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That's true about the Philippines. Actually, it's also really annoying to be white and in the Philippines. You get called 'SIR' every 10 seconds.
Also, the biggest annoyance, is that it seems VERY CONNECTED to money. They treat you exceptionally nice, and they see you as this enormously large Walking ATM Machine, who might just start dispensing money at any moment.
That's the way I often feel about that treatment, whenever it's poured on a bit significantly much.
Everyone gets an honorific from kuya to tito to lolo to sir if you are a stranger and they can't assume a social rank to assign to you.
Agreed. As a person who has spent a lot of years in Asia. That about sums it up.
I never experience 'white worship' anywhere, but The Philippines certainly DOES have an element of that. However, I consider it as a negative. It also comes with certain expectations - i.e. if I worship you, you will financially reward me, right?
I'm not saying most Filipinos are like that at all, as they aren't. But there is an element there that permeates the air.
I never lived in Asia, but my mom married a Chinese man and I lived with him and his son for a long time, so I do have some exposure. It really ticks me off when white people (when I say white, I mean those of northern European extraction) assume that people will worship their whiteness. First, that is preposterous and arrogant.
Second, a lot of whites have this fantasy that blue eyes and blond hair and fair skin automatically equals hot. Hate to burst people's bubble, but that's not true anymore. Maybe it one time it was, like 30 years ago, but not in 2015.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Taiko
Everyone gets an honorific from kuya to tito to lolo to sir if you are a stranger and they can't assume a social rank to assign to you.
I do the same in Spanish. I use honorific verbs in Spanish to strangers as a safe assumption. I'm not worshipping, I'm being polite. Maybe this is also cultural expectations. The English language lacks honorific speech, unlike Spanish, Korean, Japanese, (Chinese too?), so it can be misinterpreted
That's true about the Philippines. Actually, it's also really annoying to be white and in the Philippines. You get called 'SIR' every 10 seconds.
Also, the biggest annoyance, is that it seems VERY CONNECTED to money. They treat you exceptionally nice, and they see you as this enormously large Walking ATM Machine, who might just start dispensing money at any moment.
That's the way I often feel about that treatment, whenever it's poured on a bit significantly much.
They call everyone sir in customer service settings. It's common to hear "mam/sir"
I think people have this idea that if you're white in the Philippines, everyone is just going to throw themselves at you. No, not unless you're in a redlight district, or maybe if you're very attractive and look like an American celebrity. But if you're a regular white person, I dont think that's going to happen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w007cst8Imw
Here's a video that a white guy made walking around Manila. He's done this for several other cities. Toward the end (about 1:48 onward), he's walking through a very crowded market area. Hardly anybody even looks at him. People just go about their business. The world does not stop when a white man with a camera walks by. I did hear a couple men yell "hey Joe" and "kano" (Amerikano). But I dont see anybody mobbing him like he's a celebrity. I did expect to see the vendors trying to see him stuff, but that didnt happen.
I think people have this idea that if you're white in the Philippines, everyone is just going to throw themselves at you. No, not unless you're in a redlight district, or maybe if you're very attractive and look like an American celebrity. But if you're a regular white person, I dont think that's going to happen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w007cst8Imw
Here's a video that a white guy made walking around Manila. He's done this for several other cities. Toward the end (about 1:48 onward), he's walking through a very crowded market area. Hardly anybody even looks at him. People just go about their business. The world does not stop when a white man with a camera walks by. I did hear a couple men yell "hey Joe" and "kano" (Amerikano). But I dont see anybody mobbing him like he's a celebrity. I did expect to see the vendors trying to see him stuff, but that didnt happen.
My theory is, if you're not attractive in your home country, you won't be attractive in Asia, unless you're a white woman. Just like in the West, Asian men are less picky than Asian women. An average looking white woman is going to get more attention than an average white man in Asia.
I lived in Japan for 6 years. I felt very little racism at all.
HOWEVER, that was a common theme, that annoyed me. Other whites who would complain about it, and hate being called a gaijin, and do rallying cries.
I just didn't see it all when I was there. I also notice that on the forum, people who have been to Japan, but claiming it is quite racist.
