Racism | Beijing | Mar 9, 2005 16:50
I just returned from Beijing. I was overwhelmed by the racism of the city's people. I was raised in the South of the US where racism is well known and have travelled extensively over six continents. Nevertheless, I have never encountered racism so blatant and omnipresent as in Beijing. Everyday people laughed and jeered at me. I may have been the only brown person they have ever seen, but that is not reason to treat me with disrespect. Everyday I felt as if I was not welcome and should leave. I felt this everyday by an overwhelming number of people, young and old, male and female. I felt this everywhere I went from the Forbidden City to the local shopping mall to the random streets. I felt unsafe.