About

"It's All So Tiresome" is a reaction image featuring a screencap of the Railway Engineering Company employee Lao Yang in the 2011 documentary Empire of Dust, which is often used to express exhaustion and frustration.

Origin

In 2007, the Democratic Republic of Congo struck a $6 billion deal with the Chinese Railway Engineering Company to develop their national infrastructure in exchange for access to Katanga’s mineral reserves, which are worth more than $50 billion. Empire of Dust is a documentary about the Chinese attempt to build a 300 kilometer road connecting Kolwezi with Katanga Province’s capital, Lubumbashi.^[1]

Lao Yang, a Chinese man who is Head of Logistics, is responsible for the building materials. His interpreter is a Congolese named Eddy, who is fluent in Mandarin. The film depicts the cultural differences between the Congolese and the Chinese, which make cooperation almost impossible. When the chief is due to visit the site, the road is nowhere near finished. The Chinese, who have flown in just for the project, often talk about the Congolese in blatantly racist terms, and the Congolese in turn seem reluctant to lift a finger for their Chinese bosses.^[2]

The Chinese workers are dissatisfied with the lack of communication among the native workers, which they see as essential for productivity. At one point in the documentary, the workers miscount when loading a truck and are missing materials upon arrival. Lao Yang is told by a worker that he cannot contact the "gravel guy" because the guy rarely answers his phone in the morning. Lao Yang replies that it's already past 12:00 PM. The phrase "It's all so tiresome" is spoken by a frustrated Lao Yang in reaction to his experience working with the Africans.

Spread

The meme is popular on 4chan, particularly its /pol/ board. The documentary was first shared on /pol/ in January 2016 and the "It's all so tiresome" quote began being circulated in February 2016.

Other quotes from the documentary by Lao Yang are also posted, including "When a black guy drives the truck, he does a lot of damage." and "Black drivers think they can fly when they accelerate."

External References