I’m leaving China

Re:I’m leaving China by dhruvrrp on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @06:45PM (#17554168)

The issues the author has about line cutting and openly gawking seemed kinda interesting. In my view line cutting happens because people have this view that their time is more valuable than anyone else's, and so they don't see it as breaking any 'rules' as such. And this isn't unique to China, you can see this in a lot of poorer south/south-east Asian countries. Kinda why driving is also a nightmare in these countries.

Gawking as well is common in a lot of places which aren't as culturally diverse as say California. If a Chinese or white person visits India, then outside of a few areas in the big cities they'll see similar behavior. Heck I could see people staring at me when I was in Charlotte, NC a while back.

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Re:I’m leaving China by muddyrivers on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @09:09PM (#17554882)

I grew up in China. Line cutting has always been annoying, even infuriating, for me. The last few times I visited back, I noticed the young generations are much better in this aspect. There are rarely any improvements in this regard among my generation and older ones. So I guess we have to wait for nature taking its time.

Gawking is common in places that are not culturally diverse. I drove to many small towns in Midwest. I got stared at when I was walking around the town. Especially so when I entered local stores, diners, and pubs where everybody else was white. I could tell many store owners, waitresses, etc. were not comfortable when talking to me. I hope it is getting better.

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Re:I’m leaving China by neolefty on Wednesday July 18, 2018 @12:06PM (#17559603)

Line cutting has always been annoying, even infuriating, for me.

Thank you for the data point! I spent 5 years in Chengdu, China and (full comment elsewhere in the thread) found it fairly easy to crystallize a line out of chaos. The only explanation I can think of is that many people feel similarly to you!

Fairness may be instinctual: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2010/07/is...

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Re:I’m leaving China by abhgh on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @08:19PM (#17554672)

Ha, that reminds me. I have a thing for trying out good cafes, and on my way to Berkeley, I decided to stop at one in Oakland. Till that point my ambit had been more or less limited to areas where s/w companies are + touristy spots. So, I never was the only Indian around. But here I was - and I got a lot of stares during my walk from a BART station to the cafe. Which was amusing and mildly uncomfortable.

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Re:I’m leaving China by jwilbs on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @11:26PM (#17555390)

I find this comment odd. I spent many years in Oakland and saw plenty of Indians (a quick google search shows Oakland is 17% Asian). Not to mention there are at least three Indian restaurants within two blocks of 12th street/Oakland City Center BART.

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Re:I’m leaving China by abhgh on Tuesday July 17, 2018 @11:51PM (#17555460)

I am not sure why you find this odd. This could be locality specific - I didn't tell you where exactly my walk was. Nor did I imply if I walked the same distance anywhere in Oakland - anywhere in all 78 sq mi in it - I would invite the same reactions. In fact I do believe its locality specific, because in my other visits, which were to some of the theatres, the Oracle arena etc, I did see Indians.

Also, not that it matters to my point, your quick Google search was for the Asian population - the Indian population is much lesser - you made me curious, so I Googled. Apparently 3.95% of the Asian population of Oakland is Indian - which actually comes to < 1%.

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Re:I’m leaving China by argonaut on Wednesday July 18, 2018 @02:04AM (#17555848)

I also found your anecdote odd, as a lifelong resident of the Bay Area. People everywhere in Oakland will have generally seen and interacted with many South(east) Asians before, (and without a doubt Asians in general, and also without a doubt near BART stations and along major roads). I also specifically say South(east) Asians because at least visually many people do not distinguish between them.

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Re:I’m leaving China by abhgh on Wednesday July 18, 2018 @02:47AM (#17555973)

Two comments have made me curious - do you think this could be locality specific (no, I do note you said "everywhere in Oakland", but still ....)?

This was not a major road - I got off any major road, and walked quite a bit to this cafe (30 min walks for me are common - this likely probably greater than that via much smaller roads through residential areas).

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Re:I’m leaving China by jwilbs on Wednesday July 18, 2018 @05:46AM (#17556720)

It could be locality specific - which cafe was it?

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