But those Xiongnu deaths were murders, weren’t they? Committed in the name of empire and emperor, but murders nevertheless. It disturbs me now that I wasn’t remotely disturbed by that before, when I read the anecdote the first, second, or third time.
Sherry Thomas does an incredible job of portraying the ways prejudice is unconsciously built when one is only exposed to the narrative perpetuating it. The subtle yet constantly present reminders of how flawed and harmful your prejudiced views were is a startling realization when you understand how unsettling the truth is, and how you’ve rarely been unsettled by it.
