SUNDAY TAXI
i’m still thinking about the conversation i had with the taxi driver i had on my way home sunday night. 09.05.2004… she asked me how i liked ireland. my answer: mixed feelings. lot’s of great people… but also overt racism, of the type that i’ve never experienced before in my entire life in the united states… and my exasperation at having everyone assume i am chinese (because ethnic chinese are the largest east-asian group in the city, and many people in dublin ignorantly substitute ‘chinese’ as to mean somebody of east asian ethnicity.) . her response: she was surpised… her words… “i’m surprised you get discriminated against because you’re chinese.”i corrected her… “but i am not chinese” i emphasized… with the continent of asia being as vast as it is, with the multitude of ethnicities that populate that continent… and right after telling her i was from the united states!
she then proceeded to tell me that she went to school in the UK “with many foreign, i mean ‘foreign-looking’ people…” this time she corrected herself, but the choice of words was still revealing… she also opined that the chinese population in dublin are seen as hard-working and studious (the model minority!) unlike the nigerians which are just out on the “take and take”. (stereoytpe much?) sadly, this was not an exceptional experience…
i’m thinking about an IM dialogue i had with a friend who is also here. “i’d like to just be seen as me.” he wrote. “not [name omitted] the ‘non-white’ person” or “[name-omitted] the [ethnic slur omitted]”.
yeah. i’d like to be seen as “me” too…
August 28th, 2004 at 1:56 pm
hello to you
I have just read your scathing comments about my home country.
I feel quite offended. You have just committed the very offence that you have levelled at irish people. You have made assumptions about an entire race of people based on a few bad encounters. You may have had some bad experiences and i empathise with you. I am an irish national living in the U.K. I am, therefore, in the eyes of british born people a foreigner. I receive comments everyday of my life regarding my ethnicity (irish people are one of the largest ethnic minorities in britain). Some good and some bad. I have people parroting my accent, even telling me they do not like it. It may be news to you but irish people still encounter racism in many countries.
My point to you is that everybody in every country all over the world make sweeping and often inaccurate generalisations about other races of people. It is a fact of life.
You are from the U.S.A., this is a country founded on migrants from all over the world. Of course it is a different way of life. Ireland,on the other hand, lost a large percentage of it’s population through famine, numerous wars, and mass emigration. We, at one time were a very poor country, stricken by poverty and unemployment. As you are aware, it is only in the last 15-20 years or less that Ireland prospered. We are going through changes. The likes of which U.S citizens may not have seen. I would like to say that i hope things change for the better. We need time to change.
Please try to remember that every who leaves their own country, no matter where that is, to work elsewhere may likely be a victim of xenophobia. We have all experienced it.
A reply would be appreciated
Iwish you luck
Ruth Herra
August 28th, 2004 at 7:14 pm
Hello back to you Ruth Herra,
My “scathing comments” about your country, while unpleasant perhaps for you to hear, are accounts of my actual experiences, so I don’t see how I’m guilty of stereotyping an entire country by describing them here. What do you suggest I do? Keep quiet and say nothing? Sorry, I don’t have to be silent about racism and I don’t have to be silent about ignorance. I’ve noted before on this blog that I’ve met people here who are fantastic, and I am so grateful for the generosity and opportunity my friends have provided, but sorry, the ugly side of modern Irish life is a fact, and no amount of wishing otherwise will change that.
In my blog I actually don’t write about every uncomfortable/awkward/prejudiced/racist/violent experience I have here. My experiences are not just a “few bad experiences” but continue on a regular basis. They have been an integral and prominent part of my life here. Don’t tell me I’m jumping to conclusions, I have two full years of seeing, experiencing, and fighting the sometimes benign and naive, other times vicious ignorance I’ve encountered. And you’re right, it’s not everybody and it’s not the entire country, but it’s enough to strike me as abnormal and alarming, and I have a right to complain about it.
I know Irish people (I don’t think of the Irish as a “race” - that’s debatable) still experience discrimination in other countries, and I do sympathize, but that doesn’t excuse people who live here in Dublin from treating people of color as less than human. The U.S.A. isn’t perfect either, but that doesn’t let other people off the hook for their bad behavior. As far as your statement “…everybody in every country all over the world make sweeping and often inaccurate generalisations about other races of people. It is a fact of life.” This is where we really disagree, because even if people make generalizations, not everybody acts on those generalizations, and even if people do, it does not make it right or okay by any measure.
You’ve written that the U.S.A. is founded on “migrants from all over the world” and that the changes in Ireland are of the type “which U.S. citizens may have never seen.” That’s only partially true. The U.S.A. has a relatively short, yet thorny and complicated past. It is not all “peace, love, and melting pots.” A lot of the changes in Irish life are also happening in small towns across the United States. Plus, the U.S. has historically treated all immigrant ethnic groups really badly, and the price for assimilation into the mainstream has always been high. But, you’re right, we have had more time, and yes, hopefully with time Ireland will catch up a bit in this area.
I still think you’re missing the point though with this comment: “Please try to remember that every who leaves their own country, no matter where that is, to work elsewhere may likely be a victim of xenophobia. We have all experienced it.” This essentialist statement presumes that your experience of being discriminated against as a racially white Irish person in a racially white-majority country like the UK is equivalent to my experience of being discriminated against as an Asian-American in a racially white-majority Ireland. They are not equivalent. Xenophobia and racism are two related yet distinct things. Keep this in mind.