Do Aussies hate Asian people?

[MichaelP]

Most Aussies are friendly. There is a significant minority, however, who are racist. Some are overtly racist, such as the old git on the bus who yelled at my wife (from China, been in Aussie 20 yrs) to 'go back home'. There are the dumb racists, like the kids who kept running up to my wife and her friend & shouting konnichi-wa! in their face and laughing (because Japanese and Chinese are all the same, right?). There are the middle class racists, like the ones at a dinner party recently who quite openly joked about the meal being dogmeat made by Ching Chong Chinamen (to much laughter). And there's the unconscious racists, like the ones who keep asking my son where he is from and not taking Sydney as an answer. (No where are you REALLY from, with your un-Australian slanty eyes). So it doesn't matter if you tick all Pauline Hanson's boxes and integrate, assimiltate, speak English and be a true blue Aussie. You still get crap like this every week. Straya.

[deryans]

Most Aussies are friendly. There is a significant minority, however, who are racist. Some are overtly racist, such as the old git on the bus who yelled at my wife (from China, been in Aussie 20 yrs) to 'go back home'. There are the dumb racists, like the kids who kept running up to my wife and her friend & shouting konnichi-wa! in their face and laughing (because Japanese and Chinese are all the same, right?). There are the middle class racists, like the ones at a dinner party recently who quite openly joked about the meal being dogmeat made by Ching Chong Chinamen (to much laughter). And there's the unconscious racists, like the ones who keep asking my son where he is from and not taking Sydney as an answer. (No where are you REALLY from, with your un-Australian slanty eyes). So it doesn't matter if you tick all Pauline Hanson's boxes and integrate, assimiltate, speak English and be a true blue Aussie. You still get crap like this every week. Straya.

 

Lots of middle class racism where we were in Adelaide, old school place, pretty stagnant.

 

As someone once said, they don't discriminate in Adelaide, they are equally biased against all races....

[Rallyman]

Unfortunately every country has its idiots,treat people how you would expect to be treated yourself and things are normally fine, if anybody did see abouse of this kind I would like to think that any normal person would be there to defend the victim and stand by their side, most bully's are cowards and soon back down when confronted. I certainly would not stand by and let someone be racially abused.

[JockinTas]

My son's girlfriend is 1st generation Chinese Australian and has never had any racist remarks aimed at her. She is living in Ireland with him now and has never experienced any racism there either.

[benj1980]

My son's girlfriend is 1st generation Chinese Australian and has never had any racist remarks aimed at her. She is living in Ireland with him now and has never experienced any racism there either.

 

Speaking to a person of far eastern descent who speaks with an Irish accent blows my mind though! It doesn't have the same mind boggling effect with an Australian accent though. Not sure why!

[benj1980]

Oh and I agree that Poms get a bit of a bashing over here. I've experienced it a few times but generally they admit that their Grandparents are of British/Irish background so go figure!

[Johndoe]

Speaking to a person of far eastern descent who speaks with an Irish accent blows my mind though! It doesn't have the same mind boggling effect with an Australian accent though. Not sure why!

 

Visit Glasgow. Preconceptions of persons of certain skin colour go out the window when you go into a chippy that has staff from the Indian sub continent to serve you, and their accents are as unintelligible as Ran C Nesbitt! :-) Speaking of him...........I used to watch him when I was in the UK and never had a problem of understanding. I tried watching a few episodes recently, 20 yrs on, and I couldn't understand a word? The brain must adapt/change to facilitate currently experienced dialects................or is it simply age/ing?

[newjez]

 

 

Most Aussies are friendly. There is a significant minority, however, who are racist. Some are overtly racist, such as the old git on the bus who yelled at my wife (from China, been in Aussie 20 yrs) to 'go back home'. There are the dumb racists, like the kids who kept running up to my wife and her friend & shouting konnichi-wa! in their face and laughing (because Japanese and Chinese are all the same, right?). There are the middle class racists, like the ones at a dinner party recently who quite openly joked about the meal being dogmeat made by Ching Chong Chinamen (to much laughter). And there's the unconscious racists, like the ones who keep asking my son where he is from and not taking Sydney as an answer. (No where are you REALLY from, with your un-Australian slanty eyes). So it doesn't matter if you tick all Pauline Hanson's boxes and integrate, assimiltate, speak English and be a true blue Aussie. You still get crap like this every week. Straya.

is it racist to inquire about someone's ancestral history, as long as you ask properly?

[newjez]

 

 

Speaking to a person of far eastern descent who speaks with an Irish accent blows my mind though! It doesn't have the same mind boggling effect with an Australian accent though. Not sure why!

