tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post6194321023227180536..comments2024-03-29T02:16:10.331-07:00Comments on South Korea Inside Out/Australia Inside Out: My Experience of the Hypocrisy of Western PrejudiceSmudgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-79246023906504929102014-08-25T06:38:39.154-07:002014-08-25T06:38:39.154-07:00Say what you will about Western ignorance. I lived...Say what you will about Western ignorance. I lived and taught in Korea for 5 years. I never had a single day that people spoke Korean to me despite my daily reminders that it is normal for people to learn to read,write, and speak the language of the country where we reside. So, at least Westerners do not try to impose illiteracy upon a race.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-14764282996393251812014-06-05T11:23:30.448-07:002014-06-05T11:23:30.448-07:00If your industry requires a quality & affordab...If your industry requires a quality & affordable set of Bench scales, Essae Teraoka Limited offers an inclusive range of industrial Weighing scales. At all over India we supply a wide range of weighing scales to industrial and trade businesses right for application across the manufacturing and retailing industries. From packaged goods to raw materials we have the scale and weighing equipments to keep your business moving. Call or email us today to find out how we can help you!<br /><a href="www.iwcsscale.com/" rel="nofollow">floor scale</a><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00441957385075295254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-6733716486024640442013-11-17T19:36:16.088-08:002013-11-17T19:36:16.088-08:00The situation is better under the law in the West ...The situation is better under the law in the West (I think I wrote this) and I will grant you that the situation is better for unpopular minorities, especially under the law; i.e. SE Asians are heavily disciminated against in Korea. However, I do not think individuals in the West are that much more enlightened about racism, at least not as much as they think they are.<br /><br />Persoanlly, and perhaps I should have made this clearer (although the title of the piece is "MY Experience of the Hypocrisy of Western Prejudice") my wife and I felt more racism in the UK than in Korea. What we experienced in Korea was more obvious in everyday situations, but in the UK it was more hurtful, especially at night after the locals had some drinks.<br /><br />To me, what is so frustrating in many Western countries is the attitude that many people have that they are not racist, when in fact they still are and there is a refusal to acknowledge this and talk about the issue. This is essentially what the whole post is about. We can talk about who is more or less racist and maybe we can have a rather pointless argument along these lines, but that is not the point. The point is, what are the problems in the West with regard to racism and what can we do to make the situation better? In my opinion, recognising that there is a lot of hypocrisy in people's attitudes to race, highlighting it and having a conversation about it is the first step towards fixing these attitudes and living in a more equal society. Comparisons with other countries help clarify the situation.<br /><br />I really don't understand how it is at all insulting to compare racism in different countries, especially when I am writing about my own experiences. Do I not have the right to express my opinion on the matter? I think a greater openness about the issue would also yield better results, like am I trying to show in this post. I am in no way taking away from the good work people have done on the issue past and present.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-55847939964089042352013-11-17T18:17:57.055-08:002013-11-17T18:17:57.055-08:00But the situation IS better in western countries. ...But the situation IS better in western countries. <br /><br />Speaking as a fellow Brit (and as a person of 'colour') living in Korea and involved with a Korean woman, I don't have to worry about people attacking me or my spouse due us being in an international/interracial/inter-cultural relationship when walking in the street. If someone were to be dumb enough carry out such actions, the law would see them swiftly dealt with. We might get attacked for other reasons - i.e. yobs robbing people for fun, kids trying to be 'hard'by assaulting members of the public......but we can at least be assured the authorities will NOT do something as ridiculous as taking their countryman's side of the story as fact during an investigation - to ensure the foreigner always loses.<br /><br />There is a lot of racism and xenophobia, but there is also an equal or even greater feeling of acceptance of people of difference races/cultures. Anyone who believes there is no racism in the UK is either incredibly naive, or plain out lying. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-20608039 <br /><br />It is things like this that requires companies and agencies to comply to 'ethnic minority quotas'. As much as I despise such practices (as an ethnic minority person myself), they are needed in the fight against racism. <br /><br />There is no law against racial discrimination in Korea, and it seems for the time-being Korea does not want such a law, despite the country advertising itself as multicultural and wanting international recognition for this 'feat'. <br /><br />Comparing such matters between Korea and the UK is incredibly insulting to those that have taken part in the struggle (and those that are still part of the struggle) to eradicate racism and xenophobia.