Insidious racism in Britain

[aelf]

Chinese Britons have put up with racism for too long

On the surface, the Chinese seem relatively content and well-to-do, with British Chinese pupils regularly outperforming their classmates and Chinese men more likely than any other ethnic group to be in a professional job. Consequently, we are often overlooked in talks on racism and social exclusion.

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Shouts of "Jackie Chan!" and kung-fu noises from random strangers continue to greet me in the street, perhaps followed by a "konichiwa!" Just a few days ago, a friend was having a post-hangover drink in a trendy east London pub, only to be accused by the manager of being a DVD pedlar hassling his clients.

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In hindsight it was good preparation for a profession where, on my first job, the Bafta-winning director chuckled to everyone on set that I'd trained in kung fu, and where any character who speaks in some kind of dodgy east Asian accent is considered hilarious.

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And frankly, it isn't surprising that prejudices are rife in a country whose media perpetuates the very images that evoke stereotypes and cultural misunderstandings: Chinese characters rarely appear on our television screens, but when they do, you can bet they'll be DVD sellers, illegal immigrants, spies or, in the case of last year's Sherlock, weird acrobatic ninja types. Many Chinese viewers were outraged at the portrayal of east Asians in this show, but typically, few complained.

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Denial gets us nowhere. But awareness, thoughtfulness and courage could make millions of lives so much better.

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Those aren't the worst problems in connection to racism towards East Asians (I think the 'bamboo ceiling' is a much more serious problem). I can already imagine someone like Flying Pig trying to defend all that as harmless banter. But, frankly, I think more Chinese people should learn martial arts so that they can beat the crap out of people making unfunny and asinine remarks.

Opinions? Are East Asians model immigrants who are willing to tolerate the ignorance of their host culture, or are they letting people get away too lightly with racism?

 

[aelf]

I also came across this article, in which the Daily Mail appears not to know where fertiliser used to come from. Because a Chinaman is doing it and because he uses panda (a 'Chinese' animal) crap to grow tea, it must be a crazy idea. Not like people ever used crap as fertiliser anywhere else, right?

With the media so eager to sell the image of East Asians as wacky and weird, it's no wonder that the collective intelligence in the UK is so low when it comes to dealing with East Asians.

 

[Tee Kay]

I can tolerate light racist taunting or stereotyped portrayals. I'm far more concerned with discrimination in employment, law enforcement and politics.

 

[Yeekim]

EDIT:
the comments below was directed at aelf:

I believe your last example is actually one to the contrary. The Daily Mail probably knows where fertilizer used to come from. They are (just like me) at loss why using fertilizer produced by panda (rather than, e.g., a cow) would justify a price increase of 7000 times.

And I don't think the British racists forced this entrepreneur to dress into a panda costume to advertise his product.
___
My final verdict is that when your greatest problem is randomly being yelled "Good evening" in Japanese, your life is too bloody easy.

 

[Mise]

Wow, that article was enlightening. Thanks for sharing it. Racism really is one of those things that you can't understand unless it's happened to you. Articles like this simply can't explain how it feels to be singled out because of your race, but they can at least highlight that it is a problem.

 

[ParkCungHee]

In fairness to Sherlock Holmes, they've also depicted Scotsmen, Cossacks and Mathemeticians as weird, kung-fu acrobat types.

 

[aelf]

I believe your last example is actually one to the contrary. The Daily Mail probably knows where fertilizer used to come from. They are (just like me) at loss why using fertilizer produced by panda (rather than, e.g., a cow) would justify a price increase of 7000 times.

Eh, not if you look at the quips about the "mature and nutty taste". And nowhere did the article suggest that using other kinds of animal waste is a better and cheaper option.

My final verdict is that when your greatest problem is randomly being yelled "Good evening" in Japanese, your life is too bloody easy.

No, of course that is not the extent of the problem. That is just a symptom of a bigger trend.

But it's not like anything will stop the ardent members of the bourgeoisie from proclaiming that other people's lives are too easy, as though it is a given that life should be difficult. I'd put it down to the pathological obsession with the honest and hardworking archetype.

