an echoing whiteness by Kien-Ling Liem

an echoing whiteness

by Kien-Ling Liem [CW: racism, xenophobia]

I was assigned a Moreton-Robinson reading last semester. The 2004 essay Whiteness, Epistemology and Indigenous Representation was about how white supremacy varies from other forms of oppression in that it often acts as an invisible force. White supremacy is a snake, weaving its way into our cultures and envenoming us with the notion that Western standards are the bar for the rest of us to aspire to. It’s poisonous knowledge. We know everything about white cultures. We praise them, idolise them, want to be them.

I think that Moreton-Robinson reading changed my life. I see the world differently. I see myself differently. But most of all, I see Australia differently.

After living in Melbourne for nearly a year, I’ve met a fair share of different genres of white people. Conservatives, fi lm bros waxing poetic about Fight Club, Trump supporters (surprisingly), Lana Del Ray listeners and, of course, a handful of your regular socialist alternative types. All incredibly varied, with polar personalities.

But the type of people I fi nd the most interesting, however, are those who possess this bizarre fear of leaving Australia. Those who don’t feel the desire to travel, or even to know things about other countries. Those who constantly deign to tell me my English is so surprisingly good, considering that I’d just moved here. I’ve met people who are the most open about queerness and radical acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, yet are simulataneouly unable to fathom that people from Asian countries can speak English. And it’s the duality of it all, the dichotomy of outwards acceptance against barely concealed xenophobia, that I fi nd so frightening.

So, I sought to fi nd a reason for this narrow-mindedness, this scary contentment in knowing virtually nothing about the lives led by billions of people just beyond one’s own shores. As someone who has lived their whole life with the expectation to leave my home country, it is awkward for me to understand this blind eye, but I suppose Melbourne has its fair share of offerings. There’s always some event, art exhibition, or music festival going on. There’s something for everyone here: the people are nice enough, the hospitals are good, and the food expresses some semblance of cultural diversity, but perhaps not the cultural divide. Bigotry here seems to be less clear-cut, but that’s exactly what makes it so insidious. It’s not obvious at all, perhaps inconspicuous. And in some ways, it’s scarier, because it’s so hard to see, harder to identify, and harder to fi x. But who is to blame for their oblivious outlook – is it malice or simply naivete? When you have everything you need in one place, what more could you need? What more can you ask for when your country gives you everything? And so I thought, perhaps it is because my country did not give me the social, educational, and cultural experiences I desired, I sought it elsewhere. Is it the fact that my country has less, in comparison to the dreamlike Western world, that makes me want to see more? Would I have stayed in Malaysia if it were as well developed as Australia, and become a mind of seclusion? All theoretical prospects, of course, but still very possible.

What is the true effect of living in a mind of seclusion, of isolation? The white people around me live in deliberate ignorance, in a scary unawareness, with rose-coloured glasses that are too comfortable to take off. Ignorance is bliss, and perhaps that’s why they don’t feel the need to expand beyond their narrow worldview. The unknown is scary. It’s different, and when you spend your whole life in one place, change is jarring. Countries like America and Australia and the glamorous parts of Europe are the whole world to them. But this results in an echoing whiteness – a total lack of awareness, cultural respect, and a deeper understanding of the true beauty of the world.

It is a journey with no destination. A map with no route. And when you are not looking for anything, you fi nd nothing.