[quote=“gao_bo_han”]
I’ve seen thinking of this ilk all over this forum, and basically I agree with it. There’s lot of things everywhere, like air pollution. Taipei has air pollution, so does Austin, and so does the cleanest mountain village in Tibet. They just have different levels of pollution. I can’t speak for many countries, as I’ve only lived in two: the US and Taiwan. I would like to venture that racism is more prevalent in Taiwan than it is in the US. (That’s the most inflammatory thing I’ve said here yet, prepares for the hailstorm).
Yes, there are plenty of racist little towns in the US that look askance at anyone not white, as there are everywhere, blah blah blah. But I venture that the locals in Taipei are more racist than the locals in Austin. Do I have scientific evidence to back this up? Not really. I could argue that the civil rights movement, affirmative action, feasible nationalization and permanent residency represent some kind of scientific proof of America’s public and legal acceptance of other peoples. But I’d rather argue as a “native” of Austin, a local (though I no longer live there). First off, it was never popular when I was growing up to usual racial slurs, or to stereotype people from other races. On the contrary, it was widely discouraged, and our teachers taught us to respect people of all races and cultures, and making fun of students because of their nationality or skin color met with swift and immediate punishment. When was the last time you heard a Congressman talk about deporting all foreigners, or dribbling racial slurs from the podium? Racism is no longer popularly accepted in America. Present, yes. Popular, no.
Now how about Taipei? How much more common is it to hear Taiwanese people insulting, making fun, or in general belittling foreigners, even right in front of you? Ever been called a hairy ape? Ever been talked to like a little child? Ever find yourself refuting idiotic stereotypes, and doing so on a daily basis Now, how about the last time you saw a child punished for pointing at you and saying “waiguoren, waiguoren!”. Or the last time anyone (child or no) was reproached for saying “heigui”, or for spouting some racist sludge. In my experience, it is more likely to see head-nodding than reproachment.
I think what I’m getting at here is that while racism is everywhere, it isn’t present in the same volumes everywhere. And yes, it’s worse in Taiwan than the US (and I imagine this goes for other Western countries as well, where racism is no longer fashionable).[/quote]
Good points.
I’d say Taiwan is more overtly racist than the US, but the racism here is not nearly as vicious as some forms of racism in the US (e.g. the dragging death of James Byrd, the existence of the KKK and other white supremacist groups, etc.). I haven’t encountered any “Chinese supremacist” groups dragging whites or Southeast Asians to death, or burning Dharma Wheels in front of people’s houses. When a bunch of Chinese yell “adogah” to a lone white person here, it’s likely a less frightening situation than it would be to a lone black person being called the “n” word by a bunch of whites in the US, all else being equal.
Of course, Austin (outside the statehouse, that is) is a pretty liberal city, so it’s natural that there would be less racism in Austin than in other parts of the US.
Racism takes on many forms, from the trival questions "Oh you must be a good dancer " to the James Byrd incident. Sure we could have free expression, but if we are to have that, are we really going to allow[