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.

You obviously researched the ancestors of those people fully. How many generations did you go back?

You are British too i assume and given the population of the UK i assume that a significant proportion have similarly insulted you?

Or are you anecdotally extrapolationg a tiny proportion of morons to make wild sweeping statements?

Don't bother answering, it is already obvious.

British people are the most racist people on the face of the earth such utter crap!!!
Look we are far from perfect, and sadly nationalism is spreading, not just here but world wide, making previously shameful statements more acceptable.
But you show me one country which doesn’t have prejudice? You want to try being a black person in Russia, Bulgaria or indeed China at the moment?
The Middle East’s treatment of foreign workers got don’t consider racist?

@BeNiceToYourSister has it spot on up thread

"British people are the most racist people on the face of the earth"

God, you haven't travelled much, have you? The UK is far from perfect but compared to most places, it's pretty tolerant.

My husband is Korean, obviously that makes no difference to people as they just see East Asian and think Chinese. People will always yell "ni hao" at him (to which he usually replies with some other random language.)

Kind of dreading going back to the UK. I really don't want to hear the racist comments.

People definitely see East Asians as "other", "exotic", not fully human. People say the maddest shit sometimes. "Does he eat dog?" "How do you communicate with him?" "Aren't you worried your kids will have small eyes?" If we go to a restaurant or something together, no one ever thinks we're together, weirdly more of an issue in the UK than in Korea which is far less multicultural.

In western Europe, I'd say that Italy is worse for this stuff than anywhere else, the UK more or less the "best", though still times when you can't go a single day without people saying something.

"Look where slavery came from."

Do you think the British...invented slavery?

You might want to take a look at Rome and Egypt and, yes, China and literally every fucking civilisation ever.

Jesus, some people.

'Fuck right off' was the correct thing to say to her. Horrible woman.

However, I am one of those people who think the Chinese government have to be held accountable for this pandemic and financial sanctions need to be considered going forward.

There are always racist idiots looking for any excuse to spew forth their bile. Im sorry this happened to your husband.

"However, I am one of those people who think the Chinese government have to be held accountable for this pandemic and financial sanctions need to be considered going forward."

I'm no supporter of the Chinese government but western governments absolutely need to be held to account for their utter lack of response.

It would be utter hypocrisy to place the entire blame on China.

I think you’re right OP, I work with a Japanese bloke and he’s taken a lot of abuse in the street recently.

I think people like to have someone to blame, and it’s always either to blame the ‘other’

I have a big problem with Wet Markets and cat and dog eating and the dog eating festival that goes on in China every year

This.

I am really missing my Chinese takeaway, and on opening, will place a big enough order to keep them afloat on its own
Seriously though, it's awful to read all this. I can't imagine what it's like having to put up with this shit, from utter halfwits.

When the schools were open about a week or two before lockdown my daughter reported some girls bullying some British-Chinese classmates about the virus. It's disgusting.

OP your husband gave the absolutely correct response!

I'm no supporter of the Chinese government but western governments absolutely need to be held to account for their utter lack of response

We are talking about two very different things. The cause and source of a virus and how governments have reacted or not reacted to it. The Chinese government have to be made to understand that this cannot happen again and the sooner sanctions are put in place as a reminder the better.

As it is I don't live in the West and Im very happy with the steps put in place here to protect us.

I've really no idea what you mean by a lack of response by western governments.

When I type 'chinese' on my phone I don't get an emoji being suggested.

I don't even think it is 100% certain this originated in China, I remember articles stating it could have come from elsewhere and China themselves have said it is not to blame. I think they are pointing fingers at the US or UK meddling and that sounds just as plausible as the theory that it originated in these wet markets in China.

I think some people have some sort of weird chip on their shoulder about China and are using this to stick the boot in on them. That's absolutely racist.

I have a big problem with Wet Markets and cat and dog eating and the dog eating festival that goes on in China every year

In the UK, eating cats and dogs isn't acceptable. However, all round the world people eat things that others would find disgusting or cruel. E.g., in Peru and Ecuador, guinea pigs are a common food item, they are bred specifically for the food market. In other countries, insects are very common. Many cultures believe it is very wrong to eat pork. Automatically being disparaging about the food choices certain cultures make is inherently racist.

I have to admit seeing the videos of Chinese wet markets has put me off Chinese food

Purely because of hygiene levels, and I can only assume it's a cultural thing to think that level of hygiene is acceptable, and quite frankly eating food cooked in that level of hygiene makes me want to throw up.

I'm not sure I can forget what I witnessed in those videos.

I think some people have some sort of weird chip on their shoulder about China and are using this to stick the boot in on them. That's absolutely racist

No. Its you being ridiculous.

It's probably the tendency people have towards class analysis rather than viewing people as individuals.

I am sorry that happened to your husband. No one should be abused like that.

I work with a lot of East Asian people and have lived in three East Asian countries. I regularly faced discrimination there because of my skin colour. The disgusting things said to me were just normal, accepted ideas in those countries. I tried in my own small way to challenge that kind of racist thinking but really, got nowhere.

So I find it very interesting that when East Asians come here they are suddenly so appalled by the same racism they tolerate or practise in their own countries. Not saying it is right, but they only speak out when they are the victims. As pointed out up thread, where is the support for the Africans in Guangzhou? Why are Chinese people not standing up in outrage?

No one deserves to be abused. We should all speak out against discrimination everywhere, not just when we are affected

Automatically being disparaging about the food choices certain cultures make is inherently racist.

Not when there's scientific data to back up the risks associated with the consumption of cat and dog meat (trichinella, cholera,rabies), and no safe or humane way of farming, transporting or slaughtering cats and dogs. These are facts which underpin why these animals are not commonly used for food sources, just as many wildlife species aren't.

Yes you can grab random animals off the streets/out of the forests, trade and consume them but doing so massively increases both welfare problems and disease spillover risks. That's well documented in the literature regardless of country/culture and therefore not racist - calling racism when you don't fully understand the issues is an easy way to close down important conversations. If it helps, wildlife markets and dog/cat consumption occurs outside of China too and is problematic no matter where it occurs

Has racism towards Chinese people increased- absolutely - people are idiots, but don't conflate those issues in an effort to close down discussion.

Automatically being disparaging about the food choices certain cultures make is inherently racist.

Racist because I believe no culture should ever be treating animals the way the Chinese culture does? The dog festival is fucking barbaric and shouldn't have a place in any society. Stop looking for racism where there isn't any.