I have an intriguing situation I would like to share. If you read my “I am Chinese” post from my time in Egypt, you will notice a comment from Aikozord which reads, “If I’d have seen you, I would have yelled ‘CHINK SCUM’ and spat at you.” This is the second comment I have received from this poetic individual, the first reading “stupid chink scum.” I wish I hadn’t deleted the first, but apparently I cannot take back my action.
First, I would like to invite Mr.(?) Aikozord to weigh in with what I hope would be a more articulate explanation of his apparent dislike of those of Chinese descent. For the sake of discussion, I will suspend offense-taking and assume that it is not obvious that his comments are negative and meant to inflict mental and emotional harm. Maybe he can convince us of a correlation between “chinks” and “scum” and how the convergence of these two elicit an overabundance of saliva production in projectile form. I am willing to listen.
Second, I must admit that I have never experienced the use of such language directed toward me. For those of you that know me, most would probably agree that one would not immediately guess my Chinese heritage upon first sight. Being only half Chinese, most people think I am Hawaiian, Philippino, or Native American. For this reason, I would like to challenge Mr. Aikozord’s assumption that if he had seen me, he would have reacted as described above. It is quite interesting to me that I would receive such comments on a post expressing my own surprise in being “found out” as Chinese. This is not to say that I feel any shame whatsoever in my Chinese heritage.
Third, (and I apologize for misleading readers by saying above that we would assume it not obvious that “chink scum” is derogatory, for I have been doing so since) I am frankly surprised to receive such remarks on an internet blog site. To think that the mere expression of one’s surprise at being recognized as Chinese on the internet would anger someone to such a high degree that he or she would actually take the time to respond in writing is eye-opening. Perhaps I am naive, but I probably would not have guessed that such people exist. Evidently I have much to learn.
Finally, I will say again that I sincerely hope that Mr. Aikozord would respond and in an intelligent manner. Maybe I’ve been living in a bubble and don’t recognize the inherently negative characteristics of Chinese people. I must confess, I find this most dubious. However, my ears are open. No one likes scum. If I and others like me are in fact scum, I would like to know so I may act accordingly. Perhaps being half white I would somehow be able to overcome my Chinese half and treat this half of me as scum ought to be treated. I’d like to think that I’m a reasonable person and can respond intelligently to sound logic or even a good story. Your thoughts are welcome.
4 Comments
November 27, 2008 at 5:18 am
Just stumbled upon your blog, very interesting… I am Egyptian and I hope you enjoyed your time in my country. About Egypt and race comments… I cannot pretend that sometimes, when Egyptians make comments about race, it doesn’t make me cringe.
To the politically correct ear it does sound racist, but if you understand the culture then you will understand it’s part of the Egyptian sense of humour…
If you’re thin, fat, darker than average, fairer than average, lanky etc, it probably will get commented on in Egypt.
Unfortunately I do think the sole aim of the comment left by Mr. Aikozord was to offend and not for any sort of intelligent statement.
I digress, I have started up a blog about news from the Middle East, maybe you’d like to check it out?
http://middleeastblog.wordpress.com
Sarah.
November 27, 2008 at 11:24 am
Sarah, thank you for your comments. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Egypt and hope to return in the near future. While there I never felt insecure or offended by any of the race-related comments. I could generally tell that they weren’t meant in a derogatory manner. I found it quite interesting that Egyptians and Sudanese picked up on my Chinese ethnicity so easily, since I am only half Chinese and most people here can’t guess it. Never was I insulted.
As for Mr. Aikozord, I am well aware of the negativity in his statements. I only wish to give him the opportunity to express himself in more depth. If in fact his comments are racist, I would like to better understand his perspective because I fail to comprehend the logic of racism.
Thanks again for your thoughts. I will definitely be visiting your blog in the future.
November 28, 2008 at 6:42 am
Well Sarah, you are right, my comments were intended to offend, and I hope they did. And pneuenschwander, there is no depth to my comments, I just loath all of you slit-eyed Chinese peices of Human crap
February 2, 2009 at 12:20 am
wow, i’m half chinese and i’ve never encountered anything like this. i find it more amusing than offensive.
but yeah, peter, you might as well delete his comments. it really doesn’t deserve the dignity of being on your site (which i’m pretty stoked about finding, btw)