Im puzzled by this essay, Frank. Im not sure how it was intended to be read, but I know that if it were written by a white commentator Id be calling it out for both tarring the Chinese with a very broad brush and for ignoring the critical context of class. (In fact, I remember doing just that when David Sedaris wrote a similar, if more satirical piece on Chinese lack of hygiene: orsp.in/1r6mhMG.) But because its written by an Asian American commentator whose opinion I and many others respect, I have an additional worry: I feel like this piece, coming from someone who is Chinese American, is going to to validate many unpleasant stereotypes that people have about the Chinese, who are anything but monolithic. When one calls out vulgar, crude or uncivil behavior, one needs to consider the recency of Chinas emergence from dire poverty, and the impact of sudden affluence on its rapidly rising middle class population. This isnt a Chinese thing. You dont have to look very far back in history to find a time when Italian and German visitors to America were called out as awkward and boorish; it was merely a generation ago that it was camera-wielding Japanese who were seen as socially clumsy and lacking in cultural sensitivities. And it seems unusual for anyone whos American to be decrying Chinese lack of etiquette when visiting other countries: Ours, after all, is the nation of all nations that is the most broadly archetyped as the quintessential source of tourists behaving badly.
Posted on: Sun, 25 May 2014 17:34:36 +0000
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