I met a Swiss guy who spoke English with an Irish accent. That was a little odd, as his Irish had no hint of German. Took me a while to work out if he was Germanic or Irish. But I think the Canadians are best. They go from harsh American like English to the most beautiful French.

[Dragonflygecko]

It's the same for all immigrants - come, fit in, don't tell us how much better life is back where you came from, speak English and don't hang around with those of your own cultural group and all will be well. If you want to be Aussie, be Aussie, don't be Chinese first. Most Aussies couldn't give a toss about what colour you are, they're more concerned about what you do but they have a sense of humour which may well not be your sense of humour and you might take offence at something which is actually designed to be matey. If you don't feel comfortable then, of course, nobody is forcing you to stay.

 

 

I agree. To fit in you must get amongst it. Aussie's don't hate Asian people, and there are plenty of Asian and other cultures in Australia. In general people dislike others who don't make an effort to acclimatize to their new life in that country. For example, some British dislike certain Eastern Europeans, as some stick to their own nationality and foods and tend not to mix with others.

[starlight7]

I could have also asked if Australians welcome Europeans, Africans etc because I really don't think there is a difference these days. When we hear about high crime rates amongst specific racial minorities- that is when the 'prejudice' kicks in. Mostly this is not the case with Asians, they are hard working and pleasant people and not aggressive.

[Slean Wolfhead]

Well there are lots of Asians throughout Australia, many 2nd, 3rd or probably even 4th generation as well as all the new arrivals. Australia is very multicultural, I think overall you will find very few problems. We live on the outskirts of Sydney and my wife is Asian, runs a business and has absolutely no problems.

 

The Chinese have been in Australia for nearly as long as the British,very early settlers.

[Slean Wolfhead]

Hello everyone.

I'm from Shanghai, China and I am applying for Oz PR with my wife and 3-year-old daughter.

We visited Oz last year and found that Oz is really a great country to live in. We all love Oz since then.

Recently,I heard there were some bad news against Asian people, especially from Pauline Hanson.

 

When we were in Oz last year, local people we met were so nice. I'm sure they are all nice people without doubt.

Most of my friends who already moved to Oz also tell me that most Oz people are really nice, much better than those in USA.

But I know 90% people in Oz are white people.I'm a little terrified if we would get discrimination since we are Asian people.

Most of us are really hard workers and trying our best to make this country greater.

Still someone would say we steal their job or money. It's hurtful and unreasonable.

Also, my daughter is too young now. I'm afraid that she won't be fit in so well.

 

Do Aussies really hate Asians? What's your real opinion about Asians?

Is there any suggestion that can help my daughter fitting into this society?

Thanks everyone!

 

The Chinese I know have had no problems whatsoever. As long as you can both speak English well, you won't have any communication confusion.

The difficult issue for any immigrant is getting used to a new country. It's different to China, both with freedom of media and expression. You can say and do a lot more, and a few of my Chinese friends took a little time to get used to that openness of discussion. You can criticise the Australian government and you can criticise the Chinese government....but it's not meant as a personal insult to anybody.

Your daughter will find integration far easier than you if she's only 3, she'll be fully Aussie by the time she's about 14.

[Celt Down Under]

The Chinese I know have had no problems whatsoever. As long as you can both speak English well, you won't have any communication confusion.

The difficult issue for any immigrant is getting used to a new country. It's different to China, both with freedom of media and expression. You can say and do a lot more, and a few of my Chinese friends took a little time to get used to that openness of discussion. You can criticise the Australian government and you can criticise the Chinese government....but it's not meant as a personal insult to anybody.

Your daughter will find integration far easier than you if she's only 3, she'll be fully Aussie by the time she's about 14.

If she is only 3, she would be just about fully Aussie by the time she has completed her first year in pre school. My eldest was 4 when we emigrated, and she sounded full Aussie after a few months in pre school. She did have a strong Welsh accent prior to that.

[akiralx]

is it racist to inquire about someone's ancestral history, as long as you ask properly?

 

Pretty much yes - as 90% of the time such questions are posed by people who have 'issues' about nationalism and racial origins.

[Que Sera Sera]

Pretty much yes - as 90% of the time such questions are posed by people who have 'issues' about nationalism and racial origins.

 

I have to disagree with this, in my experience anyway. I work in retail and get asked by customers on a regular basis where my accent is from. When I tell them the response is almost always, oh I've been there, it's a lovely part of the world. No one has ever asked in a way that has made me feel uncomfortable.

