The video points out, usually correctly, that generally white people do not ask of themselves the same question directed at Asians: Where are you from? Offence may be taken from this question on at least two bases (mainly the first one): the implication that You dont belong here - but I do - because of skin colour, and the idea that Asians can be neatly divided into Chinese, Korean, etc. (which is racist, as such categories are largely socially constructed). I applaud the video for its identification of hypocrisy and for indicating that such a question can be offensive. However, I think it incidentally stigmatises the attempt to discover an individuals cultural heritage. Attempting to subdivide Asians into Indonesian, Singaporean, etc may be racist, but its less stereotypical than simply Asian. Of course, there are arguments that culture is inherently racist too. Asking What kind of Asian are you? may well be a shortcut to making some comment about how they must love a particular type of food. Probably rice. (That is how it was portrayed in the video). On the other hand, suppose you were overseas, and were asked, Youre from New Zealand? How do you feel about John Key?. The difference between the two examples above is that one is a tourist; the other is being asked that question in their own country. The other (possibly meaningless) difference is that the first question made an assumption about someones habit and preferences; the other made an assumption about someones knowledge, without assuming any preference. Hence, even though stereotyping is bad (because it can be offensive), it can still be useful to understand other peoples lives, to some degree. The fact of being a New Zealander kind of White means that you are more likely to know about John Key than, say, a White American. It may still be annoying that youre expected to have such knowledge, though. So: should we legitimise social constructions in understanding people? Carefully: people identify with culture, and culture does involve stereotyping. However, we need to keep in mind that someones skin colour is a very small part of who they are, and possibly not even something they want to be understood by. People commenting on the video criticised the actors ignorance (Youre Korean? I know this great teriyaki place!), something only cured by both exposure and correction. The real problem is not ignorance, easily remedied by dialogue and willingness to learn, but the underlying attitude: I understand you and theres nothing you can teach me. Conclusion: I think Im overthinking it, and failed to say anything interesting not mentioned in the video comments anyway.
Posted on: Thu, 06 Nov 2014 22:24:58 +0000
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