<br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-5519340862616978052013-11-16T22:09:48.802-08:002013-11-16T22:09:48.802-08:00Yes, but my point is that many people in Western c...Yes, but my point is that many people in Western countries think they are above the kind of racism foreigners receive in Korea and that the situation is better in their own countries. I'm not so sure it is. It has a different flavour, but is damaging just the same. <br /><br />I am certainly not defending Korea in this post and if you want to find out what I think about racism in Korea, I have written a few posts about it on this blog.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-53989087334702424082013-11-16T19:57:18.241-08:002013-11-16T19:57:18.241-08:00So basically your wife experienced in foreign coun...So basically your wife experienced in foreign countries what foreigners experience in Korea.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-65219479347997749342013-11-11T08:49:21.622-08:002013-11-11T08:49:21.622-08:00Thanks for your reply. Yes, I am White (like maybe...Thanks for your reply. Yes, I am White (like maybe 99% of Eastern Europeans, but I don't know exact percentage), but I wouldn't agree that this is of major importance in London (I will speak only about London, because I never lived outside London, and I heard that situation outside London can be very different - on the other hand, I have Lithuanian friend who lives with her family very happily in the village in the Middle of England and all her friends and her children's friends are white British ). I/4 of our church members are Asians and I never heard that they would complain about situation in London ( at least my Asian friends were not complaining about it). <br /><br />Anyway, I would agree with your c and d points. I would add one more - knowledge of language - in my situation, I think, it was the major obstacle in making local friends. Also, I wanted to mention children's school or local playgroups for smaller children - it is really quite easy to make friends with other children's mums. <br /><br />I really don't say that situation is perfect in the UK. I still remember one incident which happened four years ago - one man in the bus was shouting at me and my 6 years old daughter that we are living in England now and we should speak in English between ourselves. Fortunately, that happened only once and I understood that this man had much more problems in his life than I had. <br /><br />Anyway, I think situation in the UK is much better than in many other countries in the world. At least my family is quite happy here. <br /><br />One more time thank you for your interesting posts.<br /><br /> <br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16349147817996540069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-36706717134370628452013-11-11T03:28:24.247-08:002013-11-11T03:28:24.247-08:00Many thanks for defending my fellow country men an...Many thanks for defending my fellow country men and women. I know, of course, that there are many kind, warm, and polite Brits out there, but the fact is that my wife's experiences are very different from that of yours. I see that this could be down to a few reasons:<br /><br />a) You are lucky<br />b) My wife was unlucky<br />c) You have a personality that is easier to make friends with<br />d) Your church environment gave you more opportunities for friendship and meeting nice people<br />e) You are White (i don't know this for a fact by the way, just throwing out ideas) and my wife is Asian.<br />f) Your area of living was more forgiving for non-British immigrants<br />g) My wife and I's observations are completely false<br />h) Your observations are false<br /><br />Those are all my logical avenues; I don't believe g and h hold any truth, but the rest could be true, whether singularly or working together. There really is no way of knowing with any great degree of certainty, but I just gave my wife and I's perspective and you have given yours. It is very difficult to ascertain whether you are the exception to the rule or my wife is without further research, which I do not believe exists right now. I would certainly be curious to know what ethnic group you belong to, though.<br /><br />Thanks for an interesting counter example to mine.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-60918758901979488592013-11-11T01:06:42.556-08:002013-11-11T01:06:42.556-08:00I really enjoy reading your posts but decided to w...I really enjoy reading your posts but decided to write my opinion only about this one because I think you are a little bit to harsh to British people.<br /><br />I am Lithuanian (that's small East European country, part of EU from 2004) living with my family in London for the last 6 years. I remember, before coming to the UK, my opinion about British people was that they are cold, arrogant and very difficult to make friends with. I was really surprised when I found out that majority of them are very warm, polite and nice people. Yes, maybe my experience is a little bit different because majority of my white British friends are christians from our local church, but anyway, I would say, majority of British people are very nice people. <br /><br />Anyway, thank you for your posts - I really enjoy reading them.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16349147817996540069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-62195090100222884122013-11-06T03:45:55.124-08:002013-11-06T03:45:55.124-08:00Thanks.
