The Hongcouver | Did you hear the one about the Chinese driver and the white people who didn’t get the joke?
"Chinese Driver" stickers on sale in Vancouver might be subverting a racist myth, rather than perpetuating it.
Issues of race are raised at your own peril in Vancouver.
It’s a politically correct city and that’s usually not such a bad thing: the desire to avoid unnecessary offence is generally to be applauded, I think. It’s also a handy social lubricant in such a diverse city. It’s nice to get along.
There are times, though, when it inhibits serious debate (such as when discussing the impact of foreign money on the housing market). And then there are times when it gets in the way of a harmless joke.
The complainant was white. The car owner wasn’t identified, but I’m willing to take a punt that he/she was of Chinese ethnicity.
These stickers have been doing the rounds for at least a couple of years, and I’ve seen them before on cars in Richmond. I never gave them much thought - and if I had, I would not have presumed them to be racist in intent. That’s because the drivers themselves were Chinese.