Reflections on race and identity

A Facebook friend shared about this article "Air China Will Fly You to London, and Warn You About Dark-Skinned People There".

I decided to share it on my Facebook wall, saying "The internalised racism and racial unawareness that Chinese people harbour towards dark-skinned people is plain appalling, immature and unbecoming."

Another Facebook friend responded to my post, saying "Fortunately, I've been blessed to be surrounded by friends and peers who do not see me for the colour I am, but rather by who I am. But yes, it does exist pretty rampantly here, where multiculturalism has been existence for more than 3 generations now. Pretty appalling that after all this time, and after being surrounded by every creed and race for so long, the colour of our skin still matters."

I replied "Yes, it is like the proverbial elephant in the room that Chinese people didn't want to acknowledge or talk about or fail to see because racial discrimination and privilege, such as Chinese privilege, are usually invisible to those who harbour them. It is thanks to mainly social media that racial issues and privilege issues can be openly made known and discussed - the more we Chinese people are made aware of our own internalised racism and racial unawareness, the more we can consciously work on our own unconscious and free ourselves from the discriminatory mindset that we harbour towards ourselves and others who look different from us."

She replied "I agree with you, but there's more to the racism here. Even within supposedly 'same' communities, there's racism bordering on ridiculousness. Like how the Malays with Arabic roots look at Malays with Boyanese roots differently. Like how North Indians look at South Indians differently. Essentially, it's a fair skinned superiority complex. Which is just plain nonsensical.

It's especially hilarious when people give you looks of horror when you admit to white people envy, but fair Asian complex is totally acceptable. Hah!"

I replied "Yes, colourism or shadism is just as bad as, if not worse than, racism because colourism is more subtle in some ways. Indeed, I realise that fair skinned superiority complex is not only propagated by Eurocentric propaganda of "white beauty" (which I blogged about here https://realrest.wordpress.com/.../our-true-beauty-and.../) but also passed down through generations in Asia about the "fair Asian complex". The society's preoccupation with fair skinned beauty has made it challenging for many with darker skin to develop a sense of self-worth and self-acceptance, and also not give in to the pressure to conform to the societal standard of "beauty" while the beauty industry is making billions marketing and selling skin lightening cream and so on, as you probably also know."

She replied "Yeah, very aware of the complex and the creams. But 1. I'm proud of the colour of my skin, and 2. I've been blessed with colour blind friends. So I guess I don't really feel it in my everyday dealings at work or play. But it would be very interesting for someone who does feel it to contribute to this discussion."

I replied "Good for you, and I am happy for you as well. I love the melanin in my own skin too, and I want more of it, as I love the sun. I have been educating myself on racial issues because I realise I am complicit in the oppression of darker skinned people without intending to by simply living unconsciously with my Chinese privilege, and Facebook pages such as The Love Life Of An Asian Guy as well as social activists and scholars such as Sangeetha Thanapal have been helpful in bringing about such awareness and giving voice to those who feel the racism and championing liberty and equality."
 
She replied "Well, I'm sure I speak for all brown people when I say thank you for taking the effort, and more importantly, thank you for seeing that there is a problem in the first place. For knowing and acknowledging is the first step to every resolution."

My personal thoughts: I'm brown too... well, a particular shade of brown, to be more precise. Being sandwiched in the middle between white and black collectives, I know what it is like to be oppressed by white supremacy, and I also know what is like to enjoy the benefits of privilege in this dysfunctional and discriminatory system.  Hence, it puts me in a position of being the oppressor and the oppressed at the same time, and I have to make a conscious decision on whether I want to stand on the side of the oppressor or on the side of the oppressed every single day.

For some reasons, I felt inadequate and I felt like a failure - then again, maybe it is encouraging to be acknowledged for the effort I am making, but I really shouldn't be taking the credit for doing something that I should be doing as a fellow human being. But of course, I can see it as a sign that I am on the right track in making a difference in people's lives, hopefully for the better.

