Self Haters are worse than Racists

Turn on subtitles to understand the video.

Racism is an ugly concept in every sense. But the thing that hurts deep down, even more so than racism, is self hating racism.

I can never, ever accept someone from my own race discriminating against Chinese people and other East Asians. When slavery still existed in America, black slave owners were seen as the worst of the very worst by black people.

And in a sense, that’s how I also see self hating Chinese people.

It’s a cancer in our community. A really hurtful cancer.

It’s not that I believe that every ethnic minority should be completely and utterly loyal and devoted to their race. That in itself, can be said to be racist. But, at the very least, they shouldn’t be hateful to their own community. Surely that’s not too much to ask?

So yes, strong words from me, and I have good reason to say so.

I have, on many occasions, met people from my own race who directly said they don’t like hanging around Chinese people. Or saw their parent culture as embarrassing and shameful. Sometimes it wasn’t a direct word. More of a general attitude towards me and my race – which so happens to be their race as well. In some cases, you can feel real disgust in their voice.

It really does hurt to see and feel this.

And the thing that most upsets me is that it’s a prevailing attitude, and one that could potentially destroy the Chinese community.

These problems don’t just exist with westernized Chinese who have grown up in the UK, America, Australia or in other westerns culture. It seems to be a deeply ingrained problem in Chinese culture altogether.

There is an inferiority complex that runs with many Chinese people. A belief that westerners should held in high regard, and that we should look up to them. And this leads to Chinese people treating them better, and discriminating against their own community. It seems that a lot of East Asians have never shaken off the colonial attitudes of the past.

How does this manifest itself?

• Western models being used in advertising in China, resulting in perceived better brand image and more products being sold by the company. Because that’s what the consumers want to see.

• An English teacher of Chinese origin, who can speak perfect English, yet is overlooked by the school in China because the head would prefer a western looking person teaching English.

• Chinese people flaunting their western boyfriend or husband, in an attempt to show everyone the apparent social ladder they have climbed. And let’s be clear here, I’m not against mixed relationships – in fact I’m all for them. But what I’m not for, is relationships that have been formed by one person for an ulterior motive.

• Surgery by many Chinese people to alter their features to more western features.

• General preferential treatment given to westerners.

There are so many examples which I could reel off.

Let’s be clear here, I’m not western person bashing. As I said earlier in this article, racism is ugly. What I am bashing however is the absurd inferiority complex some sections of the Chinese community have. 

The putting of the westerner on the pedestal, as I like to call it.

Until we learn to address these internal community issues, we are never going to be able to tackle racism.

And sadly, I don’t think we ever will.

Apathy Amongst the Chinese Community Towards Racism

A horrific and awful news story about a baby being discovered in a drainpipe in China. Of course there was condemnation all around, but what was shocking was how some sections of society aimed their condemnation at the Chinese people.

Yes, all 1.4 billion members of my race were being labeled as barbaric and that the behavior from the individual who committed this horrific crime was representative of our race.

This was the message from an ignorant few.

Yet more shocking was the wall of apathy I was met with some members of my community to such comments. An attitude I have come to label as “keep your head down and don’t say anything” response common amongst the oriental communities.

It’s the reason why some sections of society can say incredibly offensive things about our community, without even realizing they have been offensive.

True, the comments made in this situation weren’t exactly strong if you compare it to more serious racial issues. But I have heard and seen far worse in the past concerning my race, and still this “keep your head down and don’t say anything” attitude prevails.

One of the things I most respected about Muslim community after last week’s Woolwich attack, is how many people came out and made a stand against the attacker and the racists who had hijacked the situation. In the media, on social media and on various other channels. They did everything they could to try and dispel the stereotypes and let the world know the true, positive nature of the Muslim community.

The Chinese and oriental community is sleep walking towards being targets of racism.

It takes one political spanner to be thrown into the mix before all these stereotypes, and seemingly innocuous ignorant comments and ideas become transformed into truly racist beliefs.

Let’s take the example situation that China suddenly became embroiled in a conflict with America and Britain. Unlikely but could happen given the ever present tensions between the Far East and the Western World.

Or perhaps another example of one crazed oriental individual who decides upon himself to attack western society through a violent and publicity grabbing method.

What happens in the reactions of society?

Individuals who had previously poked fun at our community suddenly use these ideas to genuinely attack us. They react with hateful comments and actions against our community instead of at the individual.

