Have You Ever Asked These Casual Questions That Can Be A Racist?
I have witnessed and experienced a lot of the hate that we are seeing in the media or directly. It’s been getting worse since the Covid-19 outbreak.
I’m going to talk about questions that could be racism. It is so light and casual racism that I am not quite sure how to identify so that I did sometimes let it slide.
Let’s look at three questions you ask unconsciously that could make you a racist.
1. “Why do you speak English so well?”, “How did you learn English?”
Have you ever asked this question? It might be a quite casual question for you. But think if you’re asking this question just by looking at the color of their face. It hits someone harder because English can be their first language.
2. “Where are you REALLY coming from?”
If you are a person of color, you would be asked it at least once.
“Where are you from?”
“I am from here”
“I mean, Where are you REALLY coming from?”
“What? I was born here”
This is something that so many colored people have dealt with their entire lives identifying whether they are an outsider in the community.
3. “Ni Hao!”
All East Asians tend to be considered Chinese. It might be assumed so because the Chinese account for a large population in East Asia but it does not mean that all Asians are Chinese. Neither am l.
And greetings like “ni hao” are a way of telling you that English isn’t yours and that you will never be a person in that county.
These can result from ignorance and a lack of education. and so much of this racism can also be very casual and it can kind of sneak up on us in many ways.
