On the Topic of Racism as an Asian

An Off Topic Rant

Image: AFP.

<Full Disclosure: Yes, I know this is a car blog. But this is also my blog, and I do feel the need to use this tiny shoebox of a platform to get this off my chest. Don't like it? Move on to another article.>

As we watch America descend into chaos on a scale that we haven’t seen since LA in 1992, whether it be the result of systematic racism, the militarization of the police, and / or the socioeconomic factors that lay underneath, I profess not to know enough to provide any educated commentary on any of those. Does it matter? Another day, another life of a black person taken, this time by the name of George Floyd.

It’s been eating me inside for the past couple days, and I do feel compelled to touch on an uncomfortable observation as an Asian living in North America — that Asians, myself included, are sometimes just as culpable (knowingly or not) in perpetuating racism against other ethnic minorities, particularly against black and brown people.



While protests are raging right now in the US and (eventually) Canada, we should not sit on the sidelines as a silent spectator, and should at least educate ourselves on the issues at hand, and acknowledge that we are often just as guilty as the people that the protesters are rallying against.

In George Floyd’s case, it is particularly on-the-nose that one of the officers involved is of Asian descent as well, with haunting videos circulate on social media of him standing idly by as his white partner chokes the life out of a black person.

Racism happens not only in North America either, as it is painfully obvious in places like Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and other Asian countries as well. Black and brown people are often subject of discrimination and inequality due to outdated / flat-out wrong stereotypes, and suffered as a result. I have repeatedly witnessed derogatory terms being casually used to describe people of a certain race, and have never called them out on it. It is shameful, and I really wish I did. As a kid who grew up with admittedly “white” hobbies, I can’t deny that I too, at some point in my life, saw myself as being “white-washed”. The label is not a badge of honour, and only further reinforces harmful stereotypes.

No more. We Asians can’t cry about being discriminated against in North America if we don’t take a long hard look at ourselves to see that we often do the same very thing against black and brown people as well. We lack the moral authority to criticize white supremacists, if we too see ourselves as the “model minority” just because we are not subject to the same kind of racism as other ethnic minorities.

A lot of us have been taught to value order over justice, and it is about time that we take a closer look at all levels of government and question why justice is often sacrificed for certain groups of people in the name of order.

I also can’t pretend to support any movement — whether it be the democracy movement in HK or black lives matter — without acknowledging my own shortcomings, and I hope that you all can call me out on it if you see it.

So it’s even more important now that we educate ourselves in what’s happening in America (and around the world), and recognize that we also need to do a hell of a lot better. Broaden your horizons and see what they are experiencing, why they are protesting, and decide for yourself whether you can stand behind it or not.

If not, take action, and do something about it.

Read the news (preferably from public media outlets like the BBC, NPR, or the CBC). Donate to NAACP. Have a conversation with others. Help get POC elected to office. If we stand idly by and look the other way, we are no better than that Asian officer who let his partner murder George Floyd in broad daylight.

I’m still learning to be better, and I have a long way to go. I encourage you all do the same as well. It will be uncomfortable, but it is necessary.