So I’m going to write about this – Chinese exhibition

Not long ago I visited a Chinese-American historical museum and after that visit many thoughts ran through my head. I’ve decided to write them down.

I have to say that visiting the museum was partly interesting – it was interesting to see vintage clothing that was worn by Chinese migrants, vintage opium pipes that they smoked, a vintage woven basket with a lid that would have been carried on the back to transport goods. There were stories of key figures in early Chinese-American history which were interesting to read. There was even an elaborately carved wooden shrine which was either Buddhist or Taoist – to me one of the highlights of the exhibit.

But then they also focused on the immigration process at that time and immigration laws. Basically this part of the exhibition was another shrine to victimhood and I would like to call BS on it.

They had an audio reenactment of an immigration hearing. They had a whole section on the different types of identification documents that were used at the time. Basically an entire area that dealt with the bureaucratic procedures at the time – over a century ago – in U.S. history.

This type of thing is so common nowadays – another group claiming victimhood, elevating their forbears to saint status because of what they had to go through to live in the United States.

But what’s left out of this exhibit is a lot. What’s left out is that it would have been like this virtually anywhere in the world back then because – that’s the way things pretty much were. That how countries were, and how immigration was handled.

The United States as a nation of white people – founded by white people and for white people – had every right to set its immigration policy and laws according to its interests. No one forced East Asians nor anyone else to come to the United States. If they weren’t forced, how can they claim to be victims? If they chose to come to a white country founded by and run by white people, how can they bitch about the country being white and for whites primarily?

And if it was so bad, so oppressive, why the fuck did they want to come in the first place, voluntarily???

It’s sad that this exhibit is only going to reinforce more of the victimhood bullshit which already is too much. Seeing the emphasis on the victimization at the exhibit disappointed me.

Another thing to consider: the policies and laws in China right now are basically the same if not worse than what they were in the United States a century ago. White Americans who are even married to Chinese women are not allowed to own property. They are not allowed to work freely in the country. And they encounter regular discrimination. Present day China is worse than the United States a century ago.

All this is not to say that I do not have deep admiration for the tenacity, courage, and strength of many Chinese people who ventured to what was a far away, foreign country and endured a lot of hardship. I do very much. But I would like to call out the victim narrative thing. It’s sad to see another group that I admire falling into the victimization game.