Racism ­ — History is Repeating Itself

Let’s stop it here and now

The 46-year-old black male, George Floyd, died on May 25, 2020, during his arrest by 4 polices in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Video footage from witnesses and store surveillance showing Floyd was knelt on the neck by a white police officer for almost 9 minutes — from autopsies, neck compression is the main cause of his death — upset everyone. It triggered a large scale of protests on police brutality and unfair treatment of Africa Americans, first in the US, and it went internationally then.

As demonstrations got violent, including looting and burning stores, official curfews were placed in several cities, from New York to Washington DC and from Philadelphia to Los Angeles. Countries such as the UK, New Zealand, Canada, France, South Korea and many more also joined this wave of protesting, “Black Lives Matter,” requesting a policy reform to end systemic racism.

It is very sad to see this, especially when the world has already suffered badly from the COVID-19 pandemic.

But if we look back in history, is this the first time a black person was mistreated? How about the incident of Eric Garner in July 2014 in New York? Garner die from neck compression when an NYPD arrest him and put him in a chokehold. There were at least 50 protests went on nationwide in response to the Garner case.

And, how about the 1992 Los Angeles riots?

When it comes to racism, history is repeating itself. When can we put an end to it? Can this be the last time we see this type of tragedy and unrest?

Racism

What exactly is racism? Why did we have this in the society? It puzzles me.

I looked at the definition of racism in Wi-Ki for racism: “ Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioural traits corresponding to physical appearance and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another.”

It boiled down to the belief that one race may be superior over another, thus placing rankings of ethics in the society.

Some said racism is a by-product of the imperialism of Europe and capitalism.

Did people hold on to the racist belief to feel good about themselves? To manipulate and take advantage of others? I am not sure.

For whatever reason, I really think it is horrible to have racism or discrimination in our life. This is in the 21st Century, and I am sure everyone knows that racism and discriminations are toxic. People are equal, especially before the law.

Have you experienced any racism in your life? I am sure we all have it at some point in time. Racism is not only a horrible issue for black people. As a Chinese ethnics from Taiwan, we face the same issue too.

I did not remember any major incidents being discriminated against my race during my stay, even though I went to Canada to study when I was a teenager. Perhaps, there is a large population of Asians in Vancouver, Canada — we don’t feel we are the minority.

However, I have one horrible experience in racism I like to share––I was at JFK airport, New York, catching a flight last year.

Personal Experience as a Victim of Racism

I was travelling from New York to San Francisco. I arrived at the airport too early, so I was at the gate at least 1 hour before boarding. I asked the lady at the gate about the latest time I should come back, so I didn’t need to wait at the gate.

After knowing the safe time to come back, I grabbed a bite and looked around at stores. I bought a burger from Shake Shake and some other items at the duty-free stores before returning to the gate. I definitely arrived at the gate earlier than the time the lady told me to.

But when I went back to the gate, there was no one at the gate anymore. The plane was still on the ground, though.

It appeared to me they closed the gate early. There were still at least 30 minutes before the official departure time. I went to the nearest customer service desk to find help.

A black lady was standing alone at the customer service counter. I put down my burger on her desk and my carry-on luggage on the ground. I explained the situation to her, asking if she could help me as the plane was still on the ground, but the gate was closed early.

She pointed at a telephone at the other end of the wall and told me to repeat my situation with the phone. I couldn’t believe she wouldn’t help me, but I had no choice.

I wanted to run over to the phone and leave the burger and luggage where there were. There was only her and me in that hall. She did not like that; she called me back to take my belongings. I also did it, but I can totally tell she did not want to help me.

The lady on the phone asked if I can find someone near the gate from her airlines to help me at the customer service desk. I had to go back to the black lady again.

The second time asking help with the same black lady was not any better — she did not want to help me. I also knew there was no way I can get on that flight as time passed.

It was then I asked if I could talk to a manager. I also asked for her name.

She started to take my case at the point. She put her name tag on (which she was supposed to wear it!) and started typing something on her computer.

Her first statement to me was, “Lady, you missed your flight because you went to Shake Shake to buy a burger.” She even said it with a grin.

“You Chinese gals all did that, that Shake Shake burger was no big deal. I don’t know why people line-up for it. Don’t you have burgers in your own country?“ the black lady continued.

She was judgemental.

I think she mistook me as a tourist who came to New York for the first time. But I was on a business trip and a frequent flyer. That was beside the point. I did not miss the flight over burgers — the gate was closed early!

I had to show her the invoice for my burger; it was purchased 45 minutes before the plane took off, not because I had to line-up. I think I showed that invoice at least 3 times that day — once with the black lady, once when her co-workers showed up, and once with her manager. Why? Because every time some people showed up to help with my case, she would tell them I missed my flight because of burgers!

“The gate was closed earlier. That’s why I missed the flight.” I had to repeat myself on this line too. I suggested pulling out the camera records to find out what time I arrived at the gate and when I went to her desk to ask for help as there was surveillance everywhere.

The way she looked at me, her body language, the tone she spoke, all were very hostile.

While waiting for the manager to show up, I asked the black lady to put me on the next flight. During the conversation, I can totally tell that she has an issue with Chinese girls. She gave me a hard time getting on the next flight — she wanted to charge me another USD$800 dollars for that one-way ticket.

I still remember vividly how horrible it felt.

Long story short, the situation was resolved when two other co-workers showed up. They listened to my situation, put me on the next flight free of charge; all went smoothly. The way that the black lady behaved was different when her co-workers were there. She was more professional and polite. It was undeniable that she is a racist against Chinese ethnics.

Of course, I waited for the manager. I had to report the situation to her manager as I don’t want anyone to be a victim of racism by their staff.

I have no evidence to prove this, but I felt strongly that the black lady was being discriminated against before, and she projected her anger at me.

Stop History from Repeating itself

On my way to San Francisco, I was talking to my best friend about this awful experience. She also revealed her experience of being discriminated against by other ethnicities. We both think it was cruel, and we hope it will never happen to anyone.

We talked about how we understand that some people who had suffered from being discriminated against could turn into a racist. They were in pain, and they want others to feel the pain. But this is just simply wrong.

If we don’t appreciate it, no one will. We shouldn’t put others through the same nightmare we went through. Hate and revenge will not make you a happier person.

We should embrace the differences of different ethnicities and races. It is wonderful that everyone is a little different. From an economist’s perspective, we can’t have gains from trade if we were all identical.

The repeating history can be stopped now. Starting from you and me — everyone, let’s all be a part of this to end racism.

I hope you have fun reading today. I will see you soon.

🀄️ If you like to see the Chinese version of this article, please visit here. 🙏