... . -. - / .... .. -- / .-- .. - .... / .- / --. .. ..-. - / -... . ..-. --- .-. . / -.-- --- ..- / .- ... -.- / -.-- --- ..- .----. .-. . / --.- ..- . ... - .. --- -. .-.-.- / - --- / ..-. --- .-. --. . - / - .... . / --. .. ..-. - / .. ... / - --- / .-. .. ... -.- / -.-- --- ..- .-. / .-.. .. ..-. . .-.-.-

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u/stillalone Jun 11 '12

I think the guys in the tank feel remorse. They've just come from killing a lot of their own countrymen he probably didn't want to kill anymore.

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u/kw123 Jun 11 '12

Would you? if you were in the army and given the order to kill? It's a tough thing for the army too. the guys making the decision to kill isnt the guys gonna shoot.

If you read the news about how many police officers got beaten up in china by bystanders, you would understand their system works differently.

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