Vancouver racist towards asians.

[GATSBY]

I left Chinese culture and best thing I ever did, no more wanting to learn Cantonese or feeling I missed out. Just too much junk that I've dealted with from my own to ever go back.

Still some left in you haha.. Not trying to be mean but found that funny Anyhow I concur with Mr. Wilde.

 

[Nathalie Rose]

An interesting idea came upon me while reading Sam Huntington's The Clash of Civilization,

The mention of Samuel Huntington in a discussion about racism in Canada is akin to Godwin's law (in any argument, Nazi's will be brought up at some point http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law).

Now I know the above is a sarcastic comment of course, but the academic in me has no choice but to mention, for posterity, that Huntington is a widely debunked fool whose simplistic and outdated 1993 paper was lazy, generalized, islamophobic racist garbage.

The best response I've ever seen is by Edward Said, a brilliant, thoughtful and empathetic post-colonial scholar whose theories on immigration and anti-racist scholarship still stand the test of time. You can watch the (very long) video here

It doesn't hurt that he's extremely sexy and sort of looks like an older Richard Geere.

 

[badbadboy]

Driving North on Oak St today, cut off and I came to a sudden stop. This is not unusual and then the same driver with a "N" did the same thing in the very middle of the intersection at Broadway.

Irony is a VPD was on my tail the whole way, saw both incidents that could have caused accidents and what a surprise both the "N" driver and the VPD were Asian. A simple put on the lights and pull this inexperienced driver over to explain the errors would have gone a long way in my book. I figure the VPD was just waiting for me to light it up in the left or far right lane; he finally gave up on me and went elsewhere.

All it did was solidify my belief that most new drivers from Asia have no clue how to drive in this city.

BTW before you play the race card, I have numerous Asians on my street and get along well with each one of them. It's the newbies who don't have a clue behind the wheel that drive me nuts.

 

[richrad]

I'm an ethnic person with brown skin, so I've experienced my share of racism since I was a child born in Canada. Most of it was from Asians. When I was in elementary school an Asian boy was making fun of my brown skin...and just all the time all my life I've received cold attitudes from mainly Asians, my neighbors are Asians and they are all mean and nasty to me, I don't know why...I am a very nice person I'm Canadian and really friendly! =( And I love Asians I have nothing against them at all, despite all the crap I've gotten I still have no hard feelings...I usually do toward my own race to the men mostly lol but its not a pure racist feeling its more of an annoyance.

And in our culture (Indians from India or any secondary island they migrated to) light skin is highly valued. The lighter you are, the more beautiful you're considered. There's a word in my culture that means "white lady"...they use it as a compliment to girls, I've been called it a few times when I have makeup on and stuff.

I'm an ethnic person with what some call "yellow" skin (Chinese), and I've experienced racism before as well and it came from people of many different races.

I went to high school at John Oliver in East Vancouver, and being one of the few "yellow" people I was discriminated against by the "browns" (a group of brown kids called me 'chink, ching chong chang etc.' every day. The racist attitude they harbored against me later manifested into physical harm...) Long story short I moved on and saw past the hate, because I believed that only cowards needed to bully, and my seeming racial handicap was the only justifiable reason they had for attacking me.

One time I was walking with an Asian friend of mine in the neighborhood when a white woman pushing a stroller yelled at us "Go back to China, you China men" for no reason (is there ever a good reason for that kind of talk?). We didn't even respond we were so taken aback. Later on when my friend wanted to go back and look for the woman to confront her I told him to let it go. "Ignorant people exist," I said, "just ignore them." That was how I dealt with racism.

Years later, I started working as a salesperson. My boss was usually nice to everyone, and no one would ever think that he could be as racist as he really was. At a company party one time we all had a bit too much to drink, and he started blaspheming racial slurs. "Thanks to all the chinks and EIs coming into our store, we are actually doing very well for the quarter..." I wasn't comfortable about it at first but condoned it anyway. The culture of the company changed since then and many of my coworkers started talking the same way, even in front of me and other ethnic people.

