If there is a human hierarchy of different races, what it looks like?
I have come to America for two years from China and lived in a deep south state for my study. This thing happened in my very fresh first year and intrigued my interest in finding out if there is a multilevel of racism and what it looks like if it does exist. The thing that happened to me is very small and common. If I were still in China and surrounded by people with my ethnicity, the whole story would be perceived and interpreted in a totally different view. But the reality contradicts to it, so bear with me while I am getting there.
It happened when I got my driving license three month later. I had never driven in China before. So to speak, I was kind of a new driver. That time, I was trying to park in the school parking lot. The space is limited, and I am bad at parking. This is what happened. I backed up a little bit to better park in. The next thing I heard was a sound of clash. I looked over, there was another car at the exact opposite direction trying to back up at the same time with me. We bumped into each other. I panicked, took off the car, and approached to her car. She came out, I said “I am sorry” to her out of my Chinese instinct politeness. It is a courtesy to say “I am sorry” in China just like everyone says “excuse me” in America when you try to get through people or bump into someone.
The girl who is an African American, did not talk back. She took out her phone, examined her car, and called her mom to brief what happened. After she hung up phone, she turned to me and said that she wanted my insurance card. My heart was trembling because I had never got into this and did not know what I should do. Neither do I have anyone to call for help. But I do know one thing that if she claimed my insurance, then my insurance would go up and my credit would go bad. I did not want it to happen. So, I begged her to go get her car evaluated and give me a price, I would pay for her loss instead of claiming my insurance. Somehow, the moment she asked me for insurance, I immediately internalized the incident as my fault, and I should be responsible for her loss. Why is that? I am a foreigner, an outsider, and a loner. Another way to put it, I felt inferior than native and would be a good target to bully if bully happens.
But it was not the end. While we were in the dilemma of negotiation, we could not achieve a result. We decided to call campus security. Then here it came a white security officer. I told him one and only sentence, “We backed up at the same time and bumped into each other.” He asked us to retrieve report from security office, which I did.
On the report, the officer stated that I crashed into the other car. Anyone who read the report would think that I am the one at fault. I went to security office and requested a change of the report because the report twisted my statements. The officer said, I quoted, “From my interpretation, that’s what you said.” I was actually shocked by his words but cannot do nothing at that moment.
In this incident, there were three parties that included an African American girl, a white officer, and me, a foreigner. The unjust verdict made from that white officer left me quest that if there is a human hierarchy like food chain in the nature, white American, African American, Asian American, other minorities American, and foreigners in this human hierarchy, what it looks like? My professor stated that Asian American actually is less discriminated against than African American by the majority in America due to the stereotype of model minority of Asian American. I am not talking about the status of white American here, because clearly, white supremacy in America puts white American in the highest status without doubt. But me, in this incident, as a foreigner, undoubtedly, is on the bottom of this hierarchy. However, I doubted what my professor said about Asian Americans have higher status than African American. But I don’t know the answer either. I leave this inquiry to you to enlighten me with your insights.
Submitted by Yunyun Zhang
Yunyun Zhang is an upcoming doctoral student in the Counselor Education program at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Yunyun earned her master's degree in Mental Health Counseling at Mississippi College and International Relationships at China University of Political Science&Law. After working in an international company for a few years in China and Dubai, Yunyun found her passion in the counseling field. With this passion at heart, Yunyun traveled from China to America in 2018, to study, to explore, and to contribute to the counseling field.