"I sometimes feel confused about whether certain situations count as racial discrimination. For example, when I travel abroad and someone greets me friendly with 'ni hao' or 'konnichiwa,' is that discrimination?" (Excerpt from https://t.me/xiaohongshu_001/6598)
Recently, I have indeed seen quite a bit of discussion on this topic. This question is very relevant to daily life, and the described situations do happen frequently. Today, I want to share some of my thoughts on this.
I think there's no need to think this way, especially to label this as 'racial discrimination'; that seems a bit of an overreaction. If this is considered discrimination, then what language isn't a form of discrimination? Speaking English? Why should we assume that English is the universal language? Speaking Spanish? Isn't that a rather arrogant way to treat tourists? Or consider another scenario: if I go to a Chinese supermarket or restaurant abroad and the owner always greets me in Chinese, is that discrimination? If I’m walking down the street and other Chinese tourists come up to ask if I’m Chinese, are they discriminating against me? Just because someone of a different race says 'ni hao' to you, does that make it discrimination? Now, if in the UK someone says 'ni hao' to you and you feel it's discrimination, what about in Pakistan or Serbia?
I really feel there’s no universal answer or formula to this question; it can only be addressed case by case. I don’t like to think about grand themes too much; discussing right and wrong is quite abstract, and besides, success and failure are ultimately empty. I prefer to experience concrete life and interact with specific people. If you feel the other person is being friendly and you happen to be in a good mood, maybe you can smile back and even chat a bit more. If you don’t want to engage with them and feel uncomfortable with their greeting, then just pretend you didn’t hear. If you think everyone in that country is strange and hostile towards you, then just stay away from that country.
Racial discrimination certainly exists, but I think it’s unnecessary to dissect greetings so meticulously. After all, you can’t pretend that you look like a Chinese person doesn’t exist. There will always be misunderstandings between people, and we can only accept that fact. I used to hold myself to the standard that even if someone looks Chinese, I shouldn’t assume they speak Chinese. But now, I tend to think that it’s better not to be too distant between people. Since I don’t harbor any malicious assumptions when someone speaks Chinese, if there’s a misunderstanding, a sincere apology will suffice."