I learned that sometimes ignorance could be pretty explicit. However, it really chills one's spine to experience that kind of treatment in a country where one calls home. Upon experiencing racism in any shape or form, one feels as though part of our Canadian character--the part that consists of our loving and accepting nature that we call "multiculturalism"--becomes denigrated. Unfortunately I think it has metastasized like cancer in recent years.

 

[AA_Train]

The article is a joke. I always think that certain groups call racism or discrimination because they are holding a mirror up to themselves. I can tell you from a lot of personal experience that a good percentage of Chinese people are far more racist than the worst white person we have here in the Lower Mainland (save Neo-Nazis).

the racial and cultural conflicts we have in Canada are based on this cultural mosaic model the Trudeau introduced and let that dictate immigration policy. This is wrong. immigration is all about assimilation. When anybody moves from any part of the world to another, it should be understood that part of your personal culture is going to be ursurped for the one in the new land. That is what is necessary for one to live and function day to day there. I doesn't mean one culture is better than the other, it's just the reality of your situation. I oppose the Harper government on nearly everything but I 110% support the requirement for people taking our citizenship exam that they have to do it in English or french and not their native tongue. That is a policy that makes sense.

I think some Asians feel like they may not be welcome here but that comes from them showing that they don't seem interested in joining the rest of society because it seems to other groups, they don't. They stay within their own communities, don't learn the language and don't try to integrate themselves. It's a two way street but traffic has to flow in both directions. I think most people here will recognize the effort and go out of their way to help them out, if they see that effort as sincere.

 

[Ray]

When anybody moves from any part of the world to another, it should be understood that part of your personal culture is going to be ursurped for the one in the new land.

So why didn't European immigrants/settlers practice that in the lands they settled in?

 

[Sander.Boss.1987]

Just let the people on the elevator get OFF before you get on

 

[richrad]

Firstly, let’s be honest here, when we speak of Asian immigration in Vancouver, we are speaking about Chinese. They are the predominant immigrant group in Vancouver.

I was asked to sit on an informal panel, to discuss immigration, values, culture, gentrification and their affect on neighbourhoods with regard to the church (my father is a deacon in the Anglican church). The church, like many other organized religions in Canada, has seen a decline in stewardship and is desperate to understand what is driving the change. The church board wanted to know if immigration and immigrant values are playing a part in the decline.

There were about 25 people from the surrounding neighbourhood and one expert. This expert was a sociologist from Shanghai. It was understood that he was there with the sole purpose of running the meeting, directing the flow of the conversation and keeping people on task.

He started by assessing the participants and appointing subgroups with leaders and one facilitator (me) to act as a go-between amongst the groups. With the formalities all settled, the expert stood up and said beaming, “my job is to educate you people on the Chinese and our culture, to help you understand the Chinese immigrant which will make you more accepting and understanding of us and by doing so we will come together as groups”.

With that, I stood up and told everybody to grab their things that we were done. Shocked he looked at me and said what are you doing? I told him that this is Canada and as Canadians, it is not our job to understand the immigrant, it is the immigrant’s job to understand us, our culture and values, and what makes us Canadian. These people do want to be Canadian do they not, or is their objective to be Chinese in New China?

I told him that his point-of-view was a uniquely Chinese immigrant point-of-view, and that Chinese have usurped the ‘Ugly American’.

He was stunned. He asked that the meeting be adjourned until the following day to assess my comments and quietly asked the Church board to have me removed from the panel.

I have drawn two conclusions about the immigrant Chinese;

• The ‘Ugly Chinese”, are so arrogant in their beliefs and perceptions about themselves that they have lost sight of that fact that they have asked to come here, that they are in fact, a guest in our house, yet are demanding to have our identity changed to suit them.

• The immigrant Chinese assume our kindness equates to weakness.

So you were on an informal panel to discuss immigration, values, culture, gentrification and their affect on neighbourhoods... but you stood up to leave upon him telling you that he was going to educate you on what the Chinese and Chinese culture are about so you can understand the Chinese immigrant? How do you discuss immigration, value, culture... if you don't understand them? Granted he could've put those words together in a less condescending tone, but he didn't say it as if what the Chinese and Chinese culture stand for is how one should behave as Canadian, which means you got mad because you don't think they deserve a voice, which makes you no less a prick than he was.

