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??

@PretendingToBeStupid
it’s all gone too far

I reckon I could get a decent couple of steaks from that bloody jack russell next door. 😂

Lesson 1: what children repeat as having been taught at school is not necessarily 100% exactly what was said by the teacher or TA. They might have half-heard, and asked another child to repeat it, and the other child paraphrases a bit. Or the child hears it, but simplifies it a little when remembering it.

So maybe it's wise to just double check. The TA might have said 'some of' in front of 'the Chinese eat dogs'.

"I personally would care if a TA said 'French people eat snails' as a blanket statement, for that very reason."

How strange.
Would it be wrong to say 'The British eat roast beef' because some people are vegetarian? Not in my opinion.

Yes, I'm glad that you are not hypocritical when it comes to animal slaughter and cruel practices. :-)

As I said no, I don't know what was said but I don't think it's wrong for the parent to find out what was said and if the statement the ta made was explained or just thrown in there. On its own it is not an appropriate statement to make. As part of a wider discussion about how values are subjective and cultural, it is appropriate.

I used to live in China and saw dog on the menu multiple times so dog is still commonly eaten in China, and it’s not just the poorer people

@Spinxsta what you are missing here is the context.

Your 7yo came home saying ‘Chinese eat dogs’ as a statement. That’s what he remembers from whatever he was taught. Which isn’t surprising because as that age, it will have been quite shocking top hear i imagine (shocking at in surprising and maybe even unbelievable because it’s so far form his day to day experience).

It doesn’t mean that this is exactly what the TA said. It might well have been been said amongst other things such as rice and cabbage as you mentioned. But those won’t have had the same impact in his mind!

What is important here, is that, despite the fact ‘eating dog meat’ has been used as an insult, it is also a statement of fact. I don’t think we should shy away from those statements. But they should stay a statement, exactly like your ds did. Wo any judgement behind the statement.

It’s good practice though to add some. It shows awareness this is a problematic behaviour in the West and it saves tarring all Chinese with the association. It’s also more accurate.

There are far more unsettling things eaten around the world than dogs! What about a balut or caviar or crickets or placenta or civet cats?

Or woodlice cocoons, or scorpions, or centipedes, or chicken feet, or testicles and more - all on offer at Beijing's night market

So it made me smile that most of the Chinese were walking along with a McDonalds or similar, and it seemed to be just the tourists ooo-ing and aah-ing at the offerings

They eat dogs though and saying “in the past” definitely isn’t fact as they still do eat dogs and have festivals which revolve around eating dog meat.

I think the statement could’ve been changed slightly to say “In Chinese culture they do eat dog meat” just to not generalise that ALL Chinese people do. But either way they still eat dog meat now and it’s important you get that fact over.

I agree. I don't like it either.

However, if I hadn't read your other post about how you stopped eating all meat as the meat and animal industry is cruel in general I would have thought you are racist for singling out dog eating. This is why context matters.

I dont understand the rush to say 'it doesnt happen anymore, it was only the poor and only when they were starving'

Where did that come from and why? Why lie about something?

It would be as nonsensical as someone from the Hindu religion saying 'oh the British dont eat cows anymore, they only did it when they were desperate'

Very strange behaviour.

The issue here is that we have compared our own culture to another and have deemed it to be superior.
That’s where the racist element comes from.

The only way to eradicate this is to accept that other cultures have other customs.

You teach your child that, yes, dog meat is consumed in other countries. No big deal. No sanitisation.

As a statement on its own, it is blatantly racist as it’s clearly designed to make you think generally and badly about Chinese people for eating dog meat. It encourages you to think of Chinese people as

If the comment was made as part of a wider debate about what foods are palatable or acceptable in different cultures then it may not be seen as racist.

In some ways I struggle to get excited about other people eating dogs when those same people themselves eat pigs and other intelligent animals. What kind of judgement can you really put on people who eat meat if you also eat met?

For example, my Nan used to feed me black pudding and chitterlins and brawn and all sorts of things we might not consider too delicious these days (although please research what goes in a chicken nugget or a Richmond sausage before judging !).

Maybe stop digging and admit you just didn't know that the Chinese eat dogs.

Is it not more racist for you to minimise Chinese culture by inaccurately telling your son that people in China only ate dog meat because they were poor? That seems pretty offensive to me. Did you just make that up? Why? So you're so horrified that the TA has factually told your son that Chinese people eat dogs that you felt the need to lie to him to instead. There's only one person being racist here.

It’s semi factual but also racist. While some people in China do eat dogs, it blanket statement that “the Chinese eat dogs” implies that all Chinese people eat dogs which is just not true. Also perpetuating these stereotypes on a 7 year old could be quite damaging to other kids of Chinese origin who are now open to bullying because of this.

Im not Chinese but grew up in another culture and suffered with bullying from kids who had been told things about my culture from their parents. It’s not ok to assume anything about people because of their origins and children should be taught to judge people on their own merit and not to assume.

I think the overeaching here is incredible

Blackpudding, chitterlins and brawn are commonly eaten things. Why are you presenting them as odd and strange?

OH had black pudding for lunch and has brawn in the fridge

As an aside, you know, funnily enough I have also been told by someone British that NOT eating cow's meat is also primitive.

White culture being dominant and all that...

Blackpudding, chitterlins and brawn are commonly eaten things

So is dog. Just not in the part of the world where you live.

Sorry to those of you looking to take offence when none was intended; but dogs are eaten in China, and in Korea, and not just because the people are starving.

The Lychee and Dog Meat Festival is an annual festival held in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice in which festival goers eat dog meat

When DH was working in Xian twenty years ago, there were butchers shops with dog pictures hanging from them.

It used to be called cat and dog meat festival
They may have changed the name
But they do also eat cats

@Autumndays123 you don't know the history behind Chinese food choices? Culturally, there was a big movement towards eating all sorts of animals as a way of overcoming shortage. It was patriotic to eat wildlife and it became prestigious to have unusual items on the menu.
It did start because of poverty.

When I lived in Hong Kong small dogs and cats ( alive ) as well as chickens were stacked in cages outside shops for people to buy for dinner.

What a sad world we live in that this is even a thread. Imagine even thinking to be offended at this.