Often I am asked the question "why would a Black man study in the Chinas?" Well, this is a good question...especially since living in the Chinas is definitely a hardship for a person of color (non-white). Well, there are several reasons but first let me dispense with the notion that I am a Marxist, leftist or that I have a political philosophy that is anti-American.
Nothing could be further that the truth in this regard. It's not that I don't like the United States, I love it for all of its goodness and I want to change all that is wrong with it. I also do not have a secret desire to be Chinese and I am not a lonely soul seeking truth in Asia as so many people here seem to be. And no, I am not here to exploit Chinese women or to date them; toys are to be played with...not people. The fact of the matter is that China provides me with the opportunity to see several things that I find attractive.
First, China is a society which makes no attempt to hide its societal contradictions (e.g., extreme poverty side-by-side with obscene wealth). Normally in the Unites States there is a pseudo layer of economic moderation between the two. The other fact is that, unlike the United States, although the Chinese are more racist than western societies, my education and work experience is valued more. That is, I am judged more on my education which then subjects my race as a secondary factor. In the United States my experience has been that race seems to be the primary factor in judging individuals and merit is secondary.
Lastly, China is a challenge. It is a country attempting to find itself in the world community, it's cultural self-esteem and its continual stability as a nation. As such, I have the rare opportunity to witness this nation at its rebirth or at its death knoll. The Chinese always seem to be surprised how nationalistic I am as an African-American...I guess they have an expectation that I would not love my country because of the social struggles that they have read about; struggles that are often outdated and not relevant to the American society that I live in. The Chinese also seem very surprised that as an African-American, how Chinese and African-American cultures are really not that different at all.
Having said all of this, I must admit that the reason that I continue to come to the Chinas, which includes Taiwan, is because America's future, strength and power is based, somewhat, on accurately understanding and assessing Chinese society. I am good at being a sinologist (China expert) because my experience as an African-American born and raised in the United States is tailor made to understand China. That is, as a person living both in a mainstream and minority culture and being able to both understand and function in situations which routinely requires diplomacy, tact, analysis, and understanding in a multicultural but mainstream culturally dominant environment.
Who could ask for better training while having a front seat to history?China is a good place to live because it has helped me understand that America and its people are much greater than I ever imagined and has helped me realize that Americans are a people that welcomes diversity, initative, and individualism. Yes, its seems that our nation’s best days have yet to be seen. Thank you China!
I feel sympathy for you Mr. Johnson, but unfortunately I don't think that Taiwan will be any better in the several regards that you mention. If anything, the Taiwanese are even worse about their racism than the Americans--as you probably know by now. It's still fairly appalling to me that both whites and blacks can be openly vilified/insulted as they walk down the street here in Taiwan--all because the Taiwanese people tend to chauvinistically believe that anyone whose skin color isn't yellow can't possibly understand Mandarin.
ReplyDeletenostalgiphilehttp://arbiterofwaste.wordpress.com
This may not mean much, but I've hung out with quite a few of the guys from AIT, and we did have a black diplomat here last year. He came up north to meet some buddies at Shilin, but he told me he was posted in Gaoxiong.Nostalgiaphile, go south and listen to what they say about you in Taiwanese. My friend James was once compared to a "hairy monkey" for several minutes by a young girl in a convenience store and her mom didn't do a thing to stop her until he commented on how rude she was. Then, of course, the mom scolded her. If he hadn't made it clear he understood what she was saying, though, I'm sure she'd have just let her go on indefinitely.
ReplyDeleteMarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09652288045145591799noreply@blogger.com
As a youth, I used to think racism ws an American thing. My eyes have been opened to see it is everywhere, in many forms and for a multitude of reasons. In the US, we're learning to at least tolerate differences. The government provides some protection by barring discriminatory practices, such is not the case here.Why don' more people of Africa seek opporutnities in Asia? Perhaps we are too busy fighting the good fight at home to do it elsewhere. Perhaps it is easier to find success and to navigate the culture in Europe and Africa.Whatever the reason, I think many opportunities are missed by not coming here. Not only the opportunity for economic and career success, but to show these people what we really can do!
ReplyDeletecampbelehttp://taiwanedi.wordpress.com/