Eyes to Read Different Stories

Feb 2021

“Do you do Kung Fu?”

I can’t remember how many times I’ve been asked this question when I met new friends during my years of studying abroad. I explained over and over again that not all Chinese people learn Kung Fu. I am not the only person in my family who has encountered what I call “Kung Fu Dilemma.” My mother is from Henan Province, which boasts of the famous Shaolin Temple, the origin place of Kung Fu. She has heard countless times that “you are from Henan! You must have learned Kung Fu!” Then, over and over again, she had to explain that not all people in Henan learn Kung Fu. Despite the difference between my international situation and my mother’s regional situation, this dumbfounding question always puzzles me about why these assumptions occur and what do they represent. People often have a tendency to preconceive an idea of others, so when it comes to people from different cultural groups, they may have an unconscious bias against someone they are lack of knowledge or understanding. Bias, representing itself in prejudiced attitude, discriminatory behaviour, and stereotyped cognition, is humanity’s greatest flaw. It would lead to a closed-minded and self-centred self, an incomplete and limited perspective of the world, and unfair and demeaning judgements of others. Even worse, a biased mindset is inclined to exaggerate the differences between social or racial groups, which ignores people’s personal dignity, national identity and cultural diversity.

Bias, as a result of only viewing the world from a single perspective, limits our understanding of the world and devalues the dignity of all human beings. Trapped in an increasingly narrower comfort zone of mindset, we may become less tolerant and inclusive of accepting something different. In her thought-provoking poem, Naomi Shihab Nye writes, “Bees see your face as a strange flower. Nashville warblers see you as a scary-looking tree” (Nye, Line 1). It not only reminds us that humans are not the only living creature on earth, but also warns us of what we, the arrogant human beings, might look like in the eyes of other living creatures: “strange flower[s]” to bees and “scary-looking tree[s]” to Nashville warblers. Pride hurt enough, but have we realized how prejudice commands our observation and understanding of others? Occupying a dominating position, if we ignore the perspective of the obscure bees and Nashville warblers, we may equally overlook the unique characteristics of different cultural groups. Biased and conventional views, in the first place, may cause partial perception. A fixed perspective narrows our vision and dulls our empathy, leading to misunderstanding and hostility. Just as “Depressive sees your smile as a threat” (Nye, Line 6), with bias, even a lovely smile may be considered an intimidating threat. What if we see the world from a less self-righteous perspective?

Those with self-centered perspectives tend to act in a discriminatory manner and ignore people’s national identity and cultural diversity both consciously and unconsciously. A mild bias may lead to awkward and unpleasant interactions lacking understanding; A strong bias may cause discrimination, harassment and conflict. My “Kung Fu Dilemma” belongs to the former while Jack’s “Paper Menagerie” is definitely part of the latter. “Paper Menagerie” was once a favourite toy set Jack held dear, a symbol of the noble love of a humble mother, and a quintessence of ancient art and incredible imagination of a nation. When the paper tiger was demeaned as “stupid cheap Chinese garbage” (Liu), Jack was thrown into a miserable confusion of identity and loss of dignity. As a result, he tried to break away from his Chinese part to melt into a fully American identity. He even forced his mother to abandon her native language and speak English. Humiliated, his humble mother made a dignified defence: "If I say 'love,' I feel here." She pointed to her lips. "If I say 'ai,' I feel here." She put her hand over her heart” (Liu). The forgotten “Paper Menagerie,” the disdained language, and the despised national identity constitute the tragedy of a woman seeking a happy life in a land that did not welcome her. In such an environment, even a dearly beloved son will turn down his mother’s identity. Bias, in the form of cultural prejudice and discrimination, is devastating to national identity and cultural diversity.

Moreover, bias can evolve into certain preconceived forms of stereotype, which overstates the difference inhumanity and undermines the commonality of different cultural, social, racial and religious groups. In Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s speech, she told us how dangerous the “single story” narrative was. When her American roommate was disappointed at seeing her listening to Mariah Carey instead of the exotic “tribal music,” she felt offended. When her writing was downplayed by her American professor for not being “Authentic African,” she felt angry. The “single story” narrative vexed Adichie became a stereotype that hurt her human personality with opinionated assumptions. Just as she discovered, “the consequence of the single story is this: It robs people of dignity. It makes our recognition of our equal humanity difficult. It emphasizes how we are different rather than how we are similar” (Adichie, 13:36). Stereotypes, or “single story” narratives, make us ignore the fundamental fact that we are all human beings bearing commonalities as well as distinctiveness.

Bias is not only detrimental to human personality but also corrosive to national identity and cultural diversity. We are born as human beings of equal dignity, but not born with bias. We are seeking truth and humanity, but not falsity and hostility. We are in the same world embracing mutual recognition, but not prejudice and discrimination. As Robertson Davies once said, “The eyes see only what the mind is prepared to comprehend” (Davies). To overcome this humanity’s flaw, we must train our eyes to see the beauty of bees, the “Paper Menagerie,” and the stories of all human beings.