This is because no one has ever spoken up to tell them that what they said and believed was racist or offensive. No one has ever tried to inform them that the stereotypes were sweeping and generalized. That not every individual in that community is the same.

So this why we need to start standing up for ourselves. Like the Muslims have done, and like the Black and South Asian community has done over the years.

It doesn’t matter how harmless their comments or actions are.  Just let the person know. Stand up for yourself and explain to them why its offensive. Educate them. Let them know we won’t allow these sorts of views to be perpetuated about us.

We are light years behind other racial communities when it comes to educating the ignorant. 

There are still large swathes of people who believe all we do is run takeaways. That Chinese people are backwards and barbaric. That making kung fu noises and shouting “Gok Wan” at us is acceptable.

Some people might say the blame is on them for being ignorant. I disagree.

I say 50% of the blame is on them for being ignorant. The other 50% is on us for not making an effort to educate and make people aware of who we really are.

We need leaders in the Western World for the oriental communities. Many other racial communities have politicians, actors, celebrities and sports stars to turn to. People who fly the colours of their community with pride. People who speak up about injustices no matter how small.

People who don’t just say “Leave it, it isn’t worth it” whenever they experience any sort of racism or ignorance.

This is how we make things better. By taking things in our own hands.

For the benefit of a few reading, this blog is not just being posted on Facebook and Twitter, but also on message boards, websites and to some big publications to preach to the “uncoverted.”

Thank You.

The Woolwich Attacks and the Reaction

The second most sickening thing about yesterday’s knife attack in Woolwich, is the amount of racists that have come out of the woodwork because of it.

It maddens me how there is a sizeable amount of Brits out there who, to put it quite bluntly, are complete and utter morons. But I’m not here to name and shame. I’ll leave it to the author of this brilliant blog.

Another issue I have is with the reaction of a small section of people, who are expressing outrage with the apparently appalling behavior of members of the public in the aftermath of the attack.

Yes, those “shocking” and “disgraceful” members of the public who dared to stay calm after the murder and not risk their lives and provoke the situation further, by confronting two big, armed and dangerous “terrorists”.

Those outrageous individuals, who stood resiliently, showed no fear and waited for the trained members of police to arrive and handle the situation properly; before giving important evidence that could aid the officers and bring these men to justice. How terribly awful of them.

The fact of the matter is, the attack happened so quickly that the poor victim had already passed before anyone could even think about stepping in to help.

And even if there was time, could anyone honestly look me in the eye and say they would have mustered up the courage and gone running in to try and overpower two large men, with knives and guns on them?

Any decent human being would have offered help if they could. But it was clear it wasn’t possible this time.

Would these people be happy if instead, the members of public seen in ITV footage were screaming, hysterical and running around like headless chickens causing a panic? Would they have preferred them to lose their calm, further antagonise the attackers, and run from the scene thereby abandoning the victim and showing no resilience to two individuals representing a warped, extremist version of Islam?

If there is any outrage out there, it should be directed at the attackers and the people who hijack the incident for their right wing views. Not at members of the public, and not at the Muslim or black community.

A call out to all Chinese living in the West - Don't forget who you are!

Contrary to what many people think, I have always tried to have an optimistic view on human nature.  But as I get older and acquire more experience of the world, this belief is continually tested, particularly by the actions and behaviours of people within my ethnic community.

Before I go on further, I would like to make clear that this is not a rant piece. Too often have I been told off by my fellow peers, for approaching the subject in too, let’s say, strong a manner.

So no, this isn’t an incensed essay on the failures of my community. More a gentle article on the key issues my community faces.

A significant proportion of the Chinese community residing in the western world is being brainwashed by the western media and culture. That’s quite a big statement to make, I know. But I have good reason to say this.

The Chinese community in the west is highly fragmented. We very rarely live in communities or ghettos like other ethnic groups.  Consequently, young Chinese people growing up normally have very little interaction with other Chinese, other than their parents and other close relatives.

In conjunction with this, we often experience racism, albeit casual and not of the vicious nature that other ethnic groups can sometimes receive. At primary school, I often had classmates make squinty eyes at me, and would walk past to echoes of kung fu sounds in the corridors. I’m sure most Chinese kids have experienced the same.

If you’re a smart young kid, you learn to brush this off and develop a thick skin. The grown up way.

But most children aren’t like that.

Consequently, the alternative is that many Chinese kids develop insecurities. They learn to mask these insecurities by distancing themselves from their race, and becoming as westernized as possible in order to be accepted.

