Thread: Am I racist for saying...

Thanks for the comments and thoughts.

I am seriously wondering if I am racist for saying to someone "In this country...blah, blah, blah..."?

Asians are used to fighting for space in their native countries simply because they are so populace.
I've seen it time and time again.
But also I have found the vast majority to be very mild and polite people if you take the time to talk to them.
Don't worry Dave, your not Alone here......
Regards
Robbo

Originally Posted by DT-P38

Thanks for the comments and thoughts.

I am seriously wondering if I am racist for saying to someone "In this country...blah, blah, blah..."?

More polite then I would of been I expect

Originally Posted by robbotd5

Asians are used to fighting for space in their native countries simply because they are so populace.
I've seen it time and time again.
But also I have found the vast majority to be very mild and polite people if you take the time to talk to them.
Don't worry Dave, your not Alone here......
Regards
Robbo

I've spent a fair chunk of time working in SE Asia, China in particular, and yes, there is a different view there of personal space and of waiting or queuing. I've had experiences where I've flagged down a taxi, only to have someone try to jump in ahead of me. Trying to get on a train or the metro is a scrum, not an orderly queue, and it's not unusual to have someone just about standing in your pocket.

So is it to do with race? Or just a product of their environment?

My view it's the latter.

Originally Posted by sheerluck

I've spent a fair chunk of time working in SE Asia, China in particular, and yes, there is a different view there of personal space and of waiting or queuing. I've had experiences where I've flagged down a taxi, only to have someone try to jump in ahead of me. Trying to get on a train or the metro is a scrum, not an orderly queue, and it's not unusual to have someone just about standing in your pocket. So is it to do with race? Or just a product of their environment? My view it's the latter.

So therefore it's fair (and not racist) to say "In this country..."?

Originally Posted by vnx205

You are racist if you believe they behaved as they did because they were Asian.

You are not racist if you believe they behaved as they did because they were inconsiderate.

Simple really. You decide.

You are racist if you would have treated them differently had they been white or something else that was not Asian. Where there is otherwise no prejudice, observing racial characteristics is not itself necessarily racist.

There are cultural differences. For example in some cultures it is impolite to burp after a meal, in others it is impolite if you don't. The English are world class queuers and therefore we are quite good at it too. I have noticed in a lot of different countries that Asians literally take no notice of queues. Drive anywhere in Italy or Greece and you will find that they ignore queues as well. I think that these cultural differences are the foundation stones of what we think of as racism because you have a whole group of similar people behaving in what appears to be a rude manner. Cultural differences are learned behaviours and who is to say who is right or who is wrong...burp or no burp? Rigidly expecting someone to change their learned cultural habits to conform with yours is probably what is meant by being racist. A better approach is to understand their behaviour as normal for their culture, not intended to be rude to you and then get on with it. It's not easy sometimes.

In the past I have been called intolerant, as an immigrant I have to say that multiculturalism and globalization has killed off Australian society but we are a country of immigrants so.........