It all comes down to this: INNATE RACISM.
Here’s a personal story. Whenever I’m in Canada, I visit a gym where I met this Vietnamese guy—a shameless braggart who flaunts his infidelity. He didn’t know I’m a proud, card-carrying Wumao, pegging me instead as one of those self-loathing types, the so-called HANJIANS.
To him:Chinese = troublemakers who won’t adapt to Canadian life
French = a noble language, free of colonial baggage or brutality
Japan = a land of brilliant tech and admirable people
U.S. = flawed yet impressive.
He loves boasting that Vietnam triumphed over America
India = the wave of students and migrants is a strength (Canadians see the irony there)China’s success—despite the stereotypes and racist assumptions—grates on someone like him, raised to despise all things Chinese.
Changing that kind of entrenched bias takes time, and often, it takes something jarring, like war, to force a rethink. Truth is, humans are primal; we’re drawn to power and swayed by force.
