Racism in Taiwan
So, being in the market to buy a scooter, I responded to an ad on TEALIT for a really cheap 125cc Kymco bike like the one I'm renting. We agreed to meet in the morning. I waited where we had agreed to meet, and a few minutes later, lo and behold, I see an obvious foreigner coming down the street on a blue Heroism 125. Something struck me as odd about her, and I realized fully what it was that had just been a strange sensation moments before.
She's black.
I know that doesn't sound that out of place, but you have to understand I have not seen a single black person since leaving the States.
Truth be told, there just aren't that many black people in Asia. And apparently, the hiring practices of most English schools generally discriminate against people of any color other than white (though at least Hess will hire NSTs of the Asian persuasion).
As has been explained to me before, by a Taiwanese person, Taiwanese people are often afraid of black people.
Because usually the only experience they get with people of any color other than yellow is in movies from Hollywood. A fact which has opened my eyes to just how bad the problem is in our movie industry. They idolize the tall, blond white people and are scared of the dark-skinned people they see mostly in violent or criminal roles.
The first tube of toothpaste I bought in Taiwan, from the OK convenience store in front of the hostel in Taipei, seemed humorous to me. Innocuously so, I thought. The man on the front sort of reminded me of Fred Astaire. There is some English on it. It's called "Darlie" toothpaste.
As it turns out, it isn't so harmless. The Chinese on the tube, hēi rén, translates directly to "black man."
And that's not the least of it.
It used to be called "Darkie" toothpaste, not but a few years ago, and the image on the tube was much different.
Even now, Taiwan is the world's biggest producer of racist kitsch for both export and consumption at home.
So I didn't think it was at all funny today, during break, when an eight-year-old student of mine grabbed a black marker and pretended to color my face and said, "Ha ha! Teacher black!"
She's black.
I know that doesn't sound that out of place, but you have to understand I have not seen a single black person since leaving the States.
Truth be told, there just aren't that many black people in Asia. And apparently, the hiring practices of most English schools generally discriminate against people of any color other than white (though at least Hess will hire NSTs of the Asian persuasion).
As has been explained to me before, by a Taiwanese person, Taiwanese people are often afraid of black people.
Because usually the only experience they get with people of any color other than yellow is in movies from Hollywood. A fact which has opened my eyes to just how bad the problem is in our movie industry. They idolize the tall, blond white people and are scared of the dark-skinned people they see mostly in violent or criminal roles.
The first tube of toothpaste I bought in Taiwan, from the OK convenience store in front of the hostel in Taipei, seemed humorous to me. Innocuously so, I thought. The man on the front sort of reminded me of Fred Astaire. There is some English on it. It's called "Darlie" toothpaste.As it turns out, it isn't so harmless. The Chinese on the tube, hēi rén, translates directly to "black man."
And that's not the least of it.
It used to be called "Darkie" toothpaste, not but a few years ago, and the image on the tube was much different.
Even now, Taiwan is the world's biggest producer of racist kitsch for both export and consumption at home.
So I didn't think it was at all funny today, during break, when an eight-year-old student of mine grabbed a black marker and pretended to color my face and said, "Ha ha! Teacher black!"
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