I keep making the mistake of reading comments/reactions with respect to things related to Penny Wong (currently Labor’s International Relations person), and I get extremely angry every time.
And to be fair, she’s also Malaysian-Chinese, like my mother’s side of the family, so I will happily admit there is a measure of personal bias on my part.
But.
I’m sincerely wishing (presumably predominantly white/Anglo, and I suppose uneducated) Australian people could recognise nuance and realise that she’s smart/intelligent/etc. BECAUSE SHE’S A WOMAN WHO GREW UP IN A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT CULTURE THAN THE ONE SHE’S IN RIGHT NOW.
There are a LOT of smart women who don’t show it because they have to navigate social complexities much more than dumb men like me have ever had to do. They will also downplay any achievements on their part, and not broadcast their victories in the same way that men do.
Now insert the fact that she’s from an Asian background, something which is COMPLETELY opposite to Australian culture. So she also has to navigate that amongst also being a woman, AND a lesbian, no doubt putting her in some minority intersection that most people wouldn’t remotely think about. Y’know how there’s the stereotype of old white men who like Asian women because they conform more typically to a traditional docile woman? Imagine having to contend against that as well.
So she HAS to be very smart, right? A lot of people praise her for her intelligence, compassion, etc., and yet a number of people bash on her for not espousing progressive values. They’re angry at her for not being individualist in the way they wish she would be.
One thing about Asian culture is that traditionally it’s much more community oriented. People growing up in such cultures are taught to consider the needs of the many before their own at times. And I have no doubt that Penny has already figured out where she can toe the line, and where otherwise she has to fall in line with the Labor party.
Does she want this? Obviously not. But she’s not stupid enough to jeopardise her current position, and a lot of good things she does is effectively stuff that never gets announced in popular media.
Look what happened to Fatima Payman – bullied out of the Labor party, I have no doubt that Penny KNEW enough party politics to know something similar would happen to her if she spoke out in a similar way.
Understand fundamentally that she’s very intelligent, very good at her job, and if she wants to continue to be in a position where she can continue to do good by Australia within her position in the currently dominant Labor party, there are certain individual sacrifices she needs to give up.
The other thing is what a lot of (again, presumably white/Anglo) Aussies don’t seem to notice about smart Asian people is that they’re typically very quiet and observing, and there is a LOT of scheming happening behind the scenes.
Any sufficiently smart Asian person would be unsurprised that China is probably doing a fuckload of covert spying, etc. and have many long-term plans in action that sets them up in a favourable positions to take advantage of even entire countries in many less-obvious ways, while still on the surface remaining cordial.
I know, because I’m exactly like that.
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