Examples of Racism needed for teaching

I am an American Latino and have been living here in HK for almost seven years. I am an English teacher at a secondary school. This coming term, I will be teaching To Kill a Mockingbird. The school has chosen this book, in part, because of its themes of social justice and racial discrimination and hatred.


Many of my students only view racism through the prism of the media, for example popular Hollywood movies or through the music of American artists. My goal, however, is to present racism not as a Western idea or event, but something that happens here in HK on a daily basis.


I am asking for readers to share any anecdotes or experiences of racism they have encountered or experienced here in HK (or elsewhere in Asia).


Personally, I have not experienced anything hateful, perhaps something, at worst, as a misunderstanding. I have dark skin and features. I've been mistaken for being Thai, Filipino or African. But when I open my mouth and speak in a thick, strong Eastern US American accent, people treat me differently, perhaps with greater understanding or deference.


But I do follow current events here in HK and have noticed discrimination directed against Filipinos, the foreign domestic helpers, the Nepalese, and Africans living here in HK.


Colleagues, upon learning that I am from New York City, have asked me questions like, Is it true that black people are violent? or something like, Is it true that "the blacks" are drug dealers? I dismiss these comments as nothing but ignorance, but not hateful. In any case, these experiences are not enough to present to my students as examples of racial misunderstanding or bigotry.


I don't mean to offend anyone and am only interested in help in my teaching.

1) once i went to a shop in TST and asked for a particular brand of perfume the sales lady turned to her showcase to take out that perfume and at the very same moment an old caucasian couple entered the shop who were tourists and probably were just looking around,

she immediately stopped what she was doing and went away talking to them,


hello aa sir aa what can i do for you aa?


and i was left standing there like i was a mere waste of time for her.


2) once in the heavy MTR rush time near Chinese new year days i accidentally stepped a little on a chinese guys show because of all the push that was coming from behind, the guys stared me like he would chew me to death, i apologized and said "i am really sorry" but he wont stop staring


fortunately he and i had to deboard at the same station and he would still keep walking and staring at me when i decided enough was enough and i confronted him and asked him what was his problem, cant he see that it was an accident.. and then he lost all his steam when he realized that i probably spoke better english then him and i understand what he was doing.


i told him that he need to relax and racism is not going to make him a better person, he just kept repeating "happy new year" "happy new year" ...


once a man was sitting on the aisle seat in bus and seat next to the window was vacant, and he wouldn't move and let me sit at the vacant seat.. he just said sit somewhere else.


once at a clothes store i was looking for my size of jeans and the salesman was looking for that size and then some other customers entered the shop and he left the job at hand and went after those customer..


and countless others...