Discussion post, kids
Life update later, but for now, I saw this article a few days ago:
Chinese Britons have put up with racism for too long
It was up on ontd_political too, but by the time I read it discussion had died off, boo. It really hit a nerve with me, so I'm just going to repost my comment from ontd_p and then leave comments open for debate - I'd really like any Asians to talk about their experiences in an English-speaking country in comparison to this (or if you're a fellow UK Asian, what you think).
Many Chinese viewers were outraged at the portrayal of east Asians in this show, but typically, few complained.
Sadly, the British Chinese are reticent about speaking up for themselves
The cultural attitude of 'just get on with it and don't complain, you go and prove them wrong by having an amazing career!' probably doesn't help. I've only ever been directly racially abused once - I was 11, waiting outside my new grammar school for Mum to pick me up, some ignorant teenage fuckers raced past in a car and yelled "Chinese scum!" My first thought was "I don't know them, so they must be angry at someone else", so I looked up and down the street to see who it was. No-one else Chinese or even Asian in sight. I never told my family about it.
All my life me and my siblings have had it drummed into us by our parents (and especially by my dad) that the only person who has any effect on what we can make of our life is ourselves. "WORK HARD AND YOU WILL GO FAR!" That's the mantra. When my dad started teaching martial arts in Dagenham back in the 70s, he had a lot of black students, and he brought them up in relation to a massive argument about 'positive discrimination' that we had a while ago. He told me that his black students nearly always complained when they couldn't find a job that 'it's because I'm black'. My dad's response was that they shouldn't complain because if they just worked harder and ignored it, they would get past the problem. His exact words? "They should stop using their colour as an excuse."
In case you're wondering, my parents vote Tory. My dad says that all his Chinese friends also vote Tory, 'because we Chinese believe in working hard, and that if we work hard, we will be rewarded for it.'
This is a huge problem - my parents just don't get that there are underlying social problems and inbuilt prejudices that affect people's judgement, and I reckon it's the same for much of the Chinese/Asian community. It makes me want to bang their heads against a wall, because how can they truly believe that individuals are the only people who have an effect on their own lives? No-one lives in a fucking vacuum.
ETA: I hate my assumption that my dad and his friends represent the opinions of their generation in the UK, but - ack IDK if it's just his 'BOOTSTRAPS!'individualistic viewpoint or really a part of the culture. Probably a bit of both. This post is so inarticulate, argh.
Also, dear god Elizabeth Chan's anecdote about her friend's parents complimenting her on her English accent is hilariously like my experience in Australia last year - I was volunteering with Conservation Australia near Uluru, and was chatting with some friends when this old white Aussie guy on holiday came up to me and asked, "Where did you learn English?" "Oh, I was born in the UK." "Ah, I thought so, your accent is very good!" "...um, thanks?"
I'm really damn annoyed by the majority of comments on The Guardian article too, talk about missing the fucking point, you MORONS.
tangledtale and I were talking about representation (or lack thereof) in the media in the LJ Revival friending meme a few days ago too, so any thoughts on that would be great as well. I JUST REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVERYONE, PLEASE CROSSPOST IF YOU CAN.
Chinese Britons have put up with racism for too long
It was up on ontd_political too, but by the time I read it discussion had died off, boo. It really hit a nerve with me, so I'm just going to repost my comment from ontd_p and then leave comments open for debate - I'd really like any Asians to talk about their experiences in an English-speaking country in comparison to this (or if you're a fellow UK Asian, what you think).
Many Chinese viewers were outraged at the portrayal of east Asians in this show, but typically, few complained.
Sadly, the British Chinese are reticent about speaking up for themselves
The cultural attitude of 'just get on with it and don't complain, you go and prove them wrong by having an amazing career!' probably doesn't help. I've only ever been directly racially abused once - I was 11, waiting outside my new grammar school for Mum to pick me up, some ignorant teenage fuckers raced past in a car and yelled "Chinese scum!" My first thought was "I don't know them, so they must be angry at someone else", so I looked up and down the street to see who it was. No-one else Chinese or even Asian in sight. I never told my family about it.
All my life me and my siblings have had it drummed into us by our parents (and especially by my dad) that the only person who has any effect on what we can make of our life is ourselves. "WORK HARD AND YOU WILL GO FAR!" That's the mantra. When my dad started teaching martial arts in Dagenham back in the 70s, he had a lot of black students, and he brought them up in relation to a massive argument about 'positive discrimination' that we had a while ago. He told me that his black students nearly always complained when they couldn't find a job that 'it's because I'm black'. My dad's response was that they shouldn't complain because if they just worked harder and ignored it, they would get past the problem. His exact words? "They should stop using their colour as an excuse."
In case you're wondering, my parents vote Tory. My dad says that all his Chinese friends also vote Tory, 'because we Chinese believe in working hard, and that if we work hard, we will be rewarded for it.'
This is a huge problem - my parents just don't get that there are underlying social problems and inbuilt prejudices that affect people's judgement, and I reckon it's the same for much of the Chinese/Asian community. It makes me want to bang their heads against a wall, because how can they truly believe that individuals are the only people who have an effect on their own lives? No-one lives in a fucking vacuum.
ETA: I hate my assumption that my dad and his friends represent the opinions of their generation in the UK, but - ack IDK if it's just his 'BOOTSTRAPS!'individualistic viewpoint or really a part of the culture. Probably a bit of both. This post is so inarticulate, argh.
Also, dear god Elizabeth Chan's anecdote about her friend's parents complimenting her on her English accent is hilariously like my experience in Australia last year - I was volunteering with Conservation Australia near Uluru, and was chatting with some friends when this old white Aussie guy on holiday came up to me and asked, "Where did you learn English?" "Oh, I was born in the UK." "Ah, I thought so, your accent is very good!" "...um, thanks?"
I'm really damn annoyed by the majority of comments on The Guardian article too, talk about missing the fucking point, you MORONS.
tangledtale and I were talking about representation (or lack thereof) in the media in the LJ Revival friending meme a few days ago too, so any thoughts on that would be great as well. I JUST REALLY WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS EVERYONE, PLEASE CROSSPOST IF YOU CAN.