28 February 2011

Racial Profiling


I was standing in line at Panda Express today. There was an Asian girl standing next to me. An older woman came up from behind and asked me if the food reminded me of home. I turned around with a quizzical look and said, "Uhh... no, why?" The woman replied, "Well, she's Chinese." and, addressing the Asian girl she said, "Does it remind you of home?" The girl replied, "I'm Cambodian."
I know the woman was just trying to be nice, but really? Why do you assume that anyone who looks Asian is automatically Chinese?