In my experience of living in Japan for 6 years, it was one of the Asian countries with the least racism, and one of the easier ones to be a white person living within their society. I realize others might strongly disagree with me, but I think the ones who would most strongly disagree with me, are people who have tried to live in any other Asian country.
I haven't lived in any Asian country for more than extended stays lasting a few months. Of those I have done so numerous times in Japan and Singapore. Of course I have traveled many other Asian countries but never more than a week or two. I can honestly say that I ran into openly racist behavior several times in Japan. Now I never ran into this at all in and around say Tokyo or any of the other larger touristy cities, even in non-tourist areas. For the most part in those places the people were helpful and generous enough to take time to help you out or talk about something. Some places like Yokohama and a few other cities I have been in though there was clearly anti-white sentiment. And I am not talking about some auntie staring at me because a white guy just walked out of flat in Choa Chu Kong or Woodlands. I get stares like that occasionally in Singapore because I am obviously in some place tourists don't visit, thats fine and I am not sensitive to that stuff nor to questions about it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Agreed. As a person who has spent a lot of years in Asia. That about sums it up.
I never experience 'white worship' anywhere, but The Philippines certainly DOES have an element of that. However, I consider it as a negative. It also comes with certain expectations - i.e. if I worship you, you will financially reward me, right?
I'm not saying most Filipinos are like that at all, as they aren't. But there is an element there that permeates the air.
The only place I have seen "white worship" was in places like Pattaya and I don't really think its was so much white worship as it was money worship. They assume you have lots of money to blow and they just want the chance for you to blow it on them....no pun intended. lol.
I agree also that its hard to give a broad generalization about a whole country that they are racist or they worship white people. Theres all kinds of people in every country.
It is probably less acceptable in Korea for couples of different nationalities than Taiwan, HK, Macau and the Phillippines.
In places like Phillippines, Burma, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Macau, HK and Taiwan, they have the presence of Eurasians as an ethnic minority people for a long time, some of them are famous models and actors. Some Eurasians in Japan as well. Central Asia still has many White Russians, Ukrainians and Germans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Yeah, Korea has that element, for sure.
That being said, some whites deal with it way better than others. I lived there for 8 years, and I definitely heard and saw anti-american sentiment, nationalistic raving, and on and on.
On the other hand, I still lived there for 8 years, so despite a country having those elements, it doesn't mean that one might not actually enjoy living there on some other level.
Simple conclusion. The Asians in Asia like the Whites who behave good, polite and respect local cultures. Dislike the drunken and rude ones.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Texabama
And whites in SE Asia; depends on the country, but overall, the same; in a positive light. Away from cities out in the provinces, white = novelty. But in the cities, it's a mixed bag; some will just view them as a source of money, some with envy, some will like them simply for being American/white, some will be friendly just for the sake of being friendly without expectations, etc.
It is probably less acceptable in Korea for couples of different nationalities than Taiwan, HK, Macau and the Phillippines.
In places like Phillippines, Burma, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Macau, HK and Taiwan, they have the presence of Eurasians as an ethnic minority people for a long time, some of them are famous models and actors. Some Eurasians in Japan as well. Central Asia still has many White Russians, Ukrainians and Germans.
For what its worth in the viewer voted big network foreigner male beauty contest in the Philippines the Nigerian won, first runner up a Korean second a white Australian. Among the rest of the seven finalist were a Black American and Brazilian. While there is still a general beauty preference for European features there is relatively little prejudice compared to the rest of the world against people with West African physical features,
I lived in Japan for 6 years. I felt very little racism at all.
HOWEVER, that was a common theme, that annoyed me. Other whites who would complain about it, and hate being called a gaijin, and do rallying cries.
I just didn't see it all when I was there. I also notice that on the forum, people who have been to Japan, but claiming it is quite racist.
In my experience of living in Japan for 6 years, it was one of the Asian countries with the least racism, and one of the easier ones to be a white person living within their society. I realize others might strongly disagree with me, but I think the ones who would most strongly disagree with me, are people who have tried to live in any other Asian country.
I agree with you, I never experienced much racism when I was there. But I know a good bunch of my mates said they had experienced racism, so I couldn't discount their experience..
Also I think living in Tokyo is one thing, but it maybe different in rural Japan or in smaller Japanese towns. But again I am only guessing here...
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