This might begin with having the same interests as their white British friends, but slowly spirals into wanting to have blonde hair, big eyes, and a caucasian nose.

They shun being around other Chinese peers at school, and prefer to be around white British or white Americans instead. Being around another Chinese person becomes something of an embarrassment to them, a symbol of all their insecurities.

And whilst some Chinese kids begin to realize their error as they reach adulthood, a lot of them carry these insecurities with them for the rest of their life.

You may be thinking how I could possibly provide such an in depth analysis – and that’s because I used to be one of these kids. Up until a few years ago, I used to be that Chinese guy who wanted nothing to do with the Chinese community.

The other problem Chinese people in the western world face is the lack of role models. There are very few British Chinese or British American celebrities to look up to – especially for Chinese males.

In Britain, there are very few British Born Chinese TV personalities aside from Gok Wan and Ken Hom. There are no British Born footballers, and in the U.S, there has only recently been the first rise of an American Born Chinese basketball player Jeremy Lin. There are a few American Born and British Chinese females in the public eye. But not many.

In fact, we are often portrayed extremely negatively in the media. Hollywood movies stereotype us as the kung fu fighters with the broken English accent. Or we are painted as the socially inept geeks.  The last time I remember seeing a Chinese guy in a British series, he was stir frying chips in Peter Kay’s restaurant.

There is no hunky Chinese man in western media to aspire to, no charming Chinese male gentleman, very few female Chinese TV personalities.

And as China moves ever closer to become the world’s next super power, the negative stereotypes are gradually evolving into images of the big Chinese bully, the people with the poor human rights record, and the backward individuals with the odd delicacies.

Western Chinese might look back into China for role models. But even in a nation of dark hair and dark eyes, the advertising campaigns utilize westerners to sell products and services – further reinforcing the belief that white is what we should all be aspiring to.

There is also a real lack of pride in Chinese communities in the west. Unlike, for example, the Jewish community or South Asian communities – or even the Latino community in America – we are not taught to stand up and be proud of our backgrounds. Instead, we instinctively keep our heads down, ignore the injustices and try to get on in life.

All of this results in one thing. The Chinese kids that developed insecurities at school, continue to have them in adult life. They continue to shun their parent culture and continue to believe they are not part of a stereotype.

Inter racial marriage is hugely prevalent in the Chinese community. In fact, we are the community with the highest levels of individuals getting married to a race that isn’t our own. This is a statistic that is true for both Britain and America and occurs mainly with Chinese females.

I have no objections to inter racial marriage at all – its socially healthy to see communities mixing, and there is also strong evidence to suggest mixed race babies are less prone to genetic disorders.

Yet, I can’t help thinking how many of these marriages and relationships are being driven by childhood insecurities, and a need to distance oneself from the Chinese community. Only the people in question would know.

I would be a fool to think that these problems are existential only in our community. Various black communities, the South Asian community, Jewish community and many other communities also have similar issues.

However I can’t help but notice that it is far more prevalent within the Chinese Ethnic group than any other minority. Discussions in the media, on the internet and personal experience has proved this to me.

In the U.S, where race is a hugely divisive issue, many American Born Chinese openly state their disdain for their parent culture. The video at the beginning of this article is evidence of this.

In fact, in the past, I have encountered many British Chinese individuals who have actively avoided me in social situations. Though there are possibly many other reasons for them doing so, I can’t help but think it is more likely down to the fact that I am Chinese – a representation of all things they try and avoid.

It is a bleak outlook for many Chinese communities living in the western world.

As I said earlier in this piece, I used to be that person with deep insecurities about my race. I used to actively avoid being around Chinese people and pretended to know nothing about my background.

But as I have grown older, I’ve realized the error of my ways and begun to appreciate my parent culture. And I’m pretty damn thankful for this. Who cares if my white mates give me banter about being Chinese? Why should it stop me from being proud of ethnic origin?

I know this blog has a pretty small reach. It will probably only be read by a few people and their mutual friends on my Facebook and Twitter. Possibly some others on a message board if I’m lucky.

And I’m probably not offering anything new in terms of opinions, nor am I likely to vastly change the views of some western Chinese with internalized racial issues.

But even so, I would like send out the following messages. Don’t forget your background, and don’t shun it. There is plenty to be proud of if you’re a Chinese person living in Britain, America or any other western country.

There’s nothing wrong with embracing western culture. Assimilation is important for a cohesive society. But to become so assimilated that you actively dislike your own race and will do everything to avoid it? Now that is hugely depressing to see.

Thanks for reading.