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??

You're wrong - you're coming out with your own assumptions rather than the facts. According to the BBC, up to 10 million dogs a year are eaten in China. It isn't to do with starvation - some people want to eat dog. According to a survey mentioned online, around 30% of people in China have eaten dog. I visited China when I was younger, and was invited to a friend's house for a meal. Her parents served dog - it was a normal meal for them. And no, they were not starving.

My half Chinese DC would be upset at the accusation that they eat dog. Kids take things they are told at face value and if another child said “You are Chinese, so you eat dog”, it would be upsetting for them.

@WalkingThroughTreacle
it isn’t the fact that’s racist then, it’s the processing of it by each individual that is.

You can not agree with elements of different cultures without being racist. I don’t like halal meat, I think it’s cruel but that doesn’t make me racist.

This is nuts.

Context is everything, but we don't have the context nor the actual words of the TA so we can't judge.
OP rather than trying to (untruthfully) attempt why some Chinese eat dogs, it would have been more beneficial to open the conversation about how different cultures do/eat things that might be viewed 'wrong' in another culture. Questioning why we might have no issue with eating lamb/chicken etc but feeling that it's wrong to eat dog/cat/meat would be a great critical thinking exercise and more beneficial than storming up to the school and branding the TA as a racist.

For those who think this topic is too upsetting for a seven year old..respectfully I think you need to get a grip. There's no need to share pictures or anything but a straightforward, matter of fact conversation about how other cultures do things we might not like in a judgement free tone is much more likely to develop children who grow up into non racist adults.

TBF it could be a great opportunity to open the discussion about eating animals... I wish I hadn't been so completely shielded from the reality of meat as a child. My Mother didn't want me knowing about what happens in the slaughterhouse in the next village, she would tell me to look the other way when we went past the butchers can unloading the carcasses etc. (I assume because I was so nutty about animals that I'd refuse to eat them if I put two and two together). Once I was an adult I could obviously choose for myself but I wish I'd had information at a younger age.

My son lived and worked in China until a couple of years ago and it’s true, dogs are killed and eaten. I think it might be Soi Dog that’s the charity that helps to free them. Also a couple of years ago the New York Bully Crew actively went in and liberated dogs both in China and Korea that were destined for the meat trade.

In case anyone's interested, I tried one mouthful of dog, and it tasted nice. Which is presumably why people eat it there. Cat isn't served to the same extent as dog, because is apparently doesn't taste nice.

I support a dog charity, who save dogs from being eaten in China and Asia. In those countries they are viewed as meat, not pets. Their legs are bound and kept in cages, ready to be sold at the meat market. Not all Chinese people eat meat. Most are vegetarian, but a fair few do in fact eat dogs. Its true.

@JustForThisOneTime
You can’t control how people interpret or process as fact. No matter how hard you try.

I genuinely worry for my children growing up in this society. I really do.

It's all about culture and context isn't it? Each country/culture has its own sensibilities, standards, ideas about what's acceptable and it's hard to fathom what other cultures do and why sometimes. We are very sentimental about dogs in the UK and they are seen as part of the family so can't imagine eating them. Some Chinese and other peoples do eat dogs and indeed many other things we might find strange. And vice versa.
So there's factual substance but negative undertones which can be considered racist. Attitudes change over time too as can be seen in the ban on whaling yet it persists in Japan and Iceland. It's a thorny issue as to what we should accept or turn a blind eye to as "it's their culture" and what maybe should change.

Thinking further, it’s the words “Chinese people” that is the issue. It is suggesting that all people of that ethnicity eat dog. Your average British born Chinese person does not enjoy a munch on a cocker poo of an evening.

If she had said “people in China”, it would have been less offensive.

@HangingOver
Agreed, my parents were open and I went veggie age 7. The rule was that I couldn’t criticise others for eating meat…

I agree with this. It depends on what was actually said. If she said, "some Chinese people eat dogs," then that's true. But to imply that all Chinese people do is untrue. Personally, I try not to judge because I know that I eat animals that other cultures would judge me for. I'm not better than anyone else because I don't eat dogs or cats or horses or whatever.

I support a bulldog rescue here in Ohio, and they go over to China several times a year and come back 10-15 English and French bulldogs that they've rescued from meat markets. It's not in the past, and, knowing how difficult bulldogs are to breed, I would think not just poor people.

Of course you can. That's the whole point of giving context, of explaining a fact. Would you tell a child "during world war two the allied forces killed a lot of Germans" and leave it at that as it's factually true or would you explain what actually happened?

Anyone else replaying the “filthy animal” conversation from Pulp Fiction in their heads?

How people process information is influenced by many factors, including those I took the time to list in my previous post.

BTW, the fact that you feel you can justify your dislike of halal meant does not mean you are not racist either. There are countless cruel practices in the production and preparation of animal-based products, yet you chose to focus on halal. You might want to think about why that is. I'll draw my own conclusions.

Pet ownership is much more of a thing in China now. I know plenty of Chinese people in China who own pet dogs and love them to bits. This is having an effect on the number of dogs that are eaten there.

I think given it seems to be the one fact retained by your son about the people of China from his day at school, it’s probably on the racist side. Technicalities aside, it sounds like lazy stereotyping and even lazier teaching to me.

@JustForThisOneTime
No, you can explain but you can’t control.

Not sure how you’d want to explain dog eating further without making it more graphic to be honest. Dogs bound in cages and being slaughtered in the street. Nice.

The reason OP's son retained that information is very probably because he found it interesting. A good teacher engages young children by talking about things they find interesting. Children find unusual and to them "yucky" food interesting. They engage more with the lesson, they learn more.

@WalkingThroughTreacle
yeah, and I can not like all of those either. Would you like to list all the cruel things I don’t like about meat production, including our own?

it was one example front another culture. Dog meat festivals were already taken.

Don’t accuse people on the internet that you know nothing about of being racist.

YANBU.

My child once came home from school at age 6 saying Muslims kill people. Wtf. He hadn’t heard of Muslims previously and had been given what was clearly a very odd RE lesson.

I think when you have an activity that is very unpleasant to other people (both from the same culture and from outside of it), you have a responsibility to be a bit more accurate about its depiction than a simple 'Chinese people eat dogs.' or 'British people eat veal' (for eg).

Not all British people eat veal due to welafre concerns, especially milk or bob veal, and those that do are probably in the minority.

Similarly, not all Chinese people eat dogs, that number is reducing and already a minority. It is also not limited to China, with dog meat being consumed in a few countries. That greater context/nuance would have been much better (and educational) than a blunt statement.

@Sharpbridge
or he’d misinterpreted something a teacher or another student had said.

Agreed, my parents were open and I went veggie age 7. The rule was that I couldn’t criticise others for eating meat

That's really great that your folks did/allowed that. I wish I'd had it as an option!

Also not having to drink cows milk... I HATED it as a child i thought the whole idea was disgusting and gagged when I drank it...