The attitude of many British people towar...Thanks.<br /><br />The attitude of many British people towards people, from countries that are perhaps not considered our equals or of different race than White, is just plain weird, mostly in a very arrogant way.<br /><br />Bureaucracy has served as a tool for a while now to inconvenience the people and favour big companies and governments, but it is currently used for this purpose to even greater effect for non-natives (of the EU that is). The irony is that it is the honest people who seem to be the most inconvenienced by it all, the dishonest know how to get round the systems and still seem to be doing so.<br /><br />It is a sad thing to say, but I becoming a little worried and disappointed with the state of my country these days, but from what I hear much of this is not unique to the UK.<br /><br />Thanks for commenting.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-19233595755815393282013-11-05T22:49:03.359-08:002013-11-05T22:49:03.359-08:00Another great post, and I know exactly what you me...Another great post, and I know exactly what you mean.<br /><br />I taught English to adults from anywhere and everywhere in London, with other Londners as staff, and many of them had the same attitude to their students as you've witnessed. In London of all places. With students they saw day in day out.<br /><br />I remember last year an English mate got treated like dirt at Eurostar in Paris by British customs simply as his Taiwanese girlfriend wasn't carrying a document from her language school stating she was their student. She had a passport Visa etc, but she had to be turned away as it was a Bank Holiday in UK, meaning there was no-one to call at her school for confirmation of her student status until the next day.<br /><br />Both were treated shabbily at around the same time as the gov talked about creating more links with China. Brit in Seoulnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-77566979347250533232013-11-03T15:16:00.996-08:002013-11-03T15:16:00.996-08:00It's funny everyone I knew must have known I m...It's funny everyone I knew must have known I married a Korean woman, but they still didn't really know where to look or what to say when they actually saw her. I do think it was simply because she wasn't white and she wasn't English. I was amazed about how awkward most people were with her.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-73379104075113833122013-11-03T15:11:16.041-08:002013-11-03T15:11:16.041-08:00The link on the bbc is interesting, but the Austra...The link on the bbc is interesting, but the Australia plan is set in motion (something to bear in mind just in case though, thanks).<br /><br />To be fair you are probably right about the care system, I don't know enough really, but that has been mine and my wife's experience of it. I just think bureaucracy in general is something that disadvantages people coming into our countries even more so than the general population. I know some of it is done on purpose to everyone, but I also wonder how much is done to make it awkward for immigrants.<br /><br />I haven't read that book, but I might give it a look, thanks.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-82644515815663547152013-11-03T14:35:03.396-08:002013-11-03T14:35:03.396-08:00Do you know about this?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/...Do you know about this?<br />http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23029195<br /><br />And your right about the average British high street, but I'm not sure you're that fair on the Australian care system. If Britain or Australia constantly tinkers with the rules, as I expect they do, it's harder for them to use each other's systems as a reliable standard.<br />Anyway, a lot of good points here, and from talking to people who have used the UK immigration service, Korea's actually sounds a lot better! Have you read Adam Goodhart's book on UK immigration and multiculturalism, by any chance? There's a lot in common with what you say.<br /><br /> Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06578800652710381979noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-85054240521064989072013-11-03T07:43:27.168-08:002013-11-03T07:43:27.168-08:00what you said about your friends had this surprise...what you said about your friends had this surprised expressions on their face when you introduced your wife to them, you meant they were a bit uncomfortable with interracial marriage arrangements? in another word, a white guy married a "coloured" woman?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-1640625169869070172013-11-01T23:22:32.761-07:002013-11-01T23:22:32.761-07:00Many thanks.Many thanks.Smudgerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00449129060365290678noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8154452806180550551.post-12985937123411835832013-11-01T17:59:07.064-07:002013-11-01T17:59:07.064-07:00Wow, honest and insightful post, I appreciate you ...Wow, honest and insightful post, I appreciate you writing on topics most people don't want to confront.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com