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.

My cousin has a daughter who is ten years old. They used to have a Chinese take out every Saturday but as the Coronavirus took hold she became anxious and told my cousin that she wasn't going to eat it any more and they didn't buy it.
As I heard this story through my aunt I wasn't able to challenge it. We don't eat takeaways but I know I would have told my children not to be so bloody ridiculous if the same situation occurred in my house.
Maybe they did say that but still decided not to bother. I'm not so sure .
Before the lockdown began I saw a sponsored Facebook ad from our local takeaway declaring that no one involved in the business had been to China in the last 12 months so yes there clearly is suspicion and hostility.

I’ve noticed it too op, there’s always been a vocal minority of people who are pretty openly racist. Recently though I’ve noticed the rhetoric around China as a whole has been hostile/pejorative, from mainstream media and politicians and it’s definitely filtering through. There’s an element of playing the ‘blame game’ that’s often been expressed as antisemitism in the past, where Jewish communities have been cast as the enemy and profiteering from others poor fortunes. People have been conflating the virus origins with the fact that the Chinese economy is resilient due to their manufacturing industry and having a global marketplace for ppe etc. There’s definitely an undertone of mistrust in lots of different sectors.

Good thing he's thick skinned! . He would laugh off the ease with which he could clear sections of the bus when C-19 was not yet a crisis here.
Seriously though, I know he was affected by that one woman. He could be part of the "You clap for me now" video and was actually on his way back home after his busy clinic, when it happened, tired and just wanting to get home.

I agree with WakeAndBake. Of course, it depends on how things are phrased, but it's not necessarily "racist" to want to not want to support the Chinese government or to want to purchase goods manufactured in countries other than China, and it's been going on for more than a decade, now.

As so many have already pointed out, it's very difficult to avoid buying things "made in China", which should probably tell us something. It's unwise to depend too heavily on imports from any single given country, for a variety of reasons. If Covid-19 leads to increased awareness of these concerns, it won't be a bad thing.

I do sympathise with people who worry they are resented or feared simply because they "look Chinese", though. I doubt many are accosted or openly challenged, but obviously it's very wrong any time it does happen.

WakeAndBake and PleaseStopSayingNewNormal I agree with you. Abusing individuals and directing hatred at an ethnicity is clearly wrong and shows a lack of intelligence. However I strongly feel that the Chinese government has some serious and very real questions to answer about this crisis, and to be frank, several other matters, human rights, animal rights, intimidation of its neighbours to name but a few. Whilst we have to be careful not to direct our anger at individuals, and indeed a population, we can't let China wriggle out of these issues by hiding behind the cloak of western anti-racist sentiment.

Thick, dimit, racists do, I agree.

I think racism is a part of the natural human instinct to fear or dislike of people who are different to you. Like any instinct you don't necessarily have to act on it but I can't believe that many people genuinely harbour no prejudice against anyone else, whether it's based on age, gender, race, religious beliefs, criminal status, education, sexuality, hobbies, job, life choices.

It's this fear of the different that means racists can quite happily be friends with people of a different race, because once they get to know them, they cease to be different. (It reminds me of the Stewart Lee joke, "I hate all Muslims except for the ones I've met, who to be fair seem alright.")

Fortunately most people are too sensible or polite to act on these prejudices - but it doesn't mean they don't have them. You have to remember that for most of human history "foreigners" were indeed very dangerous. Indeed right now, many wars and conflicts between "different" people are ongoing.

Do you mean since the virus? I think so too. Not many people but afraid some see it as all Chinese people's fault! Silly

Sorry I mean do you think only since the virus or before too

These are the same people who would have been racist to your DH before. They just have an ‘excuse’ now.

It's very sad. I went to a university that attracted a lot of Chinese students and all of them were lovely.

I think this is sad but true. However people I’ve met from Hong Kong are actually the most scathing of people from mainland China in my experience.

There are always going to be stereotypes but I can’t fathom how people think it’s accetable to abuse random strangers in public! Some people are unfortunately just thick and can’t think critically for themselves. Your poor DH.

Agree with others that I’ve got no time for the Chinese government though. But the same goes for the American one. In fact lots of Governments...

And I'll definitely still be ordering takeaways!

I think china have given themselves a bad name due to their handling of the virus and mistreatment of animals.
I wouldn't abuse a chinese person on the street but I think china as a whole need to take a look at their practices and make some drastic changes otherwise the hate will continue.

People who voted leave even for other reasons have a lot to answer for.

What a fucking ridiculous assertion. You might as well say people who voted Labour have a lot to answer for because some Labour voters are racists, or Tory, or Green. FFS.

And don't forget the way china are treating African nationals in their country right now.

And don't forget the way china are treating African nationals in their country right now.

African nationals have always been treated that way in China, India, and South Korea. In Singapore / Malaysia where your father’s nationality becomes your own children of African nationals are even actively discriminated against . The Chinese racism is just being reported now because it suits the media.

@clareOclareO what a long winded way to justify racism

The generations of Chinese in the UK have been discriminated against for as long as they have been here - no different probably than any other immigrant class.

OP I'm glad that your DH responded to that insult, people should not get away with being such idiots.

@Mucklowe that sounds like a really interesting thesis.

Bullied, yes I was referring to suspected resentment since the viral outbreak

Some people are just looking for an excuse to hate.

Yes and it's been surprising to see who thinks this way. Feeling nervous because I've often been mistaken for having some Chinese ancestry even though I am completely Irish (black Irish). Truth be told- I'm always mistaken for whoever is being picked on

There is a huge difficult difference between being of a Chinese ethnicity ie hua ren and being a mainland Chinese. There are millions of Chinese who were born outside of China and do not identify with its culture. And by gum mainland Chinese do have a bad reputation. Many Singaporeans, Malaysian, Indonesian, thai Chinese can't evem stand mainlanders.