Woof!
29 September 2005

Our readings in class the other day focused on racism, stereotypes, and whiteness. We had a fairly long and protracted discussion on where racial stereotypes come from, what they mean for people who must live with them, and how they continue in society. Overall, things went pretty well. No one offended anyone else, nobody got into nasty arguments, and on the whole, it was a pretty thoughtful discussion.

After class, though, I was approached by a student from China. During the discussion, someone had mentioned stereotypes about ‘orientals’ and she was curious as to what these stereotypes were. She literally wanted me to tell her so that she could know in case she had to deal with them.

So, I told her.

“Well, probably the biggest stereotype is that Asians are smart and good at math and science.”

“But we are,” she replied.

Holding back a laugh, I said “Maybe so. But isn’t it maybe a little limiting? I mean, what if you aren’t good at math and you’re Asian?”

She agreed. “Okay, what else? Isn’t there something about our food?”

Gulp. How the hell was I going to say this?

“Uhhh, some people will make jokes that dogs and cats disappear when an Asian restaurant opens. Or that Asians eat dogs. They use this as a way of making Asians sound less civilized.”

She looked confused. “We do eat dogs. But they’re raised for that purpose. They don’t know any better.”

“Yeah, well, for some Americans, that’s really troubling. They think of pets as family, and so even Americans that eat meat would probably vomit if they ate dog knowingly. In America, people think it is wrong.”

She looked even more confused. “Of course you think that, you’re a strict vegetarian. But everyone else? Aren’t they being hypocrites? They eat pigs and cows and think dogs are any different?”

“Hey, I agree with you! I don’t eat any of it because I think eating any animal is wrong.”

“Yeah, but the rest of these people, they’re hypocrites. Who are they to judge us for eating dogs when they eat every other animal?”

“Good question.”

And it was a good question. There’s something really troubling to me about people who go to a McDonald’s drive thru with their dog in the back seat while they order a sausage McMuffin. How can people have such a massive disconnect between the animals they’re eating and the animals that they’re petting? And how can we make the connections to help them see the similarities?

  Posted by Bob Torres    Permalink    Filed under:

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