A smart person once told me that the feeling she gets when certain people enter the room is the same feeling she gets when she encounters the dank scent of mildew on damp, bath towels. It’s a livable smell, that palpable acrid taste in the air, but for her it also brings with it a constant grating and discomfort. Even worse, people who project this feeling on others with condescending smiles and cheerful helping hands are often “true believers” with the very best of intentions. They move and talk as though under an ideological spell. Their hope seems to be that when they enter the atmosphere of a situation the positive vibes, the affect, or “wisdom of the body,” they emit will radiate like an emotional contagion. Think happy thoughts! Be positive! Thinking about these intersubjective dynamics made me reconsider a summery Mandarin-Uyghur pop song called “Harmonious Xinjiang” (Ch: Hexie Xinjiang). Released last month following recent traumas on the outskirts of the oasis cities of Southern Xinjiang, the highly-polished music video is filled with well-meaning …