I mentioned many times before that The Cott has a predominantly white, although friendly crowd. Being a minority, I don’t feel self-conscious at all about frequenting the place. It comes from being self-confident about my race and about who I am.
And most of all, it comes from feeling as Aussie-fied as I can be, minus fishing, surfing, the cricket and the football. Speaking of which, why is it that a minority has to prove how Aussie they are by indulging in the most Aussie of activities and yet an Anglo person can get by without needing to like any of those things? But I digress.
Back to The Cott – I was there minding my own business when some white guy ruffled up my hair as I walked past. I turned and looked, thinking that I may have met him but had forgotten who he is I thought I’d shake his hand just in case. As he was shaking my hand back with one of those try-hard hip-hop handshakes, he said to me:
Hahah! My grandfather killed your grandfather!
I could have said that “I’m not Japanese, mate” but I didn’t. I just continued walking. What do modern Japanese have to do with what their forefathers did anyway? I can understand this kind of sentiment from a World War 2 veteran. But this young guy?
This reminds me of another story. My cousin Yvonne who is a dentist once had a white patient said to the receptionist at her work (also white), “Don’t you have any Australian dentists here?” To which the receptionist said, “She IS Australian”. Begrudgingly he let my cousin treat him and lucky for him, my cousin is super nice. What kind of fool would fuck with the person who can fuck with their teeth?
In conclusion, all racists are idiots. I’d laugh if I didn’t pity them so much.
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14 Responses to “Of race and ignorance”
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Argh, argh, argh! I can’t laugh either, it’s way too sad!
Mooi, you should’ve done what my best friend did a couple of years ago when we were in Melbourne.
We went to a rave club and found ourselves to be the only asians around. When my buddy (chinese) was in the washroom, some white guy went up to him and passed a racist chinese remark. To which my buddy replied he’s not chinese, but Viet and if that guy didn’t know the differences, he’d be more than happy to introduce him to Uncle Ngan and the rest of the family outside. The white boy immediate apologized, bought my buddy a drink and quickly walked off.
You know what would have pissed me most in that interchange? The fact that he felt he had the right to ruffle my hair. He didn’t know me from a bar of soap (I suppose all Japs look the same, right), and yet he thought he could do that? %$#@!
Handshaking is different, ruffling someone’s hair implies a level of familiarity – and most adults wouldn’t do it with people they don’t know. Yep, definitely an idiot.
One thing I’ve found is that people think that if you are white you won’t be offended by racist jokes. I get really offended by racist jokes but people assume because I’m not asian/indian/black I won’t get offended by people making slurs about these races.
The number of times I’ve been in agroup and someone has made a remark about asians or indians (or some other race) and thinking it’s okay because there is nobody of that race around. I always make sure to put them in their place. Those kind of jokes are not appropriate nor are they funny.
What that guy did was totally inappropriate, he sounds like a complete idiot. And there are plenty of them out there.
you’re right about that, girlstar7. In Singapore, there are 70% chinese. To some of us, jokes will be jokes just as long everyone is ok with it and it does not transend into actual belief and behaviour.
But there’s no excuse anyway to belittle another’s race. To judge by colour: we might as well be back in World War II, 1950s America and 1960s Singapore. Kill, because you’re of a different colour.
mooiness, the receptionist for your cousin’s practise was cool. Kudos to her!
I long for the day that colour, gender and perhaps even by then, nationality makes no difference to a person…
Simone: I wished I was my cousin on that day. Oh the joy and fear I would yield with the drill.
Jeremy: hah good technique. However, that will only reinforce the stereotypes. I’ve learnt long ago to not give them the satisfaction of a response.
CW: the hair thing, funny how I didn’t think of that too. Which is why I thought I had met him before.
girlstar7: ah I hear ya. Ppl of all colours do racist jokes when they think it wouldn’t offend anyone in their group. All racists are idiots. Thankfully, they are a minority.
rationalneurotic: like I’ve said before, I don’t see colours, but I see idiots.
Maybe you should have tried to ruffle his hair as well. :p
But I try. Heh.
In all seriousness though, I reckon when we simply give up on retorting, it’s really because we’ve.. got tired of retorting. I know I did, once
I sometimes wonder if people in Australia are more racist than their British counterparts.
Almost all my friends who’ve studied/migrated to Australia have witnessed violent discrimination against them or their friends.
I lived in the UK for 4 years, and the my closest experience with a racist incident against me, is some beggar stopping me on the streets to chat with me about Kung-Fu. But nobody ever touched me.
from what I’ve observed the majority of racism is bourne out of personal insecurity. That guy must have a pretty low sense of self worth to think just because his pops killed some yellow dudes back in the 40s, that makes him a better person.
I don’t blame the older generations for their views as they were brainwashed with the full yellow peril propaganda during the white australia days.
BTW Andrew, racism is well and truely alive in the UK. they’re just so much more sophisticated about it. At least Aussies say it to your face. Plus most it is aimed at what they call Asians, being indians and pakistanis.
Ash: yeah you are right. Trying to reason with half-brains ain’t easy.
Andrew: I haven’t encountered violent racism here, thankfully. However I agree with Rob, racism is there in the UK. Probably worse than here in Australia.
Rob: agree on the low self-esteem thing. Which is why I couldn’t be bothered giving a reaction, they’ve embarassed themselves enough as it is.
Me thinks your cousin Yvonne is a really really nice dentist.
If it was up to me, I would have drilled a hole through the side of his mouth with one of ‘em cool drilling dentist tools.
ene: yeah she is very nice. I would have at least made him nervous a little.
Racism does not exist in the UK?
How does ‘Would you eat my pet turtle for supper’ sound? Or ‘Had you ever tried Fish and Chips’?
And I think Yvonne is too nice (talking like as if she’s my cousin too haha).a hole in the idiot’s head was SO called for:)
sourrain: look who’s the poacher now? Hahaha.