White Privilege

When I was researching about China I found that many white people who have lived here say they get stared at and people yell things at them like, "Foreigner!" I have not been yelled at. Have I been stared at? Yes. Does it bother me? No. I understand that this is the first time many people in my city may have ever seen a white person in real life and I don't feel offended. The issue is the implicit thoughts that come with that. 

In psychology and sociology, students study about various topics including racism which branch off into two ways, Implicit and Explicit racism. Explicit racism is displayed through abrasive means such as hate crimes, yelling slurs, and straight out discrimination. Implicit racism is unconsciously acting in a way you don't realize is racist such as not making eye contact with a person of a certain race, believing that a race might rob/trick you, or believing that a race is better at things. Even items that could be considered "positive" is racist. I had a chat with my dad once because he said that a certain race was better at sports. I told him that was racist and he was confused, "No, it is a good thing!" 

"Well, you are saying that a certain race is better at sports because of their genes and not because of hard work or talent."

"Yeah...and?"

That is implicit racism. 

Implicit racism has shown itself here as a "positive." Parents believe they know what I am talking about when it comes to English. People compliment me when I do simple tasks like use chopsticks and say basic phrases in Chinese. I have had co-workers who told me that there would be no way they could go to bars with me because my tolerance must be really high. When I asked why they thought this they all answered, "because you are white." 

That was a little jarring but it got worse. 

One of my co-workers speaks fluent Chinese and English but she teaches English at the school. She has a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in education, and she has been teaching for over five years. When parents found out she was the teacher they got angry. They said they didn't think she was competent enough and even demanded that they watch her teach a class. Why doubt her? Because she looks Asian and she isn't white. The parents said that out loud to her face and to the principal. They asked why a white person wasn't teaching the class. They said and I am paraphrasing, "Why didn't you hire a real American who is pale and has blonde hair?" 

When it comes to "Real Americans" I know that it means anyone who was born in America or has American citizenship or even on their way to get their citizenship. The entire idea around America is that you can be any race, religion, or ethnicity to be one of us. That is confusing for people of other countries especially if they have low diversity. They have seen American movies and know our politics and what they have seen has been white people and when a person who isn't white comes overseas and says they are American they don't believe them. It is a hard pill to swallow. 

One blog I follow is Monkey Abroad and he touches on this subject. He found that his non-white or non-American co-workers had a harder time getting a job. Monkey Abroad stated that there are people here in China who have studied English their entire lives, are fluent in the language, get a degree in English and will be considered less qualified than a person who grew up speaking the language as their native tongue. Both Monkey Abroad and Lauren Without Fear did not have teaching degrees before they came to China but both were considered "hot commodities" because they grew up in the USA and English was their first language. 

I know this is just scratching the surface of much larger issues and I knew that I had privilege for the mere reason that I am white. I guess I am surprised because when I looked up what life was like here, I was expecting harassment and I braced myself for that but the person who ended up being harassed was not me. The person who is being doubted and questioned is highly qualified for her position and the person who has never been questioned just got their bachelor's degree in May 2017. 

Teaching abroad can be a great experience and I have enjoyed a lot about it so far but here is the thing, everyone should be aware that racism is out there. This is a problem. People who are qualified and hard working are considered "less than" because of their race. People who are less qualified and lazy are "better than" because of their race. This isn't a problem in one country, it affects every country and in a negative way. I guess my advice is just this...be aware that this exists and make it known. We won't be able to rid of racism in a day but talk about it and when crappy stuff happens you need to air it out. I became a teacher to create positive change in people and I hope that you will too.