Session Minutes by
Rosie
Date: Sat 27 Oct 2012
Place: Fujin St No. 3
Park, Taipei City (富錦街三號公園)
Attendees: Lynn,
Caroline, Christine, Anita, Rosie
Session 1:
Icebreaking
Icebreaker: Lynn
Everyone recommended
their favorite restaurant!
Session 2:The Topic- The Danger of a Single Story
Lynn
led us in a discussion about stereotyping, relating it to Nigerian
writer Chimamanda Adichie's interesting TED Talk and the recent (22
Sept 2012) editorial in the Taipei Times. We talked about
stereotyping within Taiwan, and about Taiwan outside of Taiwan. We
shared experiences of being the victim of “single stories” with
each other.
--Rosie said:
People
who live in Taipei City all dress in the latest fashions, don’t
they?
I was born in and live
in Taipei City. Most of my relatives live in the middle part of
Taiwan. They have the impression that Taipei people are really into
fashion, that we dress up and wear make up every day. When I see my
relatives at Chinese New Year, they expect to see a very
“fashionable” Rosie. Actually I am not that type of person. I
like to dress casual and don’t spend too much money on clothes. But
I want to meet their expectations, so I try my best to dress up.
Therefore, going back to my father’s hometown is a bit stressful
for me.
--Caroline said:
People
who live in the most expensive areas in Taipei City always look down
on other people and are too proud of themselves, aren’t they?
When
people find out I live near Daan
Park, they're surprised to hear I know how to do housework!
--Lynn said:
Foreigners
always need help, don’t they?
I've been living in
Taipei city for a long time (over 8 years). I like to be treated
equally and be thought of as a human being rather than only a
foreigner. For example, sometimes when I'm looking at a map in the
MRT, some strangers come up to me and ask, “Do you need help?”
Actually, I know Taipei pretty well, and don't often need help. I was
really glad recently when a Taiwanese person asked ME to help him in
the MRT! I was able to tell him how to get from 後山埤
to 中山國小
MRT stations. He normally drives a
scooter, so wasn't sure...
Are
American people always rude?
When
I lived in NZ, I often heard NZ people say in a surprised voice after
returning from a trip to the US, “All the Americans I met were so
polite!” They obviously had an image of most Americans being
rude—perhaps from TV?
--Anita said:
People
who live in south of Taiwan are friendlier, and Taipeis
are more practical. Is that true?
Japanese
people can’t speak English very well, can they?
Small conclusion:
We come
from different backgrounds. We do
our best to realize why people have single stories
about other people and places. We are better being more open
minded.
Action:
We are going to write a
comment on TED.
NB:
Done by Lynn on 12 Nov 2012—have a look! Click on the TED talk
website below!
Related
webpage resources for your reference:
a)
Watch this TED Talk and see TIiA's comment (about
15 min):
b) Read this Taipei Times editorial (Racism Rears its Ugly Head)
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