خېرىداردا كۆز بولسا، قاسساپ ئاچتىن ئۆلەر

Translation: If the customer had eyes, then the butchers would die from hunger. (i.e., if customers found out about how a business practices entirely, then the customers would stop buying and instead make the items themselves or demand the business to change, since not all businesses are honest or efficient).

Background information: “I heard this proverb while walking through Urumqi, the capital city of Xinjiang Autonomous Uyghur Province. It introduced me to the shrewd business and customer relationships that the Uyghurs treasure. I found a lot of treasures in Urumqi, a city that far too many people don’t know about. It is larger than Chicago.”

Context: The informant told me this proverb in a conversation about folklore.

Thoughts:  To me, this is an interesting proverb, and one that holds a viewpoint that is definitely held by a large amount of people. In this capitalistic society, we have corporations mass-producing items in ways that are not ethical, or even in ways we do not know – this creates mistrust toward these producers in the consumers. These corporations also want you to think you are a part of the family, even though you will never be; they do not care about you like they suggest, and want your money, a dishonesty a lot of people realize.