Discrimination of Asians in Western Culture
History of Discrimination
Racism and discrimination towards Asians have a long-standing history in North America. Throughout history, there were many instances where Asians were treated with prejudice attitudes from Westerners, but there were two major events that highlighted the degree of racism that they endured in Canada. The first one being, the Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act, and the second one is, Japanese Canadian Internment, during the Second World War.
The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act
Chinese immigrants first started emigrating to Canada for work in the 1800s. The work Chinese people did were very dangerous and mostly "low-status jobs that others did not want."[1] After they had finished constructing the Canadian Pacific Railway, "the federal government passed the Chinese Immigration Act, which stipulated that, with almost no exceptions, every person of Chinese origin immigrating to Canada had to pay a fee of $50, called a head tax."[2] This was problematic and clearly racist because the Canadian government had previously never passed a law forcing another group to pay a tax related to their ethnicity. In 1903, prices for the head tax raised from originally being $50 to eventually being $500. The head tax was enforced for the sake of keeping Chinese people from coming to Canada. As Chinese people kept coming, the government passed a new act called, the Chinese Immigration Act, also known as the Chinese Exclusion Act, banning Chinese people from migrating to Canada completely; devastating the Chinese community. A lot of Chinese men came alone because they were hoping to earn more money before bringing their families as well, but that was no longer possible. This resulted in many Chinese men living alone and some eventually died alone. This was also an issue for single men because they were out numbering women, gaining the name "bachelor societies"[3] for Chinese communities. Besides the stress of being alone, they were also living "in fear of being deported because authorities would often look for reasons to remove people from the country."[4] Besides the discrimination Chinese Canadians faced with the government, there were also social rules that targeted them. Chinese Canadians "were not allowed to swim in pools with whites, and were segregated in movie theatres."[5] Many years later, in 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper did apologize for the country's wrongdoing in the House of Commons, and tried to compensate the surviving population of Chinese people from that era.
Japanese Canadian Internment
During the Second World War, Japanese Canadians, mostly born in Canada, suffered the harshest form of racism by the Canadian government, treating them as though they were prisoners in their own country. Japanese Canadians also suffered a long history of discrimination prior to this devastating event. Japanese Canadians were given low-status and dangerous jobs and were not given the right to vote. As a result of "Japan's attacks on Pearl Harbour and Hong Kong, where Canadian troops were stationed,"[6]many were concerned with a Japanese invasion happening again. This became a domino effect of discrimination that eventually led to their capturing by the Canadian government. First, Japanese schools and newspapers closed in an effort to avoid racism. The discrimination escalated on February 24th, 1942, when the Prime Minister issued "Order-in-Council P.C. 1486 to remove and detain "any and all persons" from any "protective area" in the country." [7] When the government started detaining Japanese Canadians, they were treated horribly, "caged [like] animals,"[8] and they had to pack everything up abruptly. Anything that they could not bring became government property, this included their homes and lands too. The conditions of these camps were really bad, with overcrowding, under funding, no electricity, and no running water. The property of the prisoners that were kept under government supervision was later sold in 1943, in an effort to fund the detention of Japanese Canadians. Even though they were freed after the Second World War ended, they were still receiving harsh treatments by the Canadian government and the Prime Minister himself. Japanese Canadians received the apology they deserved in 1988, when the Prime Minister apologized in the House of Commons "on behalf of the Canadian government for the wrongs it committed against Japanese Canadians during wartime,"[9] as well as compensates for the damages.
Discrimination In the Health Care System
Although Canada preaches diversity and multiculturalism, discrimination still exists. It occurs even in instances where Asians are most crucially in need of help. One would think that when a person's health is in danger, saving that person comes before discriminating them. Though discrimination of other races, like people of African descendant, happen more on the daily basis, Asians are still frequently treated with prejudice attitudes, sometimes even denied health care due to reasons related to their ethnicity.
"Cultural and Linguistic Barriers"
A study by Denise Spitzer revealed that some health care professionals in Canada hold racist views towards Asians. Some health care workers avoid Asians, and sometimes other ethnicities like First Nations, due to their "low pain threshold" and "peculiar body odours," among other racist reasons.[10] Due to their heavy workloads and shortages of workers and supplies in hospitals, nurses started to "avoid patients deemed as problematic and costly."[11] Patients fell under this category usually because of linguistic and cultural barriers. Asian culture is very different compared to Western culture, therefore some health care workers found it too time consuming to cater to Asians. Instead of Westerners trying to learn more about Asian culture and traditions, in order to understand how to help them, some of them decided to ignore them completely. Immigrants are expected to completely re-socialized into their new environment, but multiculturalism should be accepting of all cultures, even if they are still holding onto their ethnic traits.
COVID-19 Xenophobia
Since the global spread of COVID-19, hate crimes against Asians have skyrocketed globally, with many blaming every Asian for 'bringing it into their country.' COVID-19 started in Wuhan, China, therefore many people associate this virus with not only Chinese but all Asians, sometimes even calling it the Chinese virus.
Hate Crimes
In Texas, a 19-year-old man attempted to murder an Asian family in public, but luckily an employee on site stopped the man before he could cause real harm to the family, receiving minor injuries in the process himself. The FBI commented on the case and disclosed that the 19-year-old's motivation for murder was because he assumed the family was Chinese, therefore spreading COVID-19 to other people.[12] Actions like this stems from the bigger issue that is racism, COVID-19 gives people who are racist an excuse or a justification to act on their racist actions. This incident could have escalated into murder very quickly and if nothing is done about the rise of hate crimes, it will eventually lead to murders. This is just one example of the countless hate crimes happening globally. It's worrisome because the hate crimes and discrimination could result in long-term effects of prejudice attitudes against Asians in Western culture.
External Links
References
- ↑ McRae, Matthew. "The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act". Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
- ↑ McRae, Matthew. "The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act". Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
- ↑ McRae, Matthew. "The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act". Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
- ↑ McRae, Matthew. "The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act". Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
- ↑ McRae, Matthew. "The Chinese head tax and the Chinese Exclusion Act". Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
- ↑ Marsh, James H. (February 23, 2012). "Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Marsh, James H. (February 23, 2012). "Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Marsh, James H. (February 23, 2012). "Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Marsh, James H. (February 23, 2012). "Japanese Canadian Internment: Prisoners in their own Country". The Canadian Encyclopedia.
- ↑ Spitzer, Denise (December 2004). "In Visible Bodies: Minority Women, Nurses, Time, and the New Economy of Care". Medical Anthropology Quarterly. 18(4): 490–508.
- ↑ Pollock, Grace; Newbold, Bruce; Lafrenière, Ginette; Edge, Sara (September 2011). "Perceptions of Discrimination in Health Services Experienced by Immigrant Minorities in Ontario" (PDF). Pathways to Prosperity: Canada.
- ↑ Reinstein, Julia (April 1, 2020). "A Man Who Allegedly Tried To Kill An Asian American Family Because Of The Coronavirus Could Face Hate Crime Charges". Buzzfeed News.