[akiralx]

I have to disagree with this, in my experience anyway. I work in retail and get asked by customers on a regular basis where my accent is from. When I tell them the response is almost always, oh I've been there, it's a lovely part of the world. No one has ever asked in a way that has made me feel uncomfortable.

 

Well, accents are a bit different, I would tend to agree. I was referring mainly to queries about racial origins, usually based on skin colour.

[CaptainR]

Also, lets be honest, a white person is far more likely to experience racism in China than a Chinese person in Australia.

[ScottieGirl]

Pretty much yes - as 90% of the time such questions are posed by people who have 'issues' about nationalism and racial origins.

 

Completely disagree. I work with people from all over the globe, I like to get to know them and will always ask what their heritage is. Most people are very happy to talk about their cultural background and I am genuinely interested.

[akiralx]

Also, lets be honest, a white person is far more likely to experience racism in China than a Chinese person in Australia.

 

Like you I have no idea if that's true or not (my experiences suggest not) - but it is a good example of whataboutery. Racism in China or other countries is not really relevant to this thread which was about whether a Chinese immigrant would be likely to experience racism in Australia. 'Yes, possibly - but it would be much worse if you were a Nigerian going to live in Greenland' is not helpful.

[IrishOz]

There's millions of Asians of Australia, they're part of the furniture, so you'll be fine.

[path2aus]

I haven't been in Australia long enough to form an opinion but for the 2 months I have been here I have had only good experiences. I am in Adelaide and I am an Indian. People have been generally friendly. Yes there may be scenarios where you could face little remarks here and there but again that can happen in any country which is not your own. I lived in the US for 14 years before moving to Australia and even there I had my share of "Not So Happy With immigrants" people once in while. You just brush it off and move on.

[starlight7]

People sometimes ask me where my racial origins were just as I ask others. I find it absolutely fascinating because I study stuff like that. Racism doesn't enter into it . What rubbish some people talk.

[sharonp53]

Please understand that my reply is not designed to be rude, or nasty. You asked a question and ai want to give you an honest answer.

First thing is that Australia is currently a very different place than the country I knew back in the 80s. It is currently a very divided society and one that looks readily for scapegoats. It is not a comfortable place to be different. Hanson is a symbol of what is wrong. The government is very pro-China, which while the focus is on a different group is fine. But nothing lasts, and Hanson is a symptom of a wider discomfort in Australia and no ethnic or religious group is immune.

Having a family member who lives with Chinese-born person, I would say the real question is will you adapt to life in Australia?

The reason I ask this is based on personal observation rather than my own feelings. You see, this person told me, following a challenge in the relationship, that they hadn't been lying, just not reveling the truth, and that was their right, and culturally acceptable unless a person lies to a blood-relative.

Now, to an Australian that is is a problem. While we may choose to lie, it is with the clear understanding of the fact that it is not right. But it is also random and situation-based and not because one person is less worthy of the truth than another. This person had to learn the hard way why some Chinese people (with his attitude) find it hard to adapt.  I don't wish to suggest that all Chinese people are dishonest, just to use that as an example of different values.

I have lived in five different countries, one in Africa, three in Europe and the USA and often the values of the locals conflicted with my own. I had to learn quickly that I needed to respect the local ways, even where they conflicted with my own. That did not mean I accepted them, I just understood that I was living in their country and needed to respect their culture and rights. And, I learned that, where I behaved in a way they found unacceptable, that I needed to live with criticism and not to be too senstive.

The only other point I would make is for you to be aware that your government and businesses are not popular with many Australians due to the recent purchases of farms, resources and homes. So in some areas you may be seen as part of the reason young Australians cannot afford their own homes. Actually there are many reasons and most have to do with government decisions, but foreign investment is the easiest to focus on.

I will give you the same advice I would give any potential migrant, think carefully about your decsion. Visit Australia for an extended holiday and mix with the locals, avoid areas where Chinese people live and work and areas with high migrant populations. We are very direct, even blunt people. We do not like people that come here just for what they can get from our country. If you are a giving person, one who is willing to call this country home, particpate in the community, mix with us, live among us, apart from the odd unhappy encounter, you will be welcomed. But if you are coming here only for what you can get then please think again.

i wish you well with your decision making and if you do choose to make Australia home then I hope you will be very happy here.

[chaseyoung]

On 2017/3/16 at 10:35 AM, CaptainR said:

Also, lets be honest, a white person is far more likely to experience racism in China than a Chinese person in Australia.

Well, you know most Chinese people actually like white person at first sight. No discrimination in China at all. We like anyone who can speak English fluently. Also white people are taller and more handsome. It's hard for us to hate them unless they do horrible stuff.