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On Racism - AKA Me vs Internet

In this page, I proudly present one the flame war / cultural war that I have involved in. I know it is not as epic as the Ragnarok, but I had fun. It is nice to sharpen the skills I developed in my secondary school's debating club now and then. Those are useful skills.

I know a lot of people probably won't agree with what I said, but this is a flame war 1) and a culture war 2). I cannot back down from this glorious battle.

I was going to screenshot the whole thing and upload the screenshot here, but I think it is way too much effort for what it is worth.

From Facebook page: Concrete Confessions Between UEA Seshions 3)
Incoming rant on racism:
Fucking unbelievable how it's 2017 and racism still exists in this uni. I was just cycling and a group of British girls just shouted 'ni hao' at me just because I looked Chinese (FYI I'm not even fucking Chinese!!!). When I shouted back at them 'fuck off', they replied by laughing and being shocked at my fluency in English.
This is just one of the many racist experiences I've had in UEA. Others include
-People asking me why my English is so good.
-People assuming I'm good in maths/stats.
-People calling me a chink (ffs I'm not even Chinese)
-Many more which I cbf to list down.
I mean come on, I thought British students read 'To Kill a Mockingbird' for GCSE English. They should know that racism is just unacceptable.
Have fun with Brexit.
Yours truly,
A pissed off international third year student
Me
Stop being so sensitive, you little snowflake. Stop treating everything other people say as racism, not everyone is out there to get you.

I know two very non-PC friends. They both support the Conservatives, one of the supports Brexit. They quite often ask me why I can't play violin as a joke, because according to them, everyone Chinese person knows how to play an instrument. They say stuff like “if I put my phone in a rice bag, would you come and fix it at night?”, which is apparently considered as racist by some.

However they are the most caring people I know. When I broke up with some other “friends” and got upset, they invited themselves to my flat and asked me to cook for them. One of them made me a cake, we played board game together. When I had to move house, they did 4 trips in total to help me to move stuff. They didn't say a thing about my poor packing and organisational skill. When I called them up for the 4th trip, they were walking dogs at the beach! They came back for me.

I wouldn't have made those two caring friends, if I took offence at everything they say.

Plenty other pleasant people who I hang around with have questioned my lack of talent at playing musical instrument, because according to them, every Chinese person knows how to play an instrument. Apparently that's what they learnt from TV or whatever media sources. Have I ever been offended by them? No, of course not. I know that they are not out there to get me. Am I amused? Yes, very much so. How do I actually feel? Probably inferiority and jealousy? :P

My point is that if you don't think that everyone's out there to get you, you might feel happier about your life.

Admittedly, I have never been called a chink, despite the fact that I am actually Chinese. So you might want to reconsider who you hang around with.

My question is, were you actually treated unfairly because of racism? For example, did a club or society deny you certain opportunity because of your race? Were you denied of promotion and pay rise at your part time job because of your race? Were you denied of academic opportunity because of your race?
Random Guy 1
Using the term snowflake without being aware of the context of what fight club was actually about/ why it was written… priceless.
If calling someone a chink and shouting ni hao at them based on skin colour isn't racist I don't know what is.
Good for you and your offensive friends, but don't expect everyone else to have such shitty standards.
Me
My usage of the word “snowflake” is based on the Wikipedia definition [1] .

Based on your profile picture, you don't seem to be the kind of person who is likely to be affected by racism. Based on Goldsmith University's standard [2], you shouldn't be included in this discussion. Whereas I, who left China when I was 13, has the correct “characteristics” to have this conversation.

So please, my honourable friend, check your privilege.

Well, I certainly didn't expect my two “offensive” friend to drive all the way back from the beach to help me out with my final house move. They did three trips the night before to help me with my house moving already. It was totally my fault. I was really pleasantly surprised that they were willing to go way beyond the call of duty to help me out - my standard of packing and organisation seems to be pretty shitty.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generation_Snowflake
[2] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/may/20/goldsmiths-racism-row-divides-students-bahar-mustafa
Random Guy 2
That was silly Random Guy 1, you really don't know what racism is.
Random Guy 1
There's a difference between knowing about something and experiencing it, sure. Have I experienced racism? Not that I remember. I don't personally think that prevents me from calling people out on it though..seems like basic human decency. I'm not using “my privilege” for anything in this instance as far as I can tell.

Also your point doesn't really prove anything. Can racist, offensive people do nice things? Sure. Doesn't change facts though, still racist.
Random Guy 1
Also there's a marked difference between your friends making race based jokes that you're apparently ok with, and someone experiencing similar from strangers in the street.
Ally 1
I'm half chinese and half white, yet I had faggots call me Jackie Chan in school, yet I don't call around facebook calling the world and every British person racist.
Me
Random Guy 1, my point is that you are one of those people who keep calling everyone racist. You are a particularly annoying example, because (correct me if I am wrong) you are not even affected by the problem yourself, and you moan about it. The comment made by people like you make the society less friendly in general.

People who say “nihao” to you might simply trying to be friendly, they might even be trying to learn Chinese. When I was a child in China, I did try and say “hello” to those white foreigners in China. Have I been racist?

When people ask me why my English is so good, I consider that as a compliment. My maths and stats are actually decent, so when people assume I am good at those, I actually feel happy.

My point is that if you don't mark everything other people say as hostile action, you might make more friends.
Random Guy 1
I don't call everyone racist. Just people who do things that give the impression they're racist… like shouting things at people because they're a different colour. It's not that often that it even comes up tbh. Probably because I'm a white guy in England, idk.
I don't think we see eye to eye, so let's leave it at that rather than end up in an disagreement going in circles. I seem to have plenty of friends so…
Also Re: Ally 1 Faggots, really? I feel like you're not going to make your point well when you use offensive language like that. Especially since I'm one of those people that word is used to demean.
public/on_racism.1510505293.txt.gz · Last modified: 2018/03/31 00:38 (external edit)