White Privilege Goes Both Ways Across the Pacific

Reading time: 5 mins, 13 seconds

May is AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islanders) Heritage month, and with hate crimes towards people of this community in the U.S. taking a sharp rise amidst the pandemic, it’s of extreme importance that we take time to learn with each other and celebrate the vastness and diversity of AAPI heritage. Education and conversation are essential steps towards anti-racism work, so let’s lean in white people.

When I think about modern day racism towards our AAPI neighbors, the lack of hospitality that swarms through cities and restaurants and people, the projection of hateful violence that leads to death and trauma for undeserving humans, makes my stomach feel ill. I’m not even at the receiving end, and as a white person in this country my privilege has no bounds. I was born a part of the oppressor, which means I have a lot of unlearning yet to do. 

It’s common for people belonging to the AAPI community to be ethnically grouped together or misidentified, so it’s important to first recognize that AAPI is a broad identifier encompassing each unique ethnicity of the entire Asian continent (48 countries and 3 territories) along with all of the Pacific Islands that compose Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

 Having spent two years in one pocket of Asia, specifically in China, I can’t help but think of the dichotomy between AAPI migration to the states, and the luxury of my own travels in the other direction.

My privilege magnified in ways that leave me with a guilt to both process and use as a catalyst for self-awareness and education.

One of the biggest waves of migration from China to the U.S. took place in the 1860s for the building of the transcontinental railroad. Thousands of Chinese migrants experienced historically harsh working conditions, very little pay, and a lot of suffering for the promise of a new life in the great America.

After completion of the railroad, growing prejudice and racism fueled the implementation of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. This was the first federal law to prohibit immigration based on race.

Talk about getting hospitality COMPLETELY wrong. Completely.

Shame on us.

138 years later, the exclusion and racism planted legally into our nation’s soil has perpetuated the state in which we find ourselves today. ‘Stop AAPI Hate National Report’ sheds light on the devastating reality there have been 3,795 incidents from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. 

Shame. On. Us. 

Back in 2017 I began what felt like a grueling process to obtain a visa to reside in China. Documents on top of documents on top of authentications on top of work permits turned into a 6-month frustratingly detailed process.

 It was exhausting, but it pales in comparison to the sweat and tears shed by the wave of Chinese workers who built us our transcontinental railway system.

 I traveled in comfort on airplanes that trolleyed me across the seas. A driver graciously picked me up from the airport when I landed at Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport at 1am. I spent the first two weeks in a hotel room while receiving help in the form of orientation and onboarding from my company to get my bearings.

 That being said, my own migration East was a lot different, but of course it wasn’t all easy.

 Yes, I experienced culture shock.

Yes, it was the biggest adjustment I ever had to make. 

Yes, I felt lonely, anxious, lost, and uncomfortable several times each day.

But also, yes, I had a support system to walk with me along the way. I had comfort in knowing there were easy to reach advocates in the form of caring colleagues to help me with anything from ordering a bowl of noodles to navigating the local hospital.

I was met with a deep and impactful compassion and curiosity. One that followed me throughout the 24 months I was lucky enough to live there.

While being in China, each day it was made apparent that I was different through small interactions with locals.

“Where are you from?”

“You’re white.”

“You’re tall.”

“Your Chinese is so good!”

Now, quickly imagine a member of the AAPI community being asked these questions or given similar observations here in the U.S.

Our country is a beautiful melting pot with a history and culture that was built on immigrants. There should be a conscious understanding that all Americans aren’t white. People of all skin colors and ethnic heritage belong here and are deserving citizens of the U.S.A. So, when these questions and observations are posed in our own backyard, they inarguably are microaggressions and completely inappropriate. 

Experiencing these interactions as a minority in China, I did initially feel a discomfort.

It is unsettling to be outwardly ‘othered.’

A quick comment instantly dividing you and the other person based off of appearance.

Feeling unwelcome and judged within moments.

Now, I need to quickly pivot here and make it understood that POC and AAPI experiencing microaggressions and racism in the US is vastly different than what I received in China. I may have been posed with similar comments, received numerous stares for looking different, but I STILL held privilege in this dynamic.

One-off remarks about my nationality, picture requests, and random approaches by strangers at the supermarket came from authentic curiosity and an eagerness to learn.

Although the numerous gawking eyes towards the tall, blonde, white woman seemed to be never-ending, I did not once feel unsafe.

I couldn’t make this clearer.

 I felt safe.

Uncomfortable, but SAFE.

 An absolute opposite experience when the tables are turned.

I write this piece today as a hopeful advocate towards seeking out empathy and better ways of being a hospitable nation. Our goal as a country that was founded by the influx of humans from all over the globe should be to provide the upmost comfort and warm welcome to every other person who enters or chooses to make the USA their home.

Why should we continue to brew this egotistical lie that white equals American, and American equals better?

There is no such thing.

China provided me with several lessons, but one thing I commit to carrying with me for the rest of my life is how to embrace difference and meet each person with a genuine air of curiosity and compassion.

If you are seeking resources this month to learn more about AAPI culture and continue your own journey of anti-racist work, I encourage you to visit the following resources:

IG:

·      @apalanational – Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance

·      @goldhouseco - Gold House Co.

·      @asianprisonersc – APSC (Asian Prisoner Support Committee)

·      @aapiwomenlead - AAPI Women Lead

·      @dearasianyouth – Dear Asian Youth 

Web:

·      Asianpacificheritage.gov

·      Smithsonianapa.org/stand

Resources used for research in this blog post:

·      https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/how-many-countries-are-in-asia.html

·      https://americanhistory.si.edu/american-enterprise/new-perspectives/forgotten-workers?utm_source=siedu&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=exhibitions%C2%A0

·      https://secureservercdn.net/104.238.69.231/a1w.90d.myftpupload.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/210312-Stop-AAPI-Hate-National-Report-.pdf