The inevitable bubbles up at last

I haven't talked about it much with anyone - mainly because it really isn't much of an issue with me - but my time in Taiwan has been the first time in my life in which I've been a minority. It has been somewhat eye-opening for me, much as I had expected. I can't say I've learned too much more than I already knew about being oppressed, because I'm probably just as far from being oppressed here as I was back home. The only assumption anyone here has made based on the color of my skin is that I speak English but not Chinese. That might bug me if I did speak Chinese, but since I don't, I see no cause for complaint. The worst thing this has ever led to was a random store clerk here and there wanting to practice his or her English at a time when I would really rather just pay for my cranberry juice and my Snickers bar and head home. But of course, I always indulge people like that - it's flattering to be asked, after all, and it is more or less an extension of my job.

Most of the people in my company who have my job - Native Speaking Teacher - are white. I had hoped all along that this was a coincidence, but apparently it isn't. A couple of more experienced NSTs explained to me last night that parents tend to complain if their children are placed with ethnic-Asian teachers, even if said teachers were born and raised in America and can't speak a word of Chinese. It's all based in something about wanting their kids to get used to the full American (or at least non-Asian) experience, or even assuming that anyone who looks like them probably can't speak English any better than they can. This, of course, leads the company to be reluctant to hire ethnic-Asian teachers, although they do so occasionally to avoid being sued.

So, what we have here among the parents is straight up racism - against one's own race. Bizarre. I haven't given it enough thought yet to come up with any grand conclusions. Suffice to say I find it pretty damned disturbing.