Racist comment or statement of fact?

[Spinxsta]

7 year old DS said that a TA at his school stated "the Chinese eat dogs". He said they were talking about what people in other countries eat.

I feel there should be some context behind a statement that stereotypes people. Maybe "in the past, some of the poorer people in china ate dogs as they were starving" or something.

Another school mum said the statement didn't sit right but she didn't see it as racist.

We spoke to DS about how people have made statements like that in the past to be racist towards Chinese people and make them seem like disgusting people. I want to say something to school but I'm not sure if this is even complaint worthy... it just doesn't sound like something I want my children growing up saying or thinking.

Am I right to feel cross about this or am I overreacting??

Google YULIN meat festival and then decide

🤢

Isn’t it more racist to erase part of a culture because we don’t like it?

Not if this thread is anything to go by. It's quite sad and worrying to see how many people insist that it's perfectly ok to make a loaded statement that can fuel racist abuse in spite of people of colour and people of Chinese origin telling them that it is not ok.

It’s not the statement that fuels racism.
It’s a lack of understanding. A lack of conversation. A lack of wider context. A lack of historical knowledge. A lack of education that fuels racism.
The statement is just a vessels for that.

We need to irradiate the causes of racism.

It becomes racist when it is used as a negative stereotype against someone who is Chinese. I've personally not had a dog meat joke aimed at me, but would certainly think it racist if someone were to ask me whether I ate dog, as they wouldn't ask someone who was white.

I agree there @xsquared
The problem isn’t ‘Chinese people eat dogs’. It’s the context, how it is said and to what intend.
It can be a statement of fact or an insult. Like many racist insults Tbf.

I think we also need to be careful to not erase some parts of reality for fear of offending.
In that particular case, I think it’s important that children learn that not everyone eats the same things (eg insects and worms, frogs, rabbits etc….) and it’s ok. Learning to NOT be judgemental about it is more likely help re racists comments like that than avoiding the issue altogether.

Yes, that's exactly my point. It's understanding that you can't make loaded statements without giving more context as with the frame of reference that most kids in the uk work with "eating dogs" is something that is judged negatively and will have negative repercussions for Chinese or technically Chinese people living in the UK.

If you want to eradicate racism (or at least not promote it or fuel it) then start by expecting adults and definitely somebody who works for a school to not make statements like this to kids unless they are bothered to give the context.

You can say as often as you want that it's a factual statement but the reality on the ground is that this factual statement can and does get used to racially abuse anyone looking Chinese in the UK.

It's like saying "Paki" is just an abbreviation for Pakistani and therefore we should be allowed to use it the way we use Aussie for Australian but I'm sure you are aware that it's actually racist because of how it gets used.

And if you really care about eradicating racism then start taking it seriously when people who have been at the receiving end of racist abuse tell you when a statement is offensive rather than rationalising it and insisting on your right to make this statement.

To your first point, we don’t know that she didn’t elaborate on the fact. We know the OP certainly didn’t give more context; she just sanitised and half denied it.

To your second point, no it’s really not like that. At all.

This whole thing would have been managed better by OP simply saying, yes people in dogs in lots of countries in the world, along with x, y and z, just like we eat pigs, chickens and sheep.

And as others have already pointed out, we dont know how the information was originally delivered to the child in the first place.

As I said before maybe the ta gave an explanation or context or used the statement to promote open mindedness. Who knows. Op isn't wrong to wonder if they did or what was the purpose behind making the statement and she isn't wrong to try to explain a loaded statement (though I don't particularly agree with what she said in this case).

You are wrong to keep saying it's just a factual and neutral statement when without context it is not neutral at all.

You said you care about eradicating the causes of racism. Language matters because language can "other" people, ie make them seem irreconcilably different to us, and that is a major cause of racism

I give up though now. You obviously think that you should be able to say what you want without caring whom it hurts or whose life it makes difficult. Please stop pretending that you care about racism. You don't.

I’m not wrong. I just think differently to you.
I’ve remained consistent throughout this whole thread.

I would suggest, in future, you might make more progress when conversing with people if you don’t attempt to twist their words, you don’t put words into their mouth and you don’t try to attempt to smear them with unwarranted slurs.

Your debate style is incredibly inconsistent and combative. It makes it quite difficult to focus on the actual point with you.

@JustForThisOneTime

In fact, your style of writing is so uniquely closed to any form of discourse that I can tell that you are writing under two separate usernames on this one thread.

It's a fact. Not a loaded statement. And everyone is entitled voice an opinion. Not just people of colour or people of Chinese origin. 🙄

Would it depend how the question was asked? I mean in a relevant context if someone said “oh I heard about dog meat being eaten in China, have you ever tried it?” would that be ok or would you be offended?

(Im not trying to bait you, I’m just interested)

At a minimum, I would consider it very rude and ignorant to ask that question. China is a huge country as you know, and dog eating isn't as common as you think. It's not like eating beef, pork, or chicken as an everyday diet. Anyway, I'm pescetarian.

FYI, dog meat is also eaten in other parts of Asia, Africa, Canada and even Switzerland.

On the subject of unusual meat though, dh who is white British, has tried kangaroo meat which was bought from a delicatessen in the UK.

Does anyone make a thing about kangaroo meat, guinea pigs or squirrels being eaten in other parts of the world?

My DH has eaten kangaroo meat too. I don't think he particularly rated it. I guess people dont really have kangaroos as companion pets, unlike dogs, so not so much of a thing in the UK.

As far as I'm aware, most people are against it and want it banned.

Why?

I worked with a lady from Hong Kong who told me “all white people look the same” . Did I call her out for being racist, no, we had a conversation and it was a statement of fact as from her perspective she’d grown up in a culture where you look for different identifying characteristics to recognise each other. Isn’t being curious about each other and each others perspectives the way we actually overcome racism?

@2022again
OMG 😂 can you imagine if a white person said that about any other race?!!!

Wider conversation but I don’t why is that deemed okay towards white people…doesn’t offend me but I don’t like double standards.

You dont need to imagine. White people do say it about other races

The other race effect. Which applies to all races. Not just white people.

See past what? Eating dog meat was outlawed in Hong Kong in 1950. Unlike in the U.K., where it is still legal…

Not sure this Yau Ma Tei restaurant got the memo about the ban.
www.thestandard.com.hk/breaking-news/section/4/200302/Yau-Ma-Tei-shop-that-sold-cat-meat-to-face-prosecutions

Although wandering around in Kowloon back in the 90s I saw a couple of restaurants selling dog meat. I even have the photos somewhere of the animals. I don't think they got the memo either.

Not that I care that much. Different cultures do different things. I can't see much difference between eating cows, pigs, chickens and eating dogs tbh.

It's not legal to sell dog for human consumption in the UK btw. I believe it is legal to eat the family dog though, weirdly, as long as it's humane. I think it's a pretty rare occurrence though. At the moment anyway. There is a cost of living crises though 🤷‍♀️