I think it can be a lonely path, especially when many fellow Chinese appear to be living racially unaware, but I know I have to be true to myself. I may look foolish for not conforming to their norms and for getting myself involved in social justice, but I know enough of what it is like to be discriminated against, and I would rather bear the shame and ignominy together with the oppressed black and brown people, for I am also one of them.


Ultimately, the more we talk about it and be aware of the racism and colourism within and around us, the better because it affects all of us. Within the Chinese community, for example, it is not uncommon for fairer skinned Chinese to look down on darker skinned Chinese. Racial and colourist stereotypes continue to be a stronghold in our mindsets based on the conditionings and programmings we have been receiving from our cultures, backgrounds, mass media and so on, and as much as I recognise a need to deconstruct the mindsets, I remind myself the true test is based on how I relate to and interact with people both in the online and offline worlds.

Thoughts about an article on racism

I noted that the website http://www.dailystormer.com/contributions/ is owned or run by white people  as their profile page states that "The Daily Stormer is non-profit and 100% reader-supported. We do what we do because we are attempting to preserve Western Civilization." Every place or country has their share of ignorant, racist people, and it depends on who one meets that shapes their perception of the people there based on their actual lived experience.

I don't quite agree with the author's (who is most likely a white person) claim that "Singaporeans are way more racist than whites" or "Whites are the least racist group in the United States, if not the world." because it seems to be an attempt by the white people to use another country's problem of racism or internalised racism to cover up or downplay the reality of white supremacy issue in America. For example, the author mentioned "It can even be directed against socially prestigious whites" by citing the example of Anthony Casey who was criticised for looking down on poor people in Singapore when he was taking public transport - the backlash from Singaporeans against his remarks is actually in response to the fact that they were critical about white privilege and snobbery, so it wasn't really racism or reverse racism as the author implied, because protesting against white privilege isn't considered racism. 

"Only those in power (economic, political, social, etc.) have the power to actually be racist. The rest of us are simply the pawn in the malicious enterprise of racism, and every other “ism” for that matter. Anyone can have prejudice, but only white privileged people can be racist because we were the prize, never the participants in the race. The only ones that benefit from racism are those in power. The only ones who are adversely affected by it are those who are oppressed."
http://blackgirlspeaks.me/2014/02/18/a-message-to-white-privileged-people-who-take-offense-to-black-power-movements/

The author himself admitted that "Singaporeans are tougher on race than Americans, but they are not spilling blood or establishing their own Jim Crow system as in Indonesia and Malaysia respectively.  Actually, Singapore`s race policy is quite rational and workable." So when it comes to racial violence and oppression to the point of genocide and slavery, the racism issue of white America against people of colour, especially black community and native Indians, is in fact more serious. So all in all, while it is increasingly acknowledged that there is racism in Singapore, mostly out of ignorance of other people's cultures, as well as internalised racism or colourism among Asians such as Chinese, Malays and Indians, which more and more people are becoming aware of and talking about it in academia and social media such as alternative media, the author's generalisation that "Singaporeans are way more racist than white people" isn't quite true. This is also not to say there aren't enlightened white people because more and more white people are coming out of the closet who are conscious of the issue of racism and white supremacy and are attempting to deal with it by bringing awareness to the world as well.

A Story About Race - Neil deGrasse Tyson

Video information
Neil talks about a time in college where a wrestling teammate made him uneasy about whether he was doing the right thing culturally by becoming an astrophysicist.

Taken from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0I5Fl1Qn-Do

It is good of Neil deGrasse Tyson to share openly about how he was discriminated by some people just because of his skin colour so that others who have been discriminated can relate to his experiences and take heart they are not alone. In actuality there is only one race - the human race, and skin colour has nothing to do with intelligence. As the saying goes, "racial superiority is only a pigment of imagination." It is unfortunate that some segments of society and media had perpetuated false stereotypes of "races", which only reflects on their own insecurity, ignorance and backward thinking. I am glad for Tyson to realise his dream of becoming an astrophysicist and I hope and believe his sharing in this video would help more people to realise that we are all one human race and have our own aspirations and skills and intelligence, regardless of our skin colour.