Easy to hate

“The conversation about racism is now ‘loud’.” – Dr. Janil Puthucheary, Singapore One People agency

Dwight Ramos’ revelation that he has been receiving hate messages as an Asian import in Japan’s B.League was an eye-opener. Generally, we don’t think of hate speech or racism among fellow Asians. We read and see this on the news usually in the United States, particularly with the reported increase in hate crimes against Asians, including Filipinos. In an interview with the intrepid Rafael Bandayrel of PTV Sports, Ramos detailed some of the harassment he has experienced, and said that what happens on the court should be controlled so as not to spill off the court.

This is one aspect of athletes working overseas that we often are ignorant of. We assume that, since they are accepted by their employers (the teams), everything is hunky-dory, and that they assimilate into their foreign communities instantly. While they are often treated with respect and admiration in their home arenas, opposing crowds would definitely have a different opinion. And conservative nationalists in any country – no matter how few – may be very vocal about having foreign “invaders” take roster spots which they feel more deserving local players should have.

In November 2021, a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center,  a nonpartisan fact tank that tackles issues that shape the world, more than 90 percent of people in Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and many other nations believe that racial and ethnic discrimination is a prevailing issue only in America. Only South Koreans believe that this is also a major problem in their own country. There is also separate research that shows that racism is a growing concern in China, and has nothing to do with patterns of discrimination in other countries like the US. Other agencies like Malaysia’s Malaysia’ Pusat KOMAS (a human rights communications center established in 1993), publishes annual reports on racism in the region. Their report in 2021 revealed that millions of people experience racism on a daily basis in the region.

In the United States, offenses against Asians in general – including athletes – started escalating when it was revealed that the COVID-19 virus originated in China. American athletes and even sportscasters were caught using slurs, fake accents, and unfair criticism against athletes of Asian extraction. NBA veteran and Taiwanese-American Jeremy Lin even revealed that another player called him “coronavirus” on the court. Other Asian-American athletes have reported being afraid to go out by themselves, as they are harassed, even attacked, by Americans, even African-Americans, who have historically been the target of crimes of race themselves.

Athletes are obvious targets. They’re public figures, publicly admired, physically superior, and paid better than average. It’s easy to envy them, first of all. Secondly, they could symbolize one race’s best, and make other races feel inferior. As far back as the 1936 Olympics, Adolf Hitler sought to use the magnitude of the spectacle to showcase Aryan supremacy. Of course, this myth was shattered by the likes of Jesse Owens. In Asia, the roots of hatred are both historical and bigoted. Many countries in the region have fought wars with each other. China, Japan and the Philippines have had multiple armed conflicts with one another. Those are not easy to forget or forgive. Internally, Filipinos were abusive towards the first wave of Chinese immigrants. Chinese also have a hard time in countries like Japan. There is also the aspect of racial purity and isolationism. Subconsciously, what’s ours should remain ours, unless the race in question is considered acceptable of even superior in some way.

These are issues that have to be addressed in an organized manner. Civilized discussions can and should be held, and leagues should institute policies to protect mixed-race players and foreigners playing professionally. The Philippines has a lot at stake, because the country has basketball players, volleyball players, athletes in other sports, and even coaches playing all over the continent. Crafting policies against racism would serve everyone. It’s easy to hate, to destroy. And it only takes one person. Building and working together takes everyone, and time.