Indian Idol fame Meiyang Change, who shared a disheartening incident when a few people called him coronavirus because of the way he looks, has now featured in a powerful video to give a message on casual racism. Reports of racism against people from the northeast and Indians of Chinese descent have been emerging during this nationwide lockdown. Sharing the video, actor-singer Chang revealed that 'racism is no joke'.
In the video, he said, "Namaste. My name is Chang and I am not coronavirus. Now you must be thinking why I am delivering this popular dialogue of Shah Rukh Khan like this. Let me explain. A few days before lockdown, one man was going home at night when suddenly two people on a bike who were passing by saw him and shouted, ‘Coronavirus!’ Why? Maybe because he looks a little different. Now this man was really angry. He thought of abusing them or doing something. But then he calmed down and just ignored it. Because he has been ignoring such racist things since childhood. Sometimes ‘Ching Chong’, sometimes ‘momo’, sometimes ‘hakka noodles’, sometimes ‘Hey, open your eyes at least’ and God knows what else. He just ignored it. That man was me, an Indian of Chinese descent."
Chang then claims that what happened with him could happen with anyone from the northeast as well. He further says, "Now you must be thinking, ‘What’s the big deal, yaar? He must have been joking. Just chill.’ And you know what? You are actually right, they must have been joking. Jokingly, an uncle in Delhi spit on a Manipuri girl. Jokingly, people of Nagaland were thrown out of their homes in Ahmedabad and Kolkata. Jokingly, an aunty in Pune thrashed a Mizo girl publicly. Jokingly, someone was made to realize that even though you are from this country, you don’t belong here. ‘Go back to China, Nepal or wherever you are from!’ By saying this, they have hurt someone’s identity. But this is not a joke. This is casual racism. And racism against Indian Chinese, northeast Indians or anybody for that matter is not cool. Not even jokingly. Because how it escalates from a joke, we have all seen that."
Further, Chang addresses the youth of the country in the video and says that they are the 'most kind, smart and sensible' and can understand what he is trying to say. He says, "You understand what I am saying and you will explain to others as well to please not be racist. If you want to do something, please love and respect your fellow human beings. Especially at a time like this, when all of us should be together. Especially at a time like this, when we cannot afford to be divided. Thank you so much and please take care of your health."
Earlier, Chang had revealed that he used to feel offended when people used to ask him if he is Nepali, Chinese or Japanese but with time, he came to terms with these questions as he realized that since he looks different, people ask him about his origin out of curiosity. However, he also claims that he doesn't like being stared at by the people.
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