Racing Harmony

Got a picture in one of my messaging apps on my phone. It was a poster about free health checks for Asians only. Non-Asians are not welcomed. My friend was very offended that a workplace would allow that kind of race specific activity being promoted in the organisation. She found it insulting and racist.

My first reaction to the poster was "Are there Asian specific illness that needs to be checked? Like Asian specific cancer or bird flu (I actually used a different one in my reply but it won't be appropriate to put it on here)?" My friend found my reply funny but still didn't change the fact that this kind of activity or promotion annoyed the hell out of her.

However, the whole conversation got me to think about, "When we accused other people of being racist, do we not have a part of it?" For example whether certain disruptions about racial issues in our society were actually caused by behaviours of people who actually blamed the society for being racist to them?

I cannot speak for other racial groups but as a Chinese Australian living in Australia there were occasions that I wondered whether we did contribute to people not liking us. Not because of us as a race but because of what we were doing? The fact is a lot of times people remember bad things about you and then they start to generalise that this is what they are like. For example when I was at the university many a time I could hear some of my fellow Hong Kong students talking among themselves during classes. Now Cantonese is a very loud language even when you whispered the words. So you can imagine how disruptive this kind of non-stop talking during the class is. Even worse was that when people shushed them these Hong Kong students will give other fellow students dirty looks as if it was their right to talk in class. There were many occasions the lecturer had to ask them to leave. Under such circumstance, is it racist that other people don’t like these Hong Kong students in class?

Take another example, when I was in the college, I have heard some of the mainland Chinese residents saying how they didn’t like the toilets in Australia so they would simply squat over them or squat on them. As a result the “disposal” was not entirely “on target”. They think it was Ok but then I felt bad for the cleaners dealing with regular complaints from other residents how bad the state of the toilets were. When I was working at a University, there were debates about whether teaching certain sector of students to properly use the toilet is racist or not as they were scared of being labelled as a racist University. However, at the same time the maintenance costs of toilets are getting unbearable, as they were not built to be squat on. I personally did not think it is racist but education, but other people might have some different views.

Meanwhile I heard that a friend’s friend’s daughter was complaining how racist the Australian lecturers were when she was studying in Australia. The reason behind this was she never got grades as good as her Australian classmates. Now she was studying a curriculum that requires the mastery of the English language. However, her English, to be honest was not great. It was sufficient I guess to get her into the course but not great to enable her to debate in papers or in class eloquently. Furthermore when she was studying in Australia, she only wanted to hang out with Hong Kong and Macau students. Under such circumstance, with a lack of appreciation of the English language and at the same time no motivation to improve it, how would you expect to do well when it comes to an English demanding course? Is it really because of racism that you did not get good marks?

Further during my years in the higher education sector I have encountered mainland Chinese students who told me I have no right to tell them what is right and what is wrong if I do not speak Mandarin with them. They think they paid tuition in this country to study, they have the right to anything and only a fellow Chinese person who can speak Mandarin can tell them what they can and cannot do. They were at that time the active groups who usually filed complaints about my Australian colleagues for being racists when they were told not to smoke in the no smoking areas, unplugging public computers to charge their mobile phones, reserving seats in a whole area for their friends by pulling off rows of books from the shelves and playing online games when terminals were reserved for online database and catalogue searches only. If that really constitutes racism that could be it – but is it?

Recent reports about some Chinese restaurants in Sydney are charging non-Chinese customers higher prices also brought to light about the whole racism issue in Australia. I personally had Australian friends who were not served by staff members in a Chinese restaurant in a predominantly Chinese suburb because they could not read the Chinese menu. They eventually had to leave because every staff in the restaurant just ignored them. Is this racism? That is something we need to think about before waving the racism banner in the air.

I am not writing this article to defend Australia that there is no racism. That will be painting a completely unrealistic picture, not just of Australia but also of the world. I am not writing this article to accuse my fellow Chinese counterparts of wrong doings either - I must emphasise that I love a lot of them and they are great people with great talents and abilities. But what I am trying to point out is, racism sometimes can be created by certain behaviours that the groups claiming to be victims of it had exhibited. They might not start as racist issues but then the repetition of these issues allowed generalisation to be made about these racial groups. It then gradually develops into racism per se. Racism is a complex issue and not every flavour of racism was based on the same issue. However, as the world becomes more compact, I certainly as once a foreigner living in a foreign land where I now called home, think that we should all contribute to remove misunderstandings and tensions and help build a more understanding and harmonious society. Adopting some reverse racism like tactics like what my friend experienced at her workplace would not help the situation at all. There is no one single antidote to the racism – just a lot of collaborative efforts across the board. And everyone has to take part in it.

I Wonder How I Wonder Why

Walked pass a cast and crew on location yesterday. It was an Australian drama in its second season. The drama features a bunch of 20 something people living in a building in Coogee. It is all good except for the fact that it does not look anything like what I saw in my own suburb. When the first season was launched it was criticized for being overly white and presenting another version of a white washed Australian beach suburb. An Asian Australian actor once tweeted about his disappointment with this new series and was immediately warned by some executives in the production company about his job opportunities with their company because of his comments.

Fast forward to yesterday. I did not know that they actually have a second season until I saw them filming. Nothing had changed. The cast is still all white and even the extras who are beach goers are all white. Girls slim and beach babish and guys are blonde hunks with six packs. At this point I couldn’t really care less about this production. But then when I looked around the crew I noticed that the crewmembers were actually very multi-cultural and diverse. Then I came to realize that while it is ok to be diverse behind the camera, it is not ok to be diverse in front of the camera. I suddenly felt very angry and disappointed. So I left.

