Is this racist?
I learned this past month that what’s perceived as racism in Europe looks a bit different than it does in the States. I was catching up with Chiawen, my high school friend who’s been living in Europe for the better part of a decade. (Like me, Chiawen is Asian-American and essentially grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area.)
“So I have this German friend, who wrote to me, ‘Hey Chiawen, you should come visit us in Dusseldorf. There are a lot of Asian people in our neighborhood, and there’s this ramen restaurant that we really like.'”
I laughed, “I don’t think that’s racist, do you?”
“I think it’s kind of racist…I mean, what if you said to your black friend, ‘you should come visit us, there’s a lot of black people in our neighborhood. Oh and there’s this restaurant that serves collard greens and watermelon.'”
I cracked up, “Okay, okay, I see your point.”
Chiawen continued, “Did I ever tell you the orchid story?”
“No, what happened?”
“I was at this shop with a friend who was getting an orchid, and the cashier started telling her how to take care of it. When he saw me, he said, ‘Well, I shouldn’t have to tell you how to take care of it, as you’re from the land of orchids.'”
“That’s hilarious…what’d you do?”
“I laughed and went along with it…my other friends said he probably thought it was a compliment.”
Reflecting on these two European examples from my American perspective, I wondered if intent plays a bigger role in whether a statement is deemed to be racist in Europe. Clearly, the shopkeeper and Chiawen’s friend did not intend any ill will or malice, and they were also likely unaware that what they said could have been construed as racist in America.
Later that evening I was having dinner with friends, and the topic of driving came up. It was funny because JJ had lowered his voice as if he was telling us a secret, “This is a little racist, but I do see a lot of rice rockets on Skyline.” (Skyline Boulevard is a local road in the mountains with great views.)
“I don’t think saying rice rockets is racist,” I said. “It’s a descriptor more than anything else.”
Similar to the shopkeeper and Chiawen’s friend, I knew that JJ had no intention of being racist…and yet, JJ was aware that “rice rocket” could be perceived as a racist term. It was an interesting contrast because the focus was on how the listener will receive the statement, instead of what the speaker intended. It’s also interesting that in JJ’s example, none of us at dinner thought his statement was racist, and yet there was some uncertainty in how it could have been perceived. It made me wonder how often this type of self-censorship happens, and what America might look like if we were focused more on the intent of the speaker.
Which model do you prefer?
Oh man, where to start? I find issue with the intent one because the receiver has to interpret intent which can be difficult, and it puts the burden on the recipient to make the right judgement call on whether to give them the benefit of the doubt or lecture them on racism. I see neither of them as good outcomes to progressing equality. I think it’s better to ask the recipient and have that conversation when you are unsure. That’s how both sides learn and move forward. And sometimes even after you ask someone if a phrase is ok someone else may not feel the same way, always ask.
X
Po
P.s. I was writing this on the train and ran out of time. I wanted to also share an experience I had with an optometrist, he is older, probably out parents age or older, and not Asian. When I went in for my first examination he made a comment about my “small Asian eyes” as he tries to examine my retina. I was very annoyed and offended but decided to write it off as ignorance from that generation. When I told my husband (non-asian) about it he was outraged and found it not ok. He suggested I go to someone else. I ended up going to a different practitioner at the same practice and also older non asian optometrist. When it got to the retina examination he said “open your eyes nice and wide please” and I found that to be much more acceptable.
I’m curious to hear your thoughts and what would you have done?