Being an Asian female living in good old Blightly has definitely been an eye-opening experience. No I do not have almond shaped eyes and neither am I from 'exotic' Thailand or China or Phillipines. And yes, I do speak the Queen's English, besides two other languages. How did I end up here in UK? No I was not an imported Asian bride and neither was I ever a passport hunter. I chose to remain because for my sins, I loved someone and we got married. Just a few key points I thought I best clarify before I go on.
It would be totally naive of me to expect that we live in world where there are no prejudices. Having been borned and bred in a multicultural society, I know what prejudices are and I also know what it means to respect the differences between people of difference ethnic origins and religious beliefs. I believe prejudices are caused by our own ignorance about people and things we don't understand. We start with a limited view about someone which over-time, that view changes as we get to know someone better. Soon, we forget if someone we know is black, brown, white or yellow. We see beyond colour or creed. We see beyond another's disability or physical appearance or sexual preferences. We see the other as a person.
Such human understand and respect, do not need institutionalised 'political correctness'. 'Political correctness' as the 'acceptable social behaviour' does not remove ignorance and latent intolerance of differences among people. It just means, under the a veil of civility and social pressure that people 'appear' to be non judgmental. For example by the very virtue that I am an Asian female who came to UK and married a British resident, it is automatically assumed that I came from some far flung place, and married a local to save myself from a life less fortunate. Hence when the marriage did not work out, I am further branded as being calculative - got my rights to abode and jumped ship! A judgement of me not from strangers but from people who know me but it didn't stop them from thinking that.
It is thus irrelevant to such acquaintances of mine that I used to live and worked in a big thriving city with over 3 million popular and yes....the city has sky-scrapers and shiny buildings and lots and lots of highways and expressways. No I did not work behind a bar in slinky outfits and I did not runaway from such a life. I ran away from what is called 'burnt out' from a high pressure and high stressed career I loved but I could not and did not want to sustain such a lifestyle.
I have lived in UK for close to 8 years now and I would have thought, I would not have to be subjected to so much ridiculous preconceived notion about me. Is it so difficult for people to understand that not all Asians come from poverty stricken background? Do people not want to understand that not all Asian females are what they hear about from friends who have been to Thailand, Cambodia and such nations?
Perhaps, my resentment of such stereotypes is my pride and secondly the betrayal of being misunderstood and to have such prejudices expressed against me by people I thought were my friends. Angry as I am, I also feel really sorry for these people because there is a whole world out there of which most of them will never see. Ignorance is bliss?
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