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Check out this viral video of Korean strangers helping a truck driver [1]
['Devin Nealy']
Date: 2022-07-20
One of the most entrenched stereotypes about Asian people is that they're overly polite and docile. On the surface, it may seem like a harmless association, but the implication is that Asian people are pushovers. While there is a focus on manners and social etiquette in Asian cultures, it's naive for anyone to believe that an entire race of people is inherently submissive and passive. Stereotypes of Asian people being passive have even created harmful film tropes such as the neutered Asain male and the Lotus Blossom for Asian women, which adversely affect the perception of Asian people.
Having said that, the viral clip of South Korean strangers working together to help a truck driver clean his spilled cargo speaks to a level of compassion and community that seemingly doesn't exist in the West. Looking at the clip linked above through my American eyes makes me feel like the stereotype is inverted. Asian people aren't overly polite, but rather that Americans are inherently disaffected from the idea of community. However, I spent the last decade in New York City, so my perspective on Americans and etiquette might be a little skewed.
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