Words can be extremely powerful, and when they are used negatively, they can be harmful. There are many offensive words out there these days, but one racial slur that has been with me for a while is the word chink.

The word chink can be used to offend someone. You could say, “You are a chink,” which is basically saying that you have very small eyes. Another expression is “Open your eyes, you chink.”

You can also use the word as an adjective, like, “You are very chinky.”

Many people say the word chink originated from the Chinese courtesy ching ching, and also the word China. Other people say it came from the word Qing, as in the Qing dynasty. Qing is pronounced “ching,” so that’s why it’s a possibility.

In the early 20th century, Chinese immigration was perceived as a threat to the living standards of whites in North America.

They saw the Chinese as invasive, and the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. The law banned Chinese immigration into the United States.

However, after some time, there was a labor shortage on the West Coast, and that allowed for the Chinese to immigrate into the United States again. The Alaskan fish canneries did not have enough labor, and Congress amended the Exclusion Act. Chinese butcher crews were held in such high esteem that when Edmund A. Smith patented his mechanized fish-butchering machine in 1905, he named it the iron chink.

Some thought of it as a symbol of the anti-Chinese racism of that era. Though chink originally referred to those of Chinese descent, it has expanded to include others from East Asia.

Being an immigrant from China, I was always around the word chink when I moved here. When I first came here, I first lived in Maryland, which is populated mostly by whites. There were some Blacks, but there were barely any Asians. When I went to school, I was one of nine Asian kids. It was difficult for me because I could barely speak English.

I remember kids teasing me, just pointing and laughing at me, and I didn’t know why. I couldn’t understand what they were saying.

One time, some kids just decided to come up to me and pulled their eyes apart to make them squintier. They started singing, “Me Chinese, me Chinese,” and after that, I realized they were making fun of my eyes. I went home that day and cried. I specifically remember asking my parents if there was something wrong with me. It made me feel bad about my body, and it made me feel worse that there was nothing I could do to change it.

I was born this way. I was made fun of because of my eyes, something I can do nothing about.

The next day, one of the kids decided to yell out, in front of the class, really loudly, “Karen is a chink,” and then everyone in the class started to laugh. I was so confused. I remember trying to figure out the meaning of the word and when I did, I was very hurt. I was shocked that they had a word for it. This happened two years ago, and I was made fun of in Maryland until I moved to Washington state.

When I moved to Seattle, there were more Asians and I felt more comfortable, more accepted. When I moved here, I hoped that no one would make fun of my eyes and call me chinky.

It went well for a while, but things changed when I reached middle school. One day, in the hallway, I heard someone behind me say, “Hey chink, what’s up?” I quickly looked behind me and saw two Asian boys greeting each other.

That was when I realized that the word chink is similar to [the n-word]. They are both racial slurs, and are both very offensive, but people choose to use them without thinking about the harm that comes with them. I am still called a chink sometimes, and it’s still very hurtful.

Racial slurs have impacted me. We need to learn to accept each other and not harm each other with words because they can cut emotionally. ♦

Editor’s note: Northwest Asian Weekly was unable to verify all the facts stated in this article. The ideas here do not necessarily represent our stance.

复你没听清，这位博主写的英文能看懂？

家园

大拿老弟大概比较年轻

但是你的帖子我都挺喜欢看，属于有观察有内容的文章，本人也应该也是个讲得通道理的人，看你这么义愤填膺的声讨，我就回一个吧。

首先，你这个链接是无效的，所以早不到原文。如果你下面引用的就是全文，那么我不知道这篇文章和那个视频之间的逻辑关系在哪里。我又去重新看了一下楼上的视频，还是没有听到“chink”这个字眼。我能听清的内容：“Ok every body...China...they can get back to China...”, 其他声音混杂而模糊，如果你听清了，请转述一下，我们再来讨论。

撇开这个视频不说，局限讨论一下你引的文章内容。“chink”肯定是一个带有种族歧视的字样，这个和“redneck”或“nigger”是一样的。作为一个中国人，我们听着觉得不舒服，我当然是理解的。美国是个多民族社会，但是彼此隔阂的并不仅仅是种族和肤色，甚至大部分时候都不是，而是彼此的行文习惯、文化和价值观。

一个人在社会里生活，总有讨人嫌的时候，也总有别人讨你嫌的时候，那你没骂过别人。那骂人还能挑好听的？诚实的说，我没被人少骂过，也没少骂过人，你觉得那些歧视性的词儿，我大概都是用过的。有时候骂完了，静下来想想，自己也有不对，反而是自己不好意思。那是不是每每都应该升级到“种族歧视”这个高度，我认为不仅不必要，也不会有任何正面意义。

我们上海人，骂人有个口头禅，叫做“乡下人”。是歧视农民吗？不是的，被骂“乡下人”，是因为其行为不按常规，破坏了上海社会大家约定俗成的行为准则，被人口头“取消”了做上海人的资格而已。如果你坚持认为自己没错，那我行我素就好了，何必在意。

扯远了，转回来。美国是有“仇恨罪”的，如果有人确实因为种族原因，侵犯了你的合法权益，造成实质损害，你是可以刑事追诉的。但是街头巷尾一个不忿爆句“种族粗口”，值得在论坛上以头抢地檄文骂战吗？

复美华川粉自保。

家园

独轮运和老乐这种的，应该得到这样的待遇。但我们也不要垃圾

全看树展主题 · 分页首页上页下页末页

有趣有益，互惠互利；开阔视野，博采众长。
虚拟的网络，真实的人。天南地北客，相逢皆朋友

版面群落趣味社区帮助常见问题网站简介基本河规隐私条款使用条款广告说明