The fact that the mainstream Australian media and entertainment industry still refuses to admit the fact that this is a multicultural society in year 2014 is disturbing. The fact that they segregate multiculturalism between on and off screen members of the production is even more disturbing. Multiculturalism on screen is still limited to ABC and SBS but not on other commercial channels (hm is it partly because of this the current government wants to reduce their funding?).  The fact that commercial television only acknowledges multiculturalism in reality shows but not in scripted shows is extremely frustrating, disrespectful and condescending.

Multiculturalism on screen is not a token you exchange for media headlines (as in Neighbours) or a lip service you can pay to quell criticism. Multiculturalism, in 2014 Australia, should be a matter of fact because this is the society we are living in. Past excuses of can’t find multicultural actors are long gone when you look at the theatre school graduates from the last 10 years especially NIDA. If you check out Pearly Productions Minority Box series you will know how many trained non-Anglo actors are waiting for the opportunity to show what they can do – and they are just some of them.

Some people keep saying non-Anglo actors need to write materials and produce these materials to get their voice heard. Yes that is happening but at the same time why is it so important to segregate non-Anglo materials from Anglo materials? When we are all living as normal people in this modern Australian society, why is it that every piece of material that involves non-Anglo actors has to be specifically written for them? I recently worked in a new hospital and there are a number of non-Anglo workers when you just listen to them, they are as Austraaaalian as you can imagine. A lot of them are professionals such as doctors, nurses, administrators and IT professionals. So why is it that as soon as their skin colour is different they have to tell their own stories but not as part of the bigger Australian stories? Are they not Australians when they, well, actually speak Austraaaaalian?

Maybe for us to actually get this message out, I need to reiterate the following:

·      I am Chinese Australian but I have never worked in a Chinese restaurant except when I am in front of the camera

·      I have a number of female Chinese Australian peers who had never whored themselves in real life except when they are being cast in productions

·      I have a number of Muslim friends who have no idea how to make bombs except when being asked to do so on screen

·      I have a number of Indian peers who do not work in news agencies or Indian take away – in fact they are IT professionals and medical professionals

·      I have a number of Middle Eastern peers who had never been involved in Underbelly kind of activities apart from going into the studio or on location

So next time when producers are casting, maybe they should look around and think this twice. Casting agents in my experience are a lot more open minded (and I love them) so who are the gatekeepers? I don’t think I need to articulate that.

It is all good to tell people “I have a lot of non-Anglo friends so I am not biased or racist”. But for me, actions are louder than words. If you do respect your non-Anglo friends and acknowledge them, reflect that in your work. It is not a challenge but a simple acceptance – nothing more nothing less.

The Art of Appreciation

It was your typical beach side suburb morning – it was sunny, kind of windy but nonetheless a beautiful day. So you do what most people who live there do – going down to the beach to have a coffee.

You walked down the road to the beach and ran into retirees and families taking their dogs or kids, or in some cases both out for a walk. (It was a weekday so the younger generation are all at work or at school) You saw each other at a traffic junction, smiled and greeted each other.

“A beautiful morning isn’t it?”

“Yes it is. That’s why coming down for a coffee” I replied.

“It is good that finally it is warm and summer is coming. The dreadful cold was too much”

I smiled, “True but then we still start complaining it is too hot in a few months’ time”

She laughed, “Yeah you’re about right”

“So enjoy while it is here!” I joked

We laughed and continued with our own business.

But then suddenly something struck me – am I enjoying what I have now? The honest fact was that I went down to the beach to clear my mind. The sea gives me the tranquility I needed to move forward and that’s what I do. But then in the mist of everything did I lose sight of things that I could have appreciated?

I have always been a, what I called “Cautious Optimist”. I attempt to see opportunities in whatever situations I am in and try to make the most out of it. I understand that I cannot control the uncontrollables even though I am a well-known control freak. However, the conversation this morning with this lady reminded me that during the process when I was busily trying to improve the current situation, I might have forgotten to appreciate what the current situation offered to me.

The art of appreciation is one of the hardest things to learn in life for me. I am a person with a vision for my life and I have not stopped trying to attain that vision. But just like a lot of library users, I sometimes fixated on bad experiences and forgot to appreciate the goods that were offered. I admire people who can really appreciate life, as I was never able to fully do that. My parents are well aware of this and have been reminding me to appreciate life while I still can.

A good friend of mine regularly questions me about my never ending anxiety about money and could not understand why I can’t just appreciate the money I currently have and make the most out of it. My usual reply was I needed to prepare for the rainy days and I never believed I am fully prepared for it no matter what because I believe that when it rains it pours. To some that is a bit sad but for me that is security. I still don’t believe that I have sufficient buffer for the rainy days but then at the same time I fully understand like real weather, you can never predict when it would rain.

So the questions remains – if we can’t predict the climate changes in our lives, can we just appreciate the process of living a bit more? The answer is certainly we can. But the fact is some people are talented than I am doing so. I still try to appreciate life and what’s around me to the max, but then when I need to try so hard am I really appreciating it for real? That is the question I do have too.

I still admire people who are carefree and can appreciate life. The truth is sometimes this kind of carefree attitude makes a person more attractive and then better things become attracted to them. This might sound sleazy but it is like the guy who does not intend to pick up usually got picked up in a bar. A try-harder like me could usually just sit there and admire.

This morning’s conversation with this beautiful stranger did strike a chord deep inside me. How much I could change myself to fully master the art of appreciation I don’t know. But certainly I would like to move from the “Try Hard” category to the “Natural” category at some point.