Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. -Proverbs 31:8
I was able to move to Korea because Koreans want to learn English. They want Americans, people who have an American English accent, to teach them. They paid to fly me there, house me there, and pay for me to work there while I was there.
Before I left, I tried to give my job to a friend. She’d just moved to Korea. She has a degree in education, and she’s lived in America all her life, in L.A. no less, home of the typical American accent. But she’s ethnically Korean.
My academy wouldn’t offer her the job.
So, to answer the question, when’s best to speak out against racism? Speak out when racism benefits you.
It’s easier to speak out when the hiring managers skip over your resume after seeing that your name is Rajhi. But anyone can question your motives on that one, even yourself.
Nah, the best time to speak out against racism is when someone treats you better than average because of your race. The best time to speak out is when you land the job as an English teacher in, say, Korea because you’re a white American, not an Asian American.
The problem is that this is exactly when it’s the hardest to notice (because you’re not looking for it) and the hardest to find the motivation to say anything against it (because speaking out might mean losing those benefits).
So instead, you shrug and say, “That’s just how it is.”
