Absolutely Ridiculous!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!! I AM SOOOO FUCKING PISSED OFF RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
On my way home from the movies tonight, I got stopped TWICE by the police. Add that to the time this afternoon when I got stopped on the way to the movies, that would make it 3 times in one day!!! Seriously, get a life! Go bother someone else! ><###
Now, being a civil servant myself, I'm usually quite lenient when dealing with other government officials. I don't protest having my picture and fingerprints taken every time I pass Japanese immigration, even though technically, I don't have to because I'm an invitee of the Japanese government. I've gone above and beyond the duties listed on my contract with my board of education when they ask me to do things like translate Spanish to Japanese, or Japanese to Chinese. I've even put up with their nonsense (to a certain point) last summer when they were very worried about me coming back from my international traveling with the swine flu and spreading it to everyone in town, even though at that time, there were no confirmed cases in Indonesia versus the 100+ cases in Japan. Anyway, I would have to say that I've been pretty cooperative with all the requests made of me so far, even those which I think were slightly prejudiced and/or unfair.
So I've tried to be understanding about the whole thing today. Getting stopped 3 times, sure - unlucky coincidence. Getting my bike registration number checked all 3 times to make sure it wasn't stolen, okay there must have been some case with stolen bikes lately. Having to show them my ID, no problem. Being asked a thousand questions about where I left from and where I'm going and then getting lectured on being out so late, fine I guess, though I still maintain that it's my right to be cycling home at 1am in the morning on the weekend (and if they really want me to get home earlier, STOP PULLING ME OFF THE STREET TO INTERROGATE ME!!!), but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were concerned for my safety. Looking at my bags and commenting that I've bought a lot of stuff today, that's pushing it but I'll write it off as small talk. Asking about my nationality, ethnicity, and background over and over again. WHAT. THE. FUCK?!?!?! It says, VERY CLEARLY, on my ID that I'm from Canada. Why does it matter what ethnicity I am? Why does it matter what ethnicity my parents are? WHY MUST I BE LABELED AS "A CHINESE PERSON BUT A CANADIAN CITIZEN"?! The name on my ID is written exactly the same way it is on my passport (the reason for the ID card is so that I don't have to carry my passport with me 24/7) in English, so WHY MUST I GIVE THEM MY NAME IN KANJI?!?! It's not on any official documents except my birth certificate, and my last name's character doesn't even exist in Japanese!!! And then, of course, comes the comment that I don't "look Canadian." WHAT THE FUCK DO THEY KNOW ABOUT WHO "LOOKS CANADIAN" AND WHO DOESN'T?!?!?!
I'm not ashamed of my Chinese heritage, but identity-wise, I consider myself more Canadian than Chinese. I'm willing to call myself Canadian, or Chinese Canadian, but I'd never, ever call myself just "Chinese" in terms of nationality because I HATE being lumped with mainland Chinese people whose way of thinking I often disagree with. I hate it when people say that I don't "look Canadian" or just plainly label me "Chinese" based on my appearance, despite everything else. Can they be any more ignorant and superficial?!?!
I wonder if there's somewhere I can file a complaint about this incident. They may not listen to me because I'm a foreigner, and my opinion may not matter because I'm not important enough, but someone needs to let them know that they were way out of line with this one! ><###
On my way home from the movies tonight, I got stopped TWICE by the police. Add that to the time this afternoon when I got stopped on the way to the movies, that would make it 3 times in one day!!! Seriously, get a life! Go bother someone else! ><###
Now, being a civil servant myself, I'm usually quite lenient when dealing with other government officials. I don't protest having my picture and fingerprints taken every time I pass Japanese immigration, even though technically, I don't have to because I'm an invitee of the Japanese government. I've gone above and beyond the duties listed on my contract with my board of education when they ask me to do things like translate Spanish to Japanese, or Japanese to Chinese. I've even put up with their nonsense (to a certain point) last summer when they were very worried about me coming back from my international traveling with the swine flu and spreading it to everyone in town, even though at that time, there were no confirmed cases in Indonesia versus the 100+ cases in Japan. Anyway, I would have to say that I've been pretty cooperative with all the requests made of me so far, even those which I think were slightly prejudiced and/or unfair.
So I've tried to be understanding about the whole thing today. Getting stopped 3 times, sure - unlucky coincidence. Getting my bike registration number checked all 3 times to make sure it wasn't stolen, okay there must have been some case with stolen bikes lately. Having to show them my ID, no problem. Being asked a thousand questions about where I left from and where I'm going and then getting lectured on being out so late, fine I guess, though I still maintain that it's my right to be cycling home at 1am in the morning on the weekend (and if they really want me to get home earlier, STOP PULLING ME OFF THE STREET TO INTERROGATE ME!!!), but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say that they were concerned for my safety. Looking at my bags and commenting that I've bought a lot of stuff today, that's pushing it but I'll write it off as small talk. Asking about my nationality, ethnicity, and background over and over again. WHAT. THE. FUCK?!?!?! It says, VERY CLEARLY, on my ID that I'm from Canada. Why does it matter what ethnicity I am? Why does it matter what ethnicity my parents are? WHY MUST I BE LABELED AS "A CHINESE PERSON BUT A CANADIAN CITIZEN"?! The name on my ID is written exactly the same way it is on my passport (the reason for the ID card is so that I don't have to carry my passport with me 24/7) in English, so WHY MUST I GIVE THEM MY NAME IN KANJI?!?! It's not on any official documents except my birth certificate, and my last name's character doesn't even exist in Japanese!!! And then, of course, comes the comment that I don't "look Canadian." WHAT THE FUCK DO THEY KNOW ABOUT WHO "LOOKS CANADIAN" AND WHO DOESN'T?!?!?!
I'm not ashamed of my Chinese heritage, but identity-wise, I consider myself more Canadian than Chinese. I'm willing to call myself Canadian, or Chinese Canadian, but I'd never, ever call myself just "Chinese" in terms of nationality because I HATE being lumped with mainland Chinese people whose way of thinking I often disagree with. I hate it when people say that I don't "look Canadian" or just plainly label me "Chinese" based on my appearance, despite everything else. Can they be any more ignorant and superficial?!?!
I wonder if there's somewhere I can file a complaint about this incident. They may not listen to me because I'm a foreigner, and my opinion may not matter because I'm not important enough, but someone needs to let them know that they were way out of line with this one! ><###