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For no reason, I was sworn at in a supermarket and then had a minibus driver close the window in my face as I approached to speak to him. Having read an online comment in relation to COVID19 "get rid of the Chinese" I was then moved to write about racism against people of Chinese origin in Australia. I used the open letter on racism penned by prominent Australian Chinese citizens as inspiration.
Quite reasonably I feared the comments when the blog was published on 21/4/20 but to my surprise, it won 'best blog of the week' with over 3000 readers and generated over 400 comments. The blog was shared many times. The overwhelming tone of the commentary in response was positive and heartwarmingly it was a relief to read that in their heart of hearts Australians are mostly generous and tolerant.
As a Eurasian woman, it is remarkable to me that such racism is still so blatant. I identify only as an Australian having been born in Sydney and my physical appearance is a mere coincidence of the distant past as a result of the arrival 150 years ago of my British and Chinese antecedents. To me, my physical appearance seems irrelevant and yet to some others, it is the first thing they see and judge. Fortunately, such blatant racism is a rare occurrence but it is painful never the less and surprising. I wish that in the 21st Century Australians could be more tolerant of strangers because you will never know their story until you speak to them with kindness.
My blog is here https://startsat60.com/discover/opinion/bloggers/anti-asian-racism-amid-coronavirus-in-australia
Quite reasonably I feared the comments when the blog was published on 21/4/20 but to my surprise, it won 'best blog of the week' with over 3000 readers and generated over 400 comments. The blog was shared many times. The overwhelming tone of the commentary in response was positive and heartwarmingly it was a relief to read that in their heart of hearts Australians are mostly generous and tolerant.
As a Eurasian woman, it is remarkable to me that such racism is still so blatant. I identify only as an Australian having been born in Sydney and my physical appearance is a mere coincidence of the distant past as a result of the arrival 150 years ago of my British and Chinese antecedents. To me, my physical appearance seems irrelevant and yet to some others, it is the first thing they see and judge. Fortunately, such blatant racism is a rare occurrence but it is painful never the less and surprising. I wish that in the 21st Century Australians could be more tolerant of strangers because you will never know their story until you speak to them with kindness.
My blog is here https://startsat60.com/discover/opinion/bloggers/anti-asian-racism-amid-coronavirus-in-australia