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aimei -

Seriously, why do Chinese find this so hilarious? Everytime I am in a place where I am probably
the only white person, (which includes the place I live) I have this yelled at me, and after
living here for three months now I'm pretty damn sure this isn't some kind of polite greeting.
When I let the ppl know that I don't appreciate this they just laugh and point....why can't I just
participate in this culture without having my whiteness thrown in my face at every turn? Also when
my boyfriend and I are at the supermarket whatever checkout girl who happens to be there finds it
nessecary to say, "Wo shou hua nimen ting dong ma"? like were some kind of idiots, then proceeds
to giggle with her friend when I inform her that yes, "women ting dong." But getting back to
"Hellooooo...." thing, I usually am greeted with this at least a couple times a day, but I have
only been called a "laowai" once, which is what I usually hear foreigners in China complaining
about being harassed with. Can anyone give any insight into this Hello thing and why Chinese feel
the need to say it so much with complete indifference to any offense taken? Sorry I am really
complaining here but some days I really reach my limit with China......



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C_Smith85 -

http://www.talktalkchina.com/

Everything u ever need to vent about is covered here. it closed down recently but would sill make
for interesting reading when u need to let off stteam.

good luck










imron -

@c_smith85 I was going to say the exact same thing. When the cycle of funk has got you down, TTC
was the perfect place to go to release some steam. And now all we are left with is the google
cache and the wayback machine.

@aimei the post you are looking for is this one... You Say Ha Luo’r, I Say Piss Off

If any of the D's are reading, won't you at least consider putting the archives back up?










Hero Doug -

China has A LOT of racism still, (and no one said other countries don't) and after reading that
archive page I easily spotted a few Chinese people on there who simply don't know the tone and
implication of the way hello is said. This is the problem when the Chinese start to defend
something they simply don't understand, and the racisim get's ignored.

In Canada I say hello every day to so many people, but I say it like a human not like some retard
on the Price is Right.

I think the proof is in the pudding. Remember the fiesty foreigner in Beijing. Many Chinese called
out that guy and denounced him publicly, and even harrased him so much he had to change his phone
number. The fact that Chinese defend this hello behaviour shows they simply can't put themselves
in the shoes of others and thus can't comphrend it, otherwise it'd also be denounced.

There's a huge difference between Hello, and HHHHEEEEEELLLLLLOOOOOOO










aimei -

Thanks for the link to the Hellor piss off on TTC. I have been on that blog a few times before
when I need to rant about China. I think what that guy was saying before about how the "Hellos"
are innocent is crap. If they genuinely wanted to say hi to me, why do 99.9% of them turn, back to
their friends, laugh, and point and me and my bf afterwards?? The only ppl that I think really
just want to greet you are little kids! I also agree with you Hero that there is a lot of racism
here in China, (not saying that the US is excluded from that of course though.) I think it comes
from a unwillingness to understand any other culture that is different from China's, since from
what I have seen here it seems like they take it as a given that Chinese culture is superior. Any
thoughts?










liuzhou -

Ignore it and get on with your life. There is nothing you can do about it.










aimei -

I realize that there is nothing I can do about it, but I was just curious as to why they behave
this way.....










imron -

Putting yourself in someone else's shoes can sometimes be a difficult thing to do, regardless of
nationality. The Helloooo thing (and while we're at it, the laowai thing), is very difficult to
see when it's not directed at you, especially as these are words which aren't negative by nature
(which is not to say that they can't be used in a negative way, just that the words themselves
don't contain this meaning). Even if they see it happen a few times, a Chinese person might still
not think anything of it or see any problem with it.

In fact I have a Chinese friend who used to argue with me all the time that I was overreacting,
that nothing was meant by it, that people were just being friendly etc. It wasn't until I visited
his hometown which was a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, where the calls of helloooo, laowai,
and the stares came in such a constant stream that he actually realised and saw for himself what
it was like, and decided that perhaps after all, my viewpoint had some merit. In fact, it got to a
point where he was so embarrassed by it, that he decided it would be better if perhaps we went
back home and stayed indoors.

As for why they do it, well, for some it's curiosity, others genuinely intend to be friendly, and
others do it for the same reason they might make barking noises when they see a dog - because they
get a kick out of provoking some sort of reaction.

I wouldn't go so far as to say this is racism. It's just that unfortunately, when someone calls
out hello, they don't realise that they are perhaps the 10th (or 100th) person to do so that day,
and that the joke has already worn pretty thin.

In a similar vein, I'm a reasonably tall person (192cm - or about 6'3" for those that don't do
metric) and even in the west, when I meet someone for the first time I'll get comments about being
tall (like I didn't know that already!). Often what one person sees as a novel and fresh comment,
is something that is old and tiring for the person the comment is being directed at.










aimei -

You make some good points Imron. In fact my Chinese friend responded with something pretty
similiar when I questioned her about this phenomenon....she basically said that it may be the
first time that some of these ppl have seen a foreigner and that they are so curious that it's
almost like they can't help themselves from saying something and laughing about it with their
friends and forget that this might actually be offensive.....this actually makes a lot of sense
because we've only had this happen to us in areas not frequented by others, and by construction
workers. Also you're right they could also just be trying to provoke you for cheap "joke," and
don't realize how thin it wears when you hear some many ppl do it everyday. I was very good about
ignoring it for the first two months but today I just reached my breaking point and havd to vent
to some other laowai (thanks for listening!!) At least they didn't get their reaction out of me
though....










Hero Doug -



Quote:

Ignore it and get on with your life. There is nothing you can do about it.

Wow, just bend over and take it eh? You know of course no one is going to stop subtle racism or
annoyances, but you can give one person such an uncomfortable, enlightening, or embarrasing
experience that they'll think twice before doing it again.

As I mentioned above with the Beijing bike thrower, do you think he's going to throw someone's
bike in public again without giving it a second thought? I doubt it. I know I give some things
second thought's after some experiences.

And racisim is becoming a very broad word nowadays. It means the belief that one race is superior
to another, but with such a belief it could lead to unfavourable actions to a race one might see
as inferior.

So I'll rephrase it to "acting differently towards someone who is noticeably a different race
towards in an annoying/demening way".












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