Yes, it is a good joke. Too bad the reality of the joke is lost on the PDF Chinese.
Here is why the joke went 'Whoooooosh' over all the PDF Chinese's heads...
It was a joke made by nervous soldiers. I do not mean nervous as in the PLA soldiers trembles in fear at the thought of facing giant Americans. That is not the cartoon intended.
All who entered military service, whether voluntary or not, know that while Death smiles on everyone, Death sits closer to the soldier than to the civilian. In the combat arms branch, Death does not merely sits close, he practically snuggles each man, and now woman.
In peace time, there are safety limits imposed on everything we do. But as the country orders the military status to get closer to the state of war, gradually most of those safety limits are lifted, making Death snuggles even tighter to each. A man or woman can die in an accident in the preparation for war. A cargo cable may break, the cargo shifts, and kills an airman. A sailor may accidentally fall overboard and drowns. A rifle may fail, cause the round to explode, and kills a soldier at the rifle range. Death takes and the army have not yet face the enemy.
You think the PLA soldiers, marines, airmen, and sailors do not know who they may have to fight ? Even if they end up fighting against an opponent who is inferior to the PLA in men, tanks, ships, and airplanes, each man still do not want to die in combat. While each will enter combat if ordered, in getting there, each silently wish the political leaderships of all sides will pull back from the brink of war just in time so that they do not have to fight. But now, each PLA soldier, marine, airman, and sailor know he will be facing an opponent who has vastly more combat experience and have better tanks, ships, and airplanes. Death do not care about politics, land, or resources. Death only care about exploiting just one opening so he can take the life of the person that he embraces. Each PLA soldier, marine, airman, and sailor know he will be facing an opponent who is very good at creating those openings onto other soldier, marine, airman, and sailor.
So here is the joke again...
Q: Why do we have military parades in Tiananmen Square but the Americans do not have any military parades at all ?
A: But the Americans do have military parades. They just do it in every overseas battlefield.
To the PDF Chinese...None of you have ever entertained the thought that he may die, if not at the hands of an opponent, then from the means from that same opponent. None of you have ever put on gears of war, the real thing and not the video game, and sit quietly with your thoughts on the unknown ahead. Sorry, but deployment overseas for college and a decent paying job is nowhere as scary as deployment overseas for war. None of you have ever looked at the tearful faces of loved ones knowing that they are crying for your life, possibly seeing you for the last time. None of you have ever grip a rifle, center a cockpit controller, or even turn a wrench on a bomb, knowing that what you do was purposely designed to create an opening so Death can enter to take a person's life.
And yet all of you talk casually about 'nuking' this city or wipe out that people. Talks of genocide came easily for you PDF Chinese.
In that perspective, chickenhawks like the PDF Chinese are worse than the politicians. At least with the politicians, they are official functionaries of the governments that sets policies. Their names and reputations are public for all to see and if necessary, to condemn in history. The PDF Chinese are cowards of the worst kind. And that ignorance of their own cowardice is why that joke is lost upon them.
