To think that a lot of people secretly resent the presence of "Chinese" people

[outthedoor1]

DH, of Chinese ethnicity, was returning home from work one afternoon, walking through a once busy part of town. As he socially distanced past the only person in sight she began racially abusing him that people like him had brought the virus into the country . He said that initially he was aghast before telling her to "fuck right off". She may not have expected such a retort as she hurried off without a response.
I do get the sense that there is unspoken hostility toward people of Chinese ethnicity here.

Hadjab, this one person was bold enough to voice her bigotry on an empty street. I'm curious about the silent hostility/prejudices.

There’s quite a few people sharing on fb about how they now refuse to buy anything Chinese.

I saw a post from some idiot on Facebook saying she was never going to order Chinese takeaway again. I deleted her, some people are so stupid it hurts.

Yes I've heard quite a few people say they'll never eat Chinese takeaway ever again.

Cross post

It is disgusting, I worry about my friends and their parents in this climate. I know that my friends are ok, they are as British as I am, but elderly parents are more vulnerable.

When the media world allows hate speak from world leaders, like trump, to be published unchecked, some sectors of society swallow it.

As if people actually living in China don't have enough to worry about from their own government, now the morons of the world have taken it upon themselves to vilify them too.

Shameful.

@Soubriquet

There’s quite a few people sharing on fb about how they now refuse to buy anything Chinese. hmm

i hope they have good luck with that....not

I feel is racist or prejudice in some way even your DH. No. I do not feel racist towards Chinese people because of the virus. That's insane. If I see anyone I will step in if they are outnumbered. Shame them.

Everyone has..

My friends husband is Chinese. She has diabetes and wanted to get face masks to wear out and about so they could go for walks more safely, but they decided against it because a Chinese person wearing a mask would be likely to attract negative attention (in a predominantly white mc suburb)

I can’t wait for them to pick things up and realise just how much of their stuff is made in China

And no way am I giving up my Chinese takeaway! More for me

If people see Trump calling it the "Chinese virus" it sort of validates their racism in their thinking. Doesn't matter where it originated from, that can be sorted when it's under control.

A friend posted something along these lines on FB before deleting. There have been Chinese people in this country for many generations now.

No one has challenged DH for speaking to our children in his native language but I would imagine I might get some comments if it were the other way around (he's well built). He speaks 3 languages and our children understand/ speak 2, is that not an asset?!

I think you’re right OP. There are quite a few halls of residence near us which accommodate hundreds of SE Asian students and I’ve overheard many discussions from neighbours / in shops etc (before lockdown but after the start of the crisis) voicing at best distrust of the students and at worst, open hostility and racism.

That said, the chinese regime should come under criticism for the disappearance of people who speak out about the pandemic and their handling of it. But individual citizens are not too blame for that.

@Mucklowe that is so interesting! Where are you doing your phd, in the UK? What got you interested in that? My BA was in Chinese (not like China studies, it was a language based course with supplemental history, lit, etc modules - studying anything to do with China or Chinese was a rarity when I did it but seems to be more popular now).

misses point of thread

Why would anyone resent the Chinese?

I don't know anyone who would but if I do then they must be keeping it really secret.

Yep..Trump doesn’t help.

Kung Flu indeed

I don't think it's a lot, a few nasty individuals don't make it most or a lot. Most people are decent. My DD is a bit slow moving and in the past 2 weeks a couple of women have made nasty comments (they don't know or realise that she's got motor skill issues as it is invisible). I don't think most people are horrible based on that sample although of course your poor DH shouldn't have been subjected to that nasty individual.

I agree that Brexit has enabled racists. Like it or not, it made people feel that it was ok to hold and express racist views. That such views are mainstream and acceptable. Trump does the same in the US. It's horrible.

I have seen so many posts on here blaming China or the Chinese for covid. That they will no longer buy Chinese products (good luck with that one). Bigotry.

Sorry about your husband op.

The increase in blatant racism was bad enough around Brexit, so yes, I am sure Chinese-"looking" people are suffering a lot.

It goes from the plain stupidity to the sheer nastiness. But the UK is quite a racist country anyway, as proven many times.
How many people started slagging off Chinese restaurants and blame them for the coronovirus... it's just unreal.

@Soubriquet

There’s quite a few people sharing on fb about how they now refuse to buy anything Chinese. hmm

Many people who are concerned about the environment, human rights and political/military problems with China have been boycotting Chinese products for a long time.

Don’t let the very unpleasant ruling elite in China use western sensibilities about racism as cover for their nefarious activities!

Your DH’s response was perfect OP

As pp have said, some people are racist/xenophobic. It’s not always based on physical appearance either. My DC, white British, were abused by white British teens in school. This was because we lived overseas, Latin America. When we moved back here and they started school they were called Mexican drug dealers. None of us have been to Mexico. Both DH and I are white British. No visible difference to the other school pupils, but they found an excuse to be abusive. That is all some people need.

What she said was unfair to target individuals who have Chinese appearance.

I do think travel out of China should have been banned, I don't understand why flights were allowed to continue particularly at Chinese New Year where there was a higher amount of people travelling back and forth.

This whole pandemic has brought a large spotlight on to China as a country and unfortunately many here, including myself do not like or approve of their barbaric ways of treating animals and the whole issue of wet markets.
I will do my best not to support any trade with China and that's my prerogative.

I would not shout at every Chinese person in the street though.

I think the current coronavirus situation is emboldening racist people to voice their racism.

They feel they can be racist now without comeback.

Good on your husband for responding as he did. It would make a lot of people think twice if they thought the target of their bile will fight back instead of cower before them.

@Soubriquet

Phones, TV, technology, hell pretty much everything.

The thing is that they won't check anything, they just want to hate.

Hell let's not even talk about Hong Kong and British behaviour. People just like to hate, there is no reasoning with them.

I think maybe they should stop putting instructions with consumer goods, let these people iron their clothes whilst wearing them...