Singled Out Asian
My freshman year, I went to eat dinner at Sabi with some friends from my hall. As the one Asian at the table, I was singled out and targeted with the classic stereotype jokes: squinted eyes while mockingly imitating an Asian language, claiming that I eat cats and dogs, asked if I could read the menu in Chinese. The two people who didn’t join in as this continued throughout the meal simply sat by and smiled as if this was fine. When I asked how they’d feel if I was making racist jokes to them, their smiles dropped and they sheepishly said that they wouldn’t care, daring me to make one. FYI: trauma shouldn’t be a competition and it takes literally no effort to not be racist. Just because you are my friend does not mean I will not take offense to it. And just because you are also POC who experience racism in your lives does not justify passing on that treatment to someone else. I’m wondering, when will this type of treatment NOT be ok? When someone bucks their teeth and slants their eyes but shoves me against a wall while doing it? When someone spits at me and calls me a c***k? Please let me know.