Ask Jane

Dear Jane,
Help! My friend is a hypocrite, and I don't know how to tell him! He's always going on about how racist this country is but without even noticing he has turned all racist himself! He is helping his boss find a replacement for when he leaves so he left an ad on the internet. He got a long email from a guy who said he was Indian, but he couldn't imagine introducing his boss to this guy because he knew that to please his boss, he should get someone that looks perfectly Caucasian. The English in the email wasn't too good either. But anyway, he deleted the email straight away. Then he got an email from a Canadian guy, and replied. So, he rejected the Indian guy, but responded to the white guy!
Confused

Dear Confused,
Your friend has been here long enough to realise that human resources is a market-driven business, which is especially apparent in countries where white people are seen as the next best thing since sliced bread. It's not your friend that's racist, it's the market. A picture of a white face is worth more than a thousand kuai, and I'm assuming that all parent-teacher interviews and tours of the school were conducted only during the times your friend was at work, because the presence of his face there doubled the school's value. It's not about teaching, it's about what you look like. Your friend was not asked to find a replacement teacher, he was asked to find a replacement White Face. It's what the customers want. So yes, in a way, your friend is as racist as the locals, but he surrendered his principles the moment he entered the country.
Jane

  ¶ 19:50