Through out my life I realized that I could find relaxation and fun through participating in sports. But after the beginning of my project against racism and stereotypes, sports has become more of a source of anger and shame. Several of my past coaches would always tell me that I shouldn’t be afraid of the other team, because of the different skin color. They would always bring up the stereotype that “Asians suck at sports, and can never beat white or black people.”
I never believed in any of these athletic based stereotypes as long as I knew that every athlete came from the same species. Past references to sports records and competition might show that Asians haven’t won that many or did well. But it isn’t their fault for having a late start in actually competing in competitions, as most Asian countries still suffer from economic hardships and poverty. Have you ever tried running or kick a ball on an empty stomach? If not, then why don’t you give it a try. I don’t mean to be pessimistic and all but its reality, compared to developed countries, least developed countries have lacked the economical support.
I know what it feels to represent a majority and I’m quite sure that those who represent this majority suffer from a lot of pressure. But that doesn’t lead to the crowd to have the choice of making this single man, woman, or group represent the whole athletic capability of a certain nation. Representation has definitely become an initiating factor for stereotypes and racist insults on certain ethnicities. It has been able to set light on a string of dynamite and as time passes we face a crisis that can no longer be reversed.
Sometimes you really want to know how the crowd feels about your performance while playing, but for me I just know what they see in me. Another typical “Asian boy” running around trying to act like he’s doing something. Yes I might be biased in some way, but lets face it. The only compliments I’ve heard from the crowd were actually based from the same stereotype that Asian people aren’t good at sports. Compliments such as “you jump pretty high for an Asian”, “Your faster than what I thought you’d be”, and even “Run boy, run like an Asian who’s never ran before.” I’m totally fine with the taunting around me, but when it goes over a certain line then why do I even try to play this sport.
The crowd that supposedly sitting up high above somewhere out of the athlete’s reach might have some fun enjoying the taunting and the condescending feeling that they get as they have fun with the words that come out of their mouths. Words are like bullets, and I know that it is up to the listener to either let it go or keep it in. But sometimes people just tend to go over the limit. You pay for the game, just let us play. Lets us do our job and you do yours. Just watch and enjoy and please for the love of you know who lets us play with smiles on our faces.
Photo credit to psoup216
When it comes to sports events, such as conference games I find myself telling my teammates to take everything but then give nothing to them. I mean it doesn’t seem to turn out the way I want it to be, but you get the point. Living on the basis of give and take is the true way for the “survival of the fittest”. But sometimes I wish that people weren’t so selfish and profit focused sometimes.
somewhere out there are a couple of people who know what life means. The whole meaning of my project is to find these special people and learn more about them. But it hasn’t been the smooth stairway to paradise. The give and take of life seems to be more like a stairway to back to where I came from.
The conference content was really what caught my interest. It was just amazing how to see students all over the world represent a country that they’ve never lived or even went to, and talk about politics and the environment. We had Asian people representing U.S.A, France, and many other non-Asian nations, then we had the Caucasians representing Japan, Republic of Korea, and many other Asian nations.
