Most East Asian Americans have had it happen to them.
Someone, often a stranger, sometimes even a young child, will approach them and pull their eye lids back in an attempt to mock the epicanthic fold on their eyes, often derisively referred to as slant eyes.
How is one supposed to react to something like that? Have you walked away, ignored it or confronted the offender head on?
Zak Keith, the author of My Life as a Squint-eyed Chink, poses the question in a recent blog.
Many of the offenders find their gesture funny. Defensive retorts include “it’s actually a compliment” to “it’s not racist” and “relax, it’s just humor!”
You can read some possible responses to that on ZakKeith.com.
Re: Squinty Eve Gesture– Flattery or anti-Asian racism: That has never happened to me. If it did, I would laugh my head off because I do not have so called slant eyes.
RE: Squinty Eye gesture. Flattery or Anti-Asian Racism: Never happened to me either..