IBARW 3: International racism

[oyceter]

keilexandra's post reminded me of a rant I've had brewing. (On a side note, this post isn't meant to argue with hers, as I completely agree with her post. Like yeloson says, "Where you stand with intersectionality is really about what you're looking for—are you looking for social justice for all of us? Or are you just looking for someone to pull their foot off your neck, without worrying about whose necks you may be standing on yourself?")

I was in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Shanghai for the past two months this summer, and I cannot even count the number of times I heard anti-black comments, from "Oh, that place is so unsafe, so many black people!" to "OMG she's dating a black person and it will RUIN HER LIFE!" Before ranting about how racist Chinese society is (and oh, it is) and having people once more use that as an example of how bad Chinese people are, I would like to note: where do people think this prejudice is coming from?

Obviously, there are not cities and cities in China and Taiwan filled with black people for the media to make histrionic reports about. Most TV shows in Taiwan don't have sassy black sidekicks or Magical Negroes. But turn on the TV, and what do you see but bad HBO action flicks with the black guy getting killed, or all-white TV shows from the US (and sometimes the UK, but mostly the US), or news on the New Yorker cover of Obama. I'm also guessing that when the West began to trade with China, the ideas of the skience of race were probably brought over as well, complete with the placement of Asians above black people and Native Americans in the hierarchy (but all below white people, of course).

Six hundred years of white colonialism leaves its mark, even on areas that have suffered relatively little when compared to others.

... which is not to excuse anti-black sentiment, because choosing to side with the oppressors, no matter what the incentives? Still made of lose.

• Intl. Blog Against Racism Week 3


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Comments

[jiawen]

In general, Greater China (mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong, etc.) is pretty safe, at least in terms of physical safety. Chances of getting mugged are quite a bit lower, on the whole, than in the US. Other forms of safety -- emotional, spiritual -- may be closer to that of the US.

I remember noticing that most of the ethnic groups in Taiwan (and there are a lot: "mainlanders" (Han Chinese who came to Taiwan post-1949), "natives" (Han Chinese who have been in Taiwan since before 1949), Hakka, Ami, Puyuma, etc. etc.) believe that people from other ethnic groups are lazy, unreliable and devious. I first heard it from "mainlanders" about Hakka people; I later heard it from a Hakka person about the "natives". And the general cultural vibe in Taiwan is that all the aboriginal folks match that stereotype, too. Towards the end of my stay, when I heard someone use that stereotype, I couldn't help but laugh and tell the person, "But they say exactly the same thing about you!"