The ‘chink’ of it all
I’m sick of prejudices. I fail to understand how perfectly normal (read educated, well established, well read) people nurse sexist, religious, sexual, regional, racist and lingual biases.
While I always steer clear of gender wars no matter how funny, and religious debates no matter how provocative, I find myself again and again, arguing with knucles heads arguing about how people can be judged and bunched for their choices. While it does piss me off, I’ve kinda perfected the art of the big ignore.
Save for one exception.
College in Manipal was a very cosmopolitan experience. I had friends from all over. Most of my closest friends were of Nepalese origin. And thats when I started to realise the reeking prejudices people have about people with oriental features.
I only realised how strong the opinions were once I moved to Bangalore. Not only are my friends perceived to be of a lesser moral benchmark, they are constantly subjected to the ‘hello darlings’ and ‘how much’s?’ One of my friends even said how ’slow’ the ‘chinkis’ are!!!! Since when did IQ depend on the slant of your eyes or the colour of your skin?? Some of the smartest women I knew in college were Nepalese and also some of the most feisty! I wish I had Pragya Koirala (the superhero) with me everytime someone made a wise crack about Nepali girls.
Any ideas on how to stop this rubbish??
15 comments so far
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@Bina – I have worked with chinkys (If I can call so) and one thing I noticed was they have wonderful skin and hair
They are sexy too! I dont know how to stop the rubbish, prolly more moral education in school!
Now, you know what i went through when I stood through that peace protest and when I wrote that blog the other day about racism… See Beans, it’s unstoppable… you no wait we will always come across discriminators and what makes it worse some way down the road we have too and we will continue to do so… maybe not to the extent of pissing of somebody but yeah we do..
Like RJ says… proly moral ed. in school… but thats where we picked it up… as for me… it’s back to “Mouth for War”.. fucking hostile kill all them mothers….
Take a chill ..decide whether youw anna fight them all down.. its a neverending war… or sit back and let it happen and keep ignoring..
Well, the next time someone cracks such a comment, slap them hard and say, “Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you asked me to slap you!”
Works every time!
@nikhil : i think its a very interesting idea…but besides that,what is even more pissin off is the fact that there are a few places(read as clubs etc) where the “chinkys” so to say are not allowed to enter…i mean what the fuck is that all about!!…its jus pathetic and whats worse is the fact that nobody does anythin about these things!!…
@ Mona – Oi! That’s my story, my rise to a politicians life!!!
@ Beans – The best is to ignore, unless you have a life owned up to being a sober Hancock, If you know what I’m saying!!!
I can relate to what u have written…I did my schooling in Pune… I mean the 2nd half of school.. I used to ride my Bicycle then… Since I looked different from the majority lot…and my small eyes were the most prominent… I used to be teased Chini, China, chinky.. and I don’t know… and till date i hear people calling me such names… I don’t remember where and when but i do remember some man coming and asked me how much? I was shocked and I just ran away. When I think about it now I should have done the right thing then and kicked him in the place where the sun never shines… I hate being called a “Chinky”… and I make sure that people use the appropriate term “from the northeast”. We are individuals and we each have our own identity which is more than facial features….
@RJ
I really don’t know if school can help much. Isn’t that the place where we all learn to make lives miserable for the ‘uncool’? I think its something that needs to be taught at home.
@gary
yeah, its a never ending way but definitely not something I would want to keep shut against…ignoring is a painful process:-)
@Nikhil
I love your idea! I should try that sometime
@Mona
Sweetie, the point is, everyone needs to do something about it..and not just about prejudices against north eastern people.
The origins are western, mostly vietnam and japanese, used first by americans for folks with mongoloid features. In India, the north east and our neighbours in Nepal, Burma etc have people with these characteristics. They are usually poor and not integrated and yes, they very very different in language, culture and ethos. Mostly converted to christianity in the North East in what is referred to the 7 sister states, they come down to the ‘plains’ in search of employment, bringing with them values that are very different to what is commonly North, South, and West Indian. Being christianised makes them look like they are easy, so does the proclivity to do drugs and generally being of the lost generation. Things are different now, I see people in the media, on TV and on blogs too. Education and economic integration are the slow answers but many of these people are clannish, hostile and deeply complexed, which comes in the way of this process. Long answer, slow solution, sorry!
@Genevieve
I know what you mean. However, we Indians tend to be extremely racial..it doesn’t stop at calling someone ‘Chinky’. We have lotsa ‘Sardarji’, ‘Madrasi’ and ‘tambi’ doing the rounds everywhere. More is at stake when you are a woman..don’t you think?
@Shael
No, I do not agree that being christianized is the reason behind being perceived as easy, for the north eastern people alone. Nepalis are predominantly Hindu and religious choices doesn’t seem to make any difference!
Although, I must say that the Christian=promiscous equation had been widely publicised by the “Julie” bollywood generation. I don’t see many traces of that nowadays..
Though the North-eastern community tends to be clannish, I haven’t seen much of hostility..infact, the reasons I have listed out in my post pin-point the reasons why they tend to be constantly on-guard…from what I know of my friends, they don’t have a choice there!
Proud of you!! Congrats on crossing the 1000 hits mark!! Excellent!! Catch up soon!
@Nikhil
Thanks!!! Yeah, I’ll catch up if you slow down a bit:-)
@Bina – Hieeeee da! How you been?
I think school plays an important role. I dont understand uncool stuff, I just know I learnt a lot at school and a lot at home. The kind of learnings at both the places were very different from each other. All in all any kind of moral education is welcome. What say?
hi. Ankur here.i read the comments above..couldn’t help leave one myself.probably i won’t visit this site again so i won’t know the reactions to my comment..but wherever i see this topic/argument pop up,i can’t help leave my opinion behind.
I’m assamese,n my fiance’s manipuri.
She’s “CHINKY” and i’m proud of it.
We don’t burn our women for dowry.
Our women are very well respected n enjoy quite an elevated status in society(right mom?).
Our people are experts with craftmanship..(bamboo for example).
Our guys n gals are musically n artistically talented(check out all d rock bands). I’m the lead guitarist of a medical college rock band.
Our people do possess i.q.(the computer wizard in our hostel is a manipuri…i’m a final year medical student who cracked d entrance in the first attempt).
Our women are beautiful. That’s an advantage. Not a handicap or crime.
Mainland Indian women freak out too.our women get noticed because we’re facial anatomy wise different.
We’re not poor either..as mentioned above..that’s a good joke..
We go to delhi..you call us chinky..harass our sisters..ask our girlfriends what’s their price..i invite you to our north east..we’ll show you what hospitality,warmth,n love’s all about.
I’ll show you something you may have probably heard of ….its called ‘CLASS’.
People are people..no chink,tambi,or sardar..i believe it..cause i’m not racist. But if its either me or you…i choose me.
P.s. I’m not a chink myself. I’m not a tribal assamese. I’m a brahmin assamese..an indian looking assamese.but wat d hell? My naga brother told me..”you’re a tribal from inside.” I am.
email : ankur_jackie2000@yahoo.com