Chink
Anyone who tells you racism doesn't exist in the U.S. is either blind or doesn't want to acknowledge it. I'm living proof that racism indeed exists. I've been a victim of it many times. People have spat on me and screamed racial slurs such as "Chink." But what is a Chink? Growing up in a dominantly white society, I always stood out as an Asian- American. No matter where I was in school, at work, or even outside playing, it was that I was a part of the Asian- American culture. The English language has many slang words; that racially stereotype many groups of people. The most popular one that I had witnessed is the word "Chink." "Chink" is a slang word used to degrade or discriminate Chinese people. Or as the Dictionary of American Slang defines it "an unfriendly alternation word for calli
ng Chinese people" (91). This label "Chink" bothered me for a couple of reasons. One was that I had a difficult time making friends when I was younger because I was always slower than everyone in class, so people thought I was a retarded Chink. I can remember one time in the classroom, one of my fellow classmates asked me a weird question. "Do you know what a chink is?" he asked, and I replied, "No, what is a chink?" He then told me that a "chink" is a name for a Chinese person; at that time, I didn't know that "Chink" was a derogatory slur. I told him that I'm not Chinese but Vietnamese, and that I've never heard that name before. Then he said, "Well, I don't care. You all are the same, so that's what you are, and that's what you'll always be." To this day, that experience still bothers me. As I told my fellow student, I'm Vietnamese
Some common words found in the essay are:
Vietnamese Chinese, American Slang, , Asian- American, African Americans, Vietnamese I've, John McKain, Jap Chinky, Chink Chink, Chink Growing, chinese people, chink chink, asian- american,
Approximate Word count = 574
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)
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