 

[Mise]

In fairness to Sherlock Holmes, they've also depicted Scotsmen, Cossacks and Mathemeticians as weird, kung-fu acrobat types.

The thing is, being singled out because of your race feels different to being singled out for your nationality. I don't know whether it feels different to being singled out for your gender or sexuality, since, apart from my race and nationality, I live a pretty heteronormal life. It's not something that has easy analogies in terms of how it feels to be on the receiving end.

 

[ParkCungHee]

I'm just saying, the thing is, everybody in Sherlock Holmes knows Kung-Fu.
It's easier to create a list of characters that don't know Kung-Fu in those movies then the people who do.

 

[Mise]

I'm just saying, the thing is, everybody in Sherlock Holmes knows Kung-Fu.
It's easier to create a list of characters that don't know Kung-Fu in those movies then the people who do.

Oops, I misread your post. Sorry, my mistake.

 

[Oruc]

Those examples seem very tame for racism.

 

[GinandTonic]

Park, I think the reference is to the Mofat BBC Sherlock not the two Richie movies.

 

[holy king]

I also came across this article, in which the Daily Mail appears not to know where fertiliser used to come from. Because a Chinaman is doing it and because he uses panda (a 'Chinese' animal) crap to grow tea, it must be a crazy idea. Not like people ever used crap as fertiliser anywhere else, right?

With the media so eager to sell the image of East Asians as wacky and weird, it's no wonder that the collective intelligence in the UK is so low when it comes to dealing with East Asians.

i dont know where you are from, but here people still use poo as fertilizer.
ah, i love the country air.

 

[Winner]

In the Middle Ages, people were terrified day and night of living in sin. Today, in some Western countries at least, they are led to be terrified day and night of being "racist" I wonder when you start prosecuting people for having "racist thoughts".

Well, whatever. The word means nothing in contemporary English, it's empty, a tool used by useful idiots to slander people who doesn't share their delusions.

 

[aelf]

Eh, only idiots don't think that racism doesn't exist.

 

[ParkCungHee]

That's what the Bolshevik party just wants you to think. They should be taking over Britain any day now.

 

[Murky]

I think the world could use less 'isms' in general.

 

[Winner]

Eh, only idiots don't think that racism doesn't exist.

And only useful idiots think it's everywhere around us, subverting the multicultural utopia we're supposedly striving to achieve.

 

[Azale]

And only useful idiots think it's everywhere around us, subverting the multicultural utopia we're supposedly striving to achieve.

I can't say how much of this I've witnessed in the US. There were basically no East Asians at my elementary/junior/high school, and they tend to keep to themselves at the college level where I live.

I'm also hesitant to make any sweeping judgments of stereotypes on tv or in hollywood, though I can think of a few shows that reinforce what aelf is talking about (like Two Broke Girls).

I'm not East Asian so I'm not insulted on as personal a level, more on the "ok this is stale and unoriginal :/ " level. So this stuff needs to go.

 

[Flying Pig]

Link

Those aren't the worst problems in connection to racism towards East Asians (I think the 'bamboo ceiling' is a much more serious problem). I can already imagine someone like Flying Pig trying to defend all that as harmless banter. But, frankly, I think more Chinese people should learn martial arts so that they can beat the crap out of people making unfunny and asinine remarks.

And true to form, most of the time it is. British culture might seem quite threatening to outsiders because we mock everyone for everything (I mean, I get mocked for being 'fat' (this time last year I was running marathons) 'Welsh' (I'm from Gloucestershire) 'a thick-skulled para' (hopefully I don't need to defend that one!) and 'Adge Cutler' (OK, that one is entirely deserved... awd butt), and it's often hard to tell that we don't mean it if you're not familiar with our way of doing things, because a horrific insult to your family and place of birth delivered in an over-the-top aggressive voice is probably just a joke... or exactly what it sounds like . Actual racism is much rarer here than in most countries, particularly when you compare us with France or the US, which is partly why we have a much more relaxed attitude to jokes about it.