To get really pissed off that a lot of people seem to think it's acceptable to be racist towards Chinese people?

[xiaozhu]

'They all look the same'

'Sum ting wong?'

'I'll have a number 28 please'

'Oh but they eat dogs and cats and small children, and are therefore scum'

Just a few of the comments I've seen on 'news' articles published by a certain 'newspaper'. I mean, I know Daily Mail readers are not known for their intelligence and tolerance, but AIBU to think that similar comments about other races would not be tolerated, or would at least be regarded as much more serious? Not just referring to the DM morons, it seems to be 'OK' to make ignorant sweeping statements about the Chinese in supposedly more educated circles, too.

The same probably applies to other east Asian races too, but I notice it more with the Chinese.

Different matter if they continue to use it once informed.

Absolutely.

Mimmi: I know what you mean about attitudes towards foreigners in China. Although 'waiguoren' is not really a derogatory term (or at least, not anymore), you do occasionally hear 'baiguai' which is not on. Some Chinese can be incredibly racist towards black or south Asian people, and it's unacceptable. But it doesn't make racism towards Chinese people in this country OK, so I'm not sure what your point is?

Caonima: Love your username :)

Twuntosaur: Your poor husband. I know what you mean - my DH says he hates this country too. Although he hasn't experienced much overt racism (other than the 'chinky' incident), he feels that on the whole the UK feels very hostile towards foreigners and China in particular, especially with the rise of scumbags like Farage et al.

my DH says he hates this country
UK feels very hostile towards foreigners and China in particular,

I have to say I don't think comments like that help

Christina: That is how he feels at times, he can't help how he feels. Twuntosaur's husband feels the same. Not sure how him expressing those feelings to me is unhelpful?

Micah Saying "nip in the air" isn't racist per se, as yes, saying it's a bit nippy means it's a bit cold (i.e. it's biting cold), but there's a joke where if it's cold you say "It's a bit Pearl Harbour" and the undertone is "There's a nasty nip in the air" (i.e. alludes to the bombing of PH by the Japanese.)

"the whole of the uk"

we are talking about labelling, stereotyping and language...the whole of the uk is not hostile to "foreigners"

My daughter mentioned just yesterday that she has noticed exactly what the OP is talking about in her secondary school. And take a look at the comments underneath any article in the Guardian about Singapore-style methods of teaching maths. Some of the ones from people on the left definitely border on racism.

Ironically, Japanese people are extremely racist towards Chinese people. When I had to rent houses in Japan, flicking through the folder in the real estate agents', I regularly used to see ones marked "No foreigners". Some had a list of nationalities which weren't accepted, and some just had "No Chinese". I've never actually seen any "British only" signs on businesses in the UK, whereas I've seen "Japanese only" signs in Japan. Ironically, one of those was on a place calling itself "The International Club". And no doubt the Korean school children who get shouted at through in their school playground by the right wing lunatics are as intimidated as any foreigner in the UK feels by UKIP. I'm sorry this is happening to your husband twuntosaur, but his country is full of racism as well.

I live in China and don't consider the term waiguoren to be racist or offensive. I have been called this many times by kids and just answer with zhongguoren. They usually find it funny that I can understand what they said.
Similarly I do get stared at, but I know for some people it's the first time they've seen someone non-Chinese.
The term chinky is offensive.

I don't hate this country, but I despair of how historically we invaded half of the world, have invited many of the people to come and live here (windrush) and yet its acceptable to be racist towards those same people.

I said the UK 'on the whole', not 'the whole of the UK'. Very different - the former means that the atmosphere here has become more hostile to foreigners in general - reflected by the rise of UKIP and such. My DH is not saying that the whole UK is hostile.

Are you on a apple device ?

Yes, iPhone 6

Please don't misquote me and twist my words, Christina. Not cool.

Finding this thread very interesting! I've lived in the UK for over 20 years and generally felt accepted and happy here, but yes I've also experienced some of the things other PP have described.

Posting for the first time. Our son, adopted from an East Asian country, has lived all his life in the UK until leaving for uni in the US. We very quickly understood how widespread stereotyping is.- Eg he is absolutely pathetic at maths, to the point we wondered if he suffered from dyscalculia, yet his teachers assumed he'd be some sort of prodigy until they'd actually had him for a few lessons. None of this was a problem until he was in his late teens and we moved to London. Suddenly he had to put up with a lot of 'takeaway' jokes. The worst was probably one lunchtime in the City of London when he was eating lunch on a bench and two men off a nearby building site sat down very close either side of him and started talking about his 'takeaway', leaning in close.. He got up and walked away quickly but it was unpleasant and left him seething. In the US he says the big difference is that East Asians are visible at every level of society: dentists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, police. . He sees people who look like him in positions of authority and on TV, acting, in ads, presenting the news. In the UK, in contrast, he was often the only one in his class, choir, etc. Oh and that phrase 'a nip in the air,' I think that's only objectionable when said when someone obviously East Asian is standing nearby. Of course 'Nip' is a pejorative for Japanese but anyone who makes that remark in that setting doesn't distinguish between Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese etc .

White people from first world countries are treated politely in Japan but people from other Asian countries like China and Korea in often face racism.

I agree that racism towards East Asia is considered less serious than racism towards black people but I suspect it's insignificant compared to the judgement that Muslims experience in the West. (I know they are not a race but they are a group of people)

badlad I'm well aware of that, I lived there long enough. 2 wrongs though, don't make a right.

Having said that, living here has shown him that racism, sexism etc in Japan was pretty awful and I think he does feel "lucky" to only be discriminated against by comments and not by employers, landlords etc. So he does like the Uk very much on the whole, but that's not going to stop the comments making him feel very uncomfortable.

And hey! I was shouted at by right wing idiots too, in Japan Don't think they expected me to be fluent in japanese or shout insults back at them in Japanese. Doesn't surprise me at all that they would pick on kids too. Disgusting.

Well yes, there is plenty of racism around in the world.

However, I find this tendency to want to immediately compare one kind of racism to other kinds of racism quite odd.

Perhaps it isn't the intention but it looks to me like minimizing or diminishing people's often very valid complaints.

I feel the same when discussing an issue about woman and someone constantly interrupts to say, men have it bad too. Yes, I know.

Well, my husband is also Muslim (though non-practicing), so he I think he feels the hatred more. But that's a whole 'nother thread!

I don't know anyone who thinks it's OK, but yes it's very wrong to think that it's OK to be racist against anyone.

I haven't twisted your words, just like at the beginning I didn't say two wrongs made a right, I gave you an example of racism that I had experienced. Myself and other expats experienced lots of racism in Singapore, but I haven't said on the whole Singapore is racist or that I hate singapore

It is a sweeping generalisation to say "on the whole the uk is hostile to foreigners", are there people within the uk that are, yes.

I disagree, I think that there is a hostile atmosphere towards, if not foreigners, 'immigrants'. And that's not just the Daily Mail.

Interesting to see the comments about racism in Japan. Undoubtedly, it is an issue, but my DH has lived as a foreigner in both countries (over a decade in each), and it is his perception that there is far more hostility towards foreigners here in the UK, even though it is expressed less overtly.