 

[BORKO]

So you were on an informal panel to discuss immigration, values, culture, gentrification and their affect on neighbourhoods... but you stood up to leave upon him telling you that he was going to educate you on what the Chinese and Chinese culture are about so you can understand the Chinese immigrant? How do you discuss immigration, value, culture... if you don't understand them? Granted he could've put those words together in a less condescending tone, but he didn't say it as if what the Chinese and Chinese culture stand for is how one should behave as Canadian, which means you got mad because you don't think they deserve a voice, which makes you no less a prick than he was.

I'd also think that since Canada is a young immigrant country then it's a little presumptuous for people that have been here maybe a couple generations to tell people to forsake their own culture and be Canadian even though the idea of what is Canadian culture is pretty vague.

 

[barny-stinson]

So you were on an informal panel to discuss immigration, values, culture, gentrification and their affect on neighbourhoods... but you stood up to leave upon him telling you that he was going to educate you on what the Chinese and Chinese culture are about so you can understand the Chinese immigrant? How do you discuss immigration, value, culture... if you don't understand them? Granted he could've put those words together in a less condescending tone, but he didn't say it as if what the Chinese and Chinese culture stand for is how one should behave as Canadian, which means you got mad because you don't think they deserve a voice, which makes you no less a prick than he was.

Why should we have to? This isn't China. We aren't Chinese. You don't go over to your friends house, sit on your friends couch, uninvited of course, and tell him/her what's for supper, do you? Generally as a guest you kindly accept what is offered, and be thankful.

Enough with the racism card. This should be common sense and common courtesy.

 

[richrad]

Why should we have to? This isn't China. We aren't Chinese. You don't go over to your friends house, sit on your friends couch, uninvited of course, and tell him/her what's for supper, do you? Generally as a guest you kindly accept what is offered, and be thankful.

Enough with the racism card. This should be common sense and common courtesy.

It's an immigrant country isn't it? If we are made to learn about its immigrant history--the European diaspora, among others--then we should also learn about the new people who are coming here (where they are from, why they are coming, what skill set they are bringing over etc.) to become part of what we stand for. Why should that be any different? It's not a race card, and they are not coming uninvited, otherwise Canada wouldn't call itself an immigrant country.

 

[BORKO]

Why should we have to? This isn't China. We aren't Chinese. You don't go over to your friends house, sit on your friends couch, uninvited of course, and tell him/her what's for supper, do you? Generally as a guest you kindly accept what is offered, and be thankful.

Enough with the racism card. This should be common sense and common courtesy.

How are they guests if they are Canadian citizens? Are you going to show them the door if they don't become "Canadian" enough for you?

 

[barny-stinson]

It's an immigrant country isn't it? If we are made to learn about its immigrant history--the European diaspora, among others--then we should also learn about the new people who are coming here (where they are from, why they are coming, what skill set they are bringing over etc.) to become part of what we stand for. Why should that be any different? It's not a race card, and they are not coming uninvited, otherwise Canada wouldn't call itself an immigrant country.

This can be discussed as far back as to what came first : the chicken or the egg? Everyone to some extent is an immigrant or descendents thereof. We've come a long way since the early days. Like it or not, we've created our own identity, our own laws, and in the process have decided that English and French are our two national languages.

You might not like what I say next, but, I don't care. I don't care about Chinese culture. I don't need or want to learn Mandarin or Cantonese, and I don't have to embrace your past culture as part of my own, because it isn't and it never will be. This is Canada. The only time this applies is when I visit China, and I am a guest in that nation. I wouldn't expect the Chinese to embrace Canadian culture, nor would I ever ask them to. This is the underlying principle. I don't see color. I don't see race. What I do see are Chinese (in this case) unwilling to oblige our culture. Any immigrant, be it white, black, purple or brown that chooses to move here, embrace Canadian culture, seeks valid productivity and accepts the challenge of learning our languages deserves appreciation. 100%. But beyond that, I don't have to care where you came from and how you do things back home, so long as when you're here, being Canadian is what's most important to you.

 

[barny-stinson]

It is a misconception that the Chinese Canadians are expecting Canadians to embrace the Chinese culture. The immigrant population are the fundamental building block of the Canadian culture because of Canada's lack of history. What does Canada's multicultural policy stand for if the immigrant population assimilate fully into the Canadian culture? We are not expecting Canadians to learn Chinese, Korean or Punjabi. Rather they should respect us if we speak to our clan members in our native tongue. We should not be called chinks, gooks, or curry based on our cultural appearance, just as White Canadians wouldn't be like to be called cottage cheese. Also we shouldn't be considered guests if we are Canadian citizens but bear Asian resemblance, this is not White Canada anymore. Multicultural Act of Canada passed in 1988, been 25 years already, Canadians should be more in sync with the law that protects our heritage.

Nobody alive today made any of the choices made in 1867. The fact of the matter is Canada is based mostly on British and French immigration and law. I didn't choose this, I was simply born here. That is our history. It isn't Chinese, Farsi, Spanish, or anything else. When immigrants choose to move to Canada, they must accept the fact that these are the fundamental building blocks of this great nation we call Canada. Canadian culture is not based on anything but that, so to tell me, a bilingual Canadian born and raised that I must accept Chinese culture and language is a disgrace. Insulting and arrogant, too. My answer to that is if you're so proud of your heritage, then GO back there. People of other cultures whilst in Canada should only be in sync with Canadian culture, full stop. I shouldn't be walking around Richmond listening to non-stop Cantonese because these immigrants are unwilling to learn our language. The sooner new immigrants accept this, the better off things will be. We don't have to protect Chinese heritage. I will fight to the death to protect British and French heritage, because that is Canadian.

 

[summerbreeze]

Actually it's simple. If an immegrant comes from a more advanced culture/country/community, as immigrants they tend to adapt easier to our standards. In some cases they might even consider our standards lower than where they come from.

If however the immigrant comes from a more shall we say developing nation/community they will take longer to adapt and appreciate or voluntarily adopt the standards of their new country.

Not to judge, and every country has the same issues however if you open your doors because you need the population growth to fuel the economic growth we all collectively need the tolerance to adapt.

It will take time that's all.

Not that I know anything but some thoughts to share....

 

[BORKO]

Nobody alive today made any of the choices made in 1867. The fact of the matter is Canada is based mostly on British and French immigration and law. I didn't choose this, I was simply born here. That is our history. It isn't Chinese, Farsi, Spanish, or anything else. When immigrants choose to move to Canada, they must accept the fact that these are the fundamental building blocks of this great nation we call Canada. Canadian culture is not based on anything but that, so to tell me, a bilingual Canadian born and raised that I must accept Chinese culture and language is a disgrace. Insulting and arrogant, too. My answer to that is if you're so proud of your heritage, then GO back there. People of other cultures whilst in Canada should only be in sync with Canadian culture, full stop. I shouldn't be walking around Richmond listening to non-stop Cantonese because these immigrants are unwilling to learn our language. The sooner new immigrants accept this, the better off things will be. We don't have to protect Chinese heritage. I will fight to the death to protect British and French heritage, because that is Canadian.

What a classy way to put it...

 

[VanessaofBC]

I love my diverse neighbourhood of Metrotown and <3 all My Asian clients!!! Even the ones who drive all the way from Richmond to see me!!

thx
xox
~V~

 

[BORKO]

I love my diverse neighbourhood of Metrotown and <3 all My Asian clients!!! Even the ones who drive all the way from Richmond to see me!!

thx
xox
~V~

What exactly does that mean?

 

[VanessaofBC]

What exactly does that mean?

I am flattered that even though there are many providers in RIchmond, they would rather drive to Metrotown to see me.

I just appreciate it is all!!

Canada = Diversity

Live with it...oh wait, we already do!

 

[grusse]

so,what do ppl think of the recent suggestion that April s/b named punjabi recognition month(or something like that)