Guest blog from Peter Chang on his experience of casual racism at private school [Repost]

 Okay SO I saw this on the timeline a few days ago, and given everything that's going on I guess it's a relevant thing to speak about, not just from the context of being a private school kid (something I don't particularly like talking about), but as a wider reflection of society. This is going to be a bit of a long read, sorry. 

From my experience going to a private secondary school, I can tell you that amongst other things, casual racism in private schools definitely exists and is a massive problem. Not just between students, but with staff as well. At the time, I didn't really notice it all that much, but looking back on it I realise that those experiences shaped me as a person quite massively. I also realise that I was entirely complicit in perpetuating these kinds of attitudes, not just towards people that look like me, but also to people of other minority ethnic groups that went to my school, mostly without even realising it because of how normal it was. I can only apologise to any people I offended, and be thankful that I'm not still the same person I was when I was all those years ago.

For any of you that went to school with me that doesn't think casual racism was a problem, I guess I'll spell out a few direct examples of things that I experienced and overheard.

> Being confused for another Chinese student who looked nothing like me, or having my surname mistaken for another generic Chinese surname

> Continually being asked by teachers if I was a boarding student (our school had a lot of students from China/Hong Kong) 

> Being "ni hao'd" or "konnichiwa'd"

> People generally using a "Chinese" voice to speak to me

> The very liberal use of the word "chink" by both students and staff - I remember hearing about an incident where a pretty senior staff member referred to a group of Chinese students as "chinkys" 

> Hearing a group of girls use the phrase "he's hot for an Asian" about an Asian student that had just joined the school. Even though I doubt the people who said it remember saying it, or are even aware that anyone heard them besides each other, this one had an oddly lasting effect on my self-esteem. 

These are only incidents that relate directly to me as someone of Chinese heritage. A lot of the things said to and about the South Asian and Black kids were often a LOT worse. And the reason I talk about private school specifically without mentioning state school is because a) this is something I experienced directly, and b) not one of the state school friends I had, either during my high school years (big up Sparrows) or growing up in general, ever made any comment, derogatory or otherwise, towards me about my race. Whilst it's most likely a problem in state schools as well, I don't have the experience to comment on that. 

So, for those of you wondering "what's this got to do with anything?", let me now get to that.

Whilst I've talked about my experiences casual racism in the context of being at school, it's an issue that's equally prevalent in wider society, and something that I still get every now and then in daily life. And as much as it sucks that it still happens and as much as I'd rather it didn't, I can still confidently say that relatively speaking, I don't have it that bad at all. 

Sure, it's annoying that people will shout "ni hao" at me on the street every now and then. However, not once have I ever had to fear for my life because of the colour of my skin. Not once have I ever been physically assaulted because of my race. The system in place isn't working directly against me or my people. So honestly, I'd say that as an ethnic group, we're generally pretty privileged all things considered. That's not to say that all the things I've mentioned above aren't issues (they most certainly are), but it's to say this to all of my East and South East Asian friends here. (The general message applies to everyone who might see this, by the way)

As people of colour, it's easy for us to take the moral high ground with this whole "Black Lives Matter" issue and point the finger at white people to do better, or even turn a blind eye to it completely. However, we must also do better. We're in the unique position of being able to understand what it's like to experience racial abuse without it having affect us in our daily lives. We have a responsibility to ourselves to make sure that we support our fellow people of colour in their struggles, and to call out the very rampant anti-black attitudes we see in Asian culture. The fight against racism isn't one that's won by just focusing on the issues that only affect us. The fight against racism only stands a chance when people of all creeds and backgrounds show solidarity with one another and let everyone know that regardless of which minority group it affects, it's unacceptable. And even then, it still might not be enough. We're in a situation were we have little to lose and everything to gain. 

Be proactive. Use your voice and your privilege to